Rinse whole white urad dal thoroughly in clean water for two to three times until the water becomes clear.

Soak with enough water for two hours.

Drain the water from the soaked urad completely.

Add to a mixer along with sugar, cardamom powder and a pinch of baking salt.

Grind these things into a smooth paste without adding water. Alternately you can first smooth grind urad dal and add powdered sugar, cardamom powder and baking salt and just give a quick grind.

Please note that the mixture should be very smooth and soft without any hard granules. And you should not pour water while grinding, just a few drops of water is enough if necessary.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a deeper pan and check the temperature by testing a small portion of the batter.

The drop should raise slowly to the top without a change in color. If it becomes dark quickly, reduce the heat and wait and repeat the check until oil is ready. If the test drop settles down at the bottom, wait a few more minutes for the oil to reach the right temperature.

Now scoop a small lemon sized batter mix and drop in oil carefully. Don't worry about shape, just scoop as you like with spoon or fingers.

You can also make vada like shapes by slightly tap on the balls. My batter was too fluffy to make vada shapes hence I made like bondas which we prefer. Any shape is fine as long as you give enough heat and time for the stuff to cook inside out evenly.

Don't disturb the bondas/vadas for some time until they all come up and fried on the bottom sides.

Flip them and fry the other sides also to brown color.

Remove from the oil and drain excess oil with a kitchen tissue.

Serve hot while the bondas are still crispy. They taste great with banana and a bit of ghee even when they are cold.