Masala Vada ~ Chana Dal Fritters

Masala Vada is a very common snack made in our households. It is especially made on festival days as an offering to God. But in our house, we don't wait for a festival to enjoy Masala Vada. Do you?


Picture this - rainy/snowy weekend evening, a cup of steaming hot Masala Chai and A side of Masala Vada and the whole family playing UNO (A card game for kids). That is a perfect way to spend some quality time at home. What say ??


So here is the recipe for Masala Vada for Day 4 of BM 12.


Ingredients - 


Chana Dal  (washed and soaked for couple of hrs) 1 cup
Rice 1 Tbsp (soaked along with dal) (Optional)
Green Chillies 1-2
Ginger 1 inch piece
Garlic 2-3 cloves (Optional - I didn't use)
Salt to taste, 
Mint handful (or to taste)
Onions finely chopped 1/2 cup (add cabbage if onion needs to be avoided!)
Oil for deep frying

Method Of Preparation - 


Grind the soaked Chana Dal and Rice to a coarse and stiff batter adding as little water as is possible. (I would like the batter to have some Chana Dal intact for the extra crunch in the vadas ..yumm)


Grind green chillies, ginger and mint to a fine paste.


Mix in the chopped onions and the above green chilli paste to the batter. Add salt and adjust as needed.


Heat oil in a wok/kadai on medium.


When the oil is hot enough, take a table spoon of the stiff batter and pat into a small disc with your fingers and gently slide into the oil. 


Without over crowding the oil, add a few more discs for each batch and continue frying until they are golden brown.


Remove using a slotted ladle onto paper towels to drain extra oil.  Continue for the rest of the batter. 


Serve hot/warm with Ginger Chutney or any sauce of your choice.

Check out the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 12.

Sending this to Susan's 'MLLA - 43' hosted by Chez Cayenne this month.

Preparation Time 45 min
Makes about 20 medium sized Vadas