Chana Dal Vada, Crispy Chana Dal Vada recipe with step by step photos
Like Chana dal Vada-
Like Chana Dal Vadas then see our collection of South Indian Vada recipes.
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What are Vadas? Think South Indian snack, and Vada is the first option that comes to mind. A crispy, golden outer layer slowly giving way to a soft and fluffy core, this deep-fried snack is a necessary part of any traditional South Indian breakfast spread, and also a much-loved accompaniment to evening tea or coffee. Being so tasty and popular it has gained its share of fame in India and abroad. Be it a local bakery or tea-shop, a restaurant in Manali, or an Indian wedding in Pittsburg, you can expect to find vadas served there!
There are different types of
vadas, but the most famous one is made of urad batter. Many
vadas require you to soak and grind the ingredients, although generally there is no fermentation required. The consistency of the batter will also vary. While the Urad Dal Vada requires a smooth batter, the
Chana Dal Vada or famous
Masala Vada requires a coarse grind. There are other quick options like the
Rava Vada, which are made by just mixing the ingredients and deep-frying. Picking a particular vada batter as the base, you can improvise by adding veggies and greens to it. Popular additions are chopped onions, cabbage,
amaranth and banana flower.
Other parts of India have their own Vada recipes too, such as the
Sabudana Vada and
Batata Vada of
Maharashtra. The Batata Vada is used to make the all-time favourite
Vada Pav, which practically needs no introduction to anybody. In
Punjab and other parts of North India, you will find small lentil dumplings, similar to Urad Vada, being used to make
chaats like the
Dahi Bhalla or Bhalla Papdi.
For the Chana Dal Vada mixture-
To prepare the mixture for chana dal vada, pick and clean 1 cup of chana dal.
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Wash the dal in a bowl several times or under running water and transfer to a bowl.
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Pour enough clean water and soak the chana dal for 2 hours. Do not over soak the chana dal or else the dal vadas won’t turn out crispy on frying.
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After two hours, open the lid and drain well using a sieve.
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Transfer the chana dal in a mixer jar.
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Add kashmiri red chillies. We have removed the stem and roughly broken it into two pieces before adding.
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For a spicy kick, add some green chillies.
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Add cumin seeds.
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Blend the chana dal to a thick coarse paste. If required, once in between you can scrape the sides of the mixer jar and grind the mixture again.
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Transfer the mixture into a deep bowl.
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Add all the remaining ingredients starting with finely chopped onions. If you are Jain, then you can skip adding them or simply substitute with cabbage.
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Add ¼ cup grated fresh coconut and add salt to taste.. For an added flavour, you can also toss in some ginger, fennel seeds or leafy greens like spinach, dill or mint leaves.
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Add freshly chopped coriander. Also, you can toss in some curry leaves.
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Combine all the ingredients and mix well using your hands. Before you start making the chana dal vadai, you can taste the mixture and make the necessary changes in the flavour as per your desire.
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For frying the chana dal vada-
For making crisp chana dal vada, divide the dal vada mixture into 18 equal portions
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Shape each portion into a round ball.
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Flatten the ball between your palms to make a round flat vada and directly put it in the hot oil. You cannot shape the vadas and keep aside as it loses water which will make our vada difficult to fry and may also break off. The vada must be slightly thin because if you make thick vadas , they will turn chewy in the center and not taste as good.
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Slide 3-4 chana dal vada carefully. The number of vada will depend upon the size of your kadhai and vadas. Also, before dropping the dalwada, check the temperature of the oil by dropping a small portion of the chana dal mixture. If it comes up quickly, the oil is too hot and this would brown the dal vada quickly and they would still be raw from inside. If it takes a lot of time, the oil is not hot enough and this would make the dal vada absorb a lot of oil.
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Deep-fry them on a medium flame till they turn golden brown in colour from one side.
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With the help of a slotted spoon flip them and fry till they are golden brown and crisp on all sides.
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Drain the chana dal vada on an absorbent paper
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Similarly, fry all the parippu vada from the remaining mixture.
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Serve the chana dal vada immediately with coconut chutney.
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