MASALA VADA

                    MASALA VADA

                                               (Yield: 12 Masala vada)

Masala Vada is a deep fried ground chana dal fritters. Made with chopped onions and fresh spinach leaves along with other exotic Indian spices to give unique taste to this vada.

INGREDIENTS:

·      ¾ cup Chana Dal/Split Bengal Gram

·      1 T Rice Flour, makes vada crispy

·      ½ cup Onion, chopped

·      ½ cup Spinach/Palak Leaves, chopped

·      2-3 Sprigs of Coriander Leaves, chopped

·      7-8 Curry Leaves, chopped

·      ½ tsp. Fennel Seeds, coarsely crushed in mortar and pestle

·      1 tsp. Roasted Cumin Seeds, coarsely crushed in mortar and pestle

·      1 tsp. Roasted Coriander Seeds, coarsely crushed in mortar and pestle

·      1 T Ginger, grated through the big holes on the grate

·      1 T Garlic, thinly sliced

·      3-4 Green Chilies or as per taste, chopped

·      1   3 to 4”Long Whole Dry Kashmiri Red Chili, coarsely crushed in small blender jar

·      ¾ tsp. Salt or as per taste

·      ½ tsp. Kashmiri Red Chili Powder or as per taste

·      ½ tsp. Garam Masala

·      1/8 tsp. Asafoetida

·      Oil for deep frying

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LET’S COOK:

Wash chana dal and soak in enough water for overnight or at least for 4 hours.

Drain dal and wash under fresh water and drain again.

I USED MAGIC BULLET BLENDER WITH SMALL CUP.

Crush 3-4 tablespoon of chana dal at a time in small blender jar without adding water to a coarse paste (In case if you are unable to run blender then sprinkle water just to keep blender running, but make sure not to make paste runny). Do not crush dal into fine paste. Crush till few chana dal stays whole. 

Transfer crushed dal in bowl and add rest of all ingredients except oil and mix well.

Take lemon size dal mixture and roll it into a ball, flatten it into a patty. Finish making remaining masala vada patty.

Heat oil in a deep pan on medium heat. To check readiness of oil, drop a little dal batter if it rises immediately to the surface and sizzles, the oil temperature is correct.

Fry few masala vada at a time on medium heat until both sides turns golden brown.

Place fried vada on paper napkin to absorb extra oil.

Finish frying remaining masala vada.
Serve hot Masala Vada with Green Chutney, Tamarind Chutney, Garlic Yogurt Dip and Fried Green Chilies on side.
It tastes great with Masala Chai/Tea too.

Enjoy…

TIP:

To make extra crispy, fry once until light golden brown.

Bring them out. Allow masala vada to cool for few minutes.

Press masala vada with flat bottom container and refry until dark golden brown and crispy.

If you make this vada in large quantity then use Food Processor for easy and quick grinding of chana dal.

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