Chana Dal Vada Recipe: Authentic Indian Snacks to Prepare at Home

Something about chana dal vada is inherently relaxing. You know that snacking on a few of these will instantly put you in a better mood, easing away the worries of the day and just creating an atmosphere of peace and rejuvenation.

This recipe has been contributed by Tanvi @sinfullyspicy. We hope you try making chana dal vadas at home and enjoy them alongside your favourite Malgudi Days filter coffee.

Ingredients 

• ½ cup chana lentils (Bengal gram)
• 2 tbsp split white urad lentils
• 1/3 cup chopped onion
• 1-inch ginger finely chopped, optional
• 1 or 2 green chillies, chopped (adjust to taste)
• 8 to 10 curry leaves, chopped
• 2 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves
• Salt to taste
• Oil for deep frying

Preparation

1. Rinse lentils a couple of times in water and soak them in about 1.5 cups of water for 2 hours.
2. Drain the soaked lentils very well. There should be no water in the lentils. 
3. Without adding any water, grind the lentils to a coarse mixture. Some whole chana dal should be visible in the mixture. If you add water, then it becomes difficult to shape the vada. But if you are not able to grind the mixture at all, then add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water.
4. Transfer ground lentils to a bowl and add onion, green chillies, ginger, curry leaves and coriander leaves. Season with salt. Mix well with hands. Check the taste and adjust salt if needed.
5. Oil your palms and make small or medium-sized balls from the mixture.
6. Flatten them, shape them using hands and place them on a plate. You should get 8-10 vadas out of the batter.
7. Heat up oil for deep-frying in a wok or a deep cast iron pan (about 3” inch oil) on medium flame.
8. Check the oil temperature by dropping a small portion of the batter in the oil. If the batter comes up steadily & quickly, the oil is hot enough for frying.
9. Carefully slide the prepared dal vada in the hot oil. You may use a spatula to do so. Fry 3 or 4 vadas only at a time.
10. Fry them for a couple of minutes and then turn over with a slotted spoon and fry the other side. Adjust the flame while frying if the oil becomes too hot.
11. Fry till the vadas become golden and crisp. It takes about 6-8 minutes on medium-low heat for the onions on the crust of the vada to look golden. That is a good indicator that your dish is ready.
12. Drain excess oil on a paper towel.
13. Fry up the remaining dal vada this way in batches.
14. Serve the coconut chutney or tomato chutney.