Masala Vadai or Paruppu Vadai

A crispy, spicy tea time snack which is very popular in the Southern part of India. A hot favourite during the monsoons, these crunchy vadas are served with a hot mug of chai or filter coffee.

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Ingredients:

Bengal gram dal/Chana dal – 1 cup

Udad dal – 1 tbsp (optional)

Onion – 1

Green chillies – 4

Aniseed – 1 1/2 tsp

Ginger – 1 inch piece

Curry leaves – 1 sprig

Coriander leaves – 2 sprigs

Salt to taste

Oil for deep frying the vadas

Water – 3 cups (to soak the dal)

Preparation:

Wash and soak the bengal gram dal in water for 2 or 3 hours. After 3 hrs, drain the water through a colander and keep it aside.

Chop onion fine and chop the coriander leaf and curry leaves.

Meanwhile, in a mixie jar, add the aniseed, ginger and green chillies and grind it without adding water. The ground mixture may be slightly coarse which is perfectly fine. Remove the mixture and keep it separately.

Now, in the same jar, add 1/3 of the soaked and drained dal and grind it coarsely without adding water. Remove the ground gram and add the other 1/3 rd of the dal and grind it again very coarsely. Repeat it for a third time and keep the ground dal separately. You may particularly note that the gram should not be ground to a fine paste.

Now add the ground mixture of (green chillie, ginger and aniseed paste) to the dal mixture and add salt. Also, add the chopped onion, coriander leaves and chopped curry leaves. Combine it well. Make balls and slightly flatten them in the middle.

Heat oil in a kadai or a small wok. To check if the oil is at the right temperature, drop a tiny bit of the dal mixture into it. The dal mixture should come up immediately. This indicates the vadas are ready to be fried in the oil.

Gently slide the flattened vadas in it. Keep the flame on medium-low and flip the vadas to the other side when it turns golden. Once both the sides turn golden, remove and drain it in a kitchen tissue and serve it with coconut chutney.

Using Air Fryer to make the vadas:

Place the vadas in the airfryer as mentioned in pic 1. Brush the vadas with oil. Heat the airfryer to 200 degree C for 20 minutes and turn the vadas to the other side. Cook for another 10 minutes. Make sure to check the vadas in between. It should be cooked to light brown and crisp on the outside.