Masala vada ... simple n festive n grand too

Vadas are special be it masala vada or methu vada. I love both but when asked for only one choice I would say methu vada as I end up making dahi-vada with the leftovers. But masal vadais are rock stars ... they do good at evening snack parties or afternoon authentic lunch parties. Also this is a traditional dish made at festivals in most of the households

I have been following this simple recipe from my mom and mil. There is a little difference in the way they bought taught me. Finally I ended up with something which is a combination of both. The base for this recipe is chana dal and for a mix of spices it includes little greens. Some people use saunf/fennel seeds but personally I am not a big fan of fennel seeds... but for the aroma I add a little fennel powder :) Me and my elder son dont like to bite into a fennel seed. So this trick has helped us enjoy the flavor without biting into the seeds

Time to make this is not very less as I would like to say. It involves soaking, grinding and the frying time. So it is time consuming... not much though.  But whatever it is the end-result if gonna be crispy, spicy and aromatic vadas 

Serves... 4 ppl

Serve option... Hot

This is what u'll need....

Chana dal - 1 cup(washed and soaked for 3-4 hours
Green chilli - 1
Onion - 1 medium, 1 small
Curry leaves - few
Cilantro/Coriander leaves - a few strands
Mint leaves - a few (optional)
Hing/asafoetida - a pinch
Fennel powder - 1/4 tspn
Oil for frying
Salt to taste

Here is the stir....

• Wash and soak chana dal for 3-4 hours. In case of festival days, we soak them overnight and leave it in the fridge. And in case we are in a hurry and have not more than a hour at hand then let it soak in warm water to speed up the soaking process

• In a small blender blender jar add green chilli, coriander leaves, curry leaves and mint. Peel and roughly chop the small onion and toss it in too

• Give it a quick pulse to grind it coarsely. Dont overdo it. A little texture will bring out more flavors for your taste buds to enjoy

• Transfer the contents to a working bowl
• In the same blender add chana dal in little batches and grind them coarsely(a little more on the coarser side).  Add this to the above made green mixture. Grind the rest of the chana dal

• Chop one medium sized onion finely and toss it into the bowl
• Sprinkle hing/asafoetida, salt  and fennel powder into the mixture and mix everything well until it comes together

• Pinch out a little mixture and shape into vada shapes or round shapes little thick in the middle while staying little less thick towards the corners. Shape the remaining mixture too

• Heat oil in a pan and deep fry the vadas on medium heat for 3-4 mins

• Flip once halfway through the cooking process and cook till a little darker on the golden brown shade
• Drain on paper towels to remove excess oil and serve hot with chai

• Enjoy it hot for the perfect crispiness that you will love

Note:

• Soak dal overnight in case you are planning to make in the morning else soaking for around six hours should do good 
• For making the green mixture just give a quick pulse, overdoing it make it lose the texture
• Fry on medium heat to ensure even color and even cooking all through