Masala Vada | Toor Dal Vada Recipe
masala vada is crispy, deep fried tea time snack from South India. Its traditionally made with chana dal, today i am sharing the masala vada made with toor dal.
Servings: 14 vadas
Ingredients
- 1 cup toor dal (tuvar dal)
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 4 green chilies or to taste
- 1 inch ginger
- ⅓ cup freshly grated coconut
- 3 tbsps dill, finely chopped
- 3 tbsps coriander leaves, finely chopped
- few curry leaves, chopped
- salt to taste
- oil to deep fry the vada
Instructions
Soaking the dal -
- Wash the toor dal with plenty of water. Soak the dal in water for at least 2 to 3 hours.
- Adter 3 hours, drain the dal and leave the dal in the colander for few minutes. It’s important that the toor dal doesn’t have any water in it.
Grinding the dal -
- Take a handful of the dal and set aside. Now add the rest of the dal, ginger and green chilly to a mixer or food processor.
- Pulse it few times to get a coarse mixture. Do not make a puree.
- Take a small portion of the mixture and try to form a ball. If you can form a ball then it is the perfect texture. If not pulse the mixture couple more times.
- Transfer the ground dal in to a big bowl. Add that handful of the dal which was set aside, chopped onion, dill, curry leaves, coriander leaves and salt. Mix well.
Frying the vada -
- Take a small portion of the mixture and make a round shape and flatten it slightly.
- Deep fry the vada in oil in low-medium heat until golden and crispy. Turn the vada on both sides to cook evenly.
- It’s important to fry the vada slowly, if not the vada will be raw from inside.
- Enjoy the vada with coconut chutney and some hot chai.
Notes
Do not add any water while grinding the dal.
If the dal mixture is not holding and falling apart while frying, add some rice flour to it.
The oil for deep frying should be in medium flame. This will help the vada to cook evenly.
To check if the oil is in right temperature - if you drop a tiny bit of the dal mixture, it should come up immediately.