Masala Vadai (Channa Dhal Vadai)

        Hey guys ! Presenting you all the recipe of  most delicious crispy fritter made with Channa Dhal, "Masala vadai" which is well known as Paruppu vadai in most parts of Tamil Nadu. You can make this Vadai in no time, except for the time required to soak the dhal. If you are craving for something spicy and crispy, definitely do try this recipe and am sure your loved ones will demand you to make this more often. This is a perfect tea time snack or you can even enjoy this fritter with your meal. Now let's move on to the ingredients and recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

* Channa dhal- 1 cup

* Dry red chilli- 9

( Add chillies depending on how spicy you want it to be. For a cup of Channa Dhal you can add minimum 4 to 5 chillies. But if you are a spice lover like me, then go ahead and add 9)

* Garlic- 8

* Fennel seeds- 1 tbspn

* Onion- 1 medium sized or 2 small sized finely chopped

* Hing- 1 tspn

* Turmeric- 1/2 tsp

* Coriander leaves - 1/3 cup finely chopped

* Curry leaves- 2 strands finely chopped

* Salt- as per taste

* Oil- for frying

• PREPARATION TIME: 10 mins
• SOAKING TIME OF DHAL: 2 hours
• COOKING TIME: 15 mins
• SERVES: 5

PROCEDURE:

* Soak Channa dhal and dry red chilli for two hours .

* Once the dhal is soaked add dry red chilli, garlic, fennel seeds and 2 tbspns of soaked Channa dhal to the blender and grind it coarsely.

(Adding little channa dhal in this step is to help the spices grind evenly)

* Now add rest of the soaked Channa dhal and grind them coarsely without adding water.

* Now transfer the mixture to a bowl.

* Add chopped onion, coriander leaves, curry leaves, salt, Hing and turmeric powder to it.

* Now mix them well and check for salt.

* Keep the vadai mixture in the refrigerator for atleast 20 minutes before frying. Keeping the vadai mixture in refrigerator makes the Vadai more crispier.

* Now shaping the Vadai. I have attached few pictures to let you know how to shape the vadas, so that they become crispy at the edges and soft in the middle.

* Now heat oil in the pan for frying.

* Once the oil is hot, shape the vadas and drop in the oil for frying. Do not keep the flame high, make sure it's in medium-high flame so the vadas cook through evenly.

(It approximately takes 10 to 15 mins for a vada to cook)

* You will know that the vadas are ready to be taken out, when you see the oil bubbles slowing down and vadas turning into beautiful golden brown colour.

* Now the super crispy and delicious Masala Vadai is ready. It's a perfect tea time snack. Enjoy it hot with ginger and elaichi tea, am sure it will be heavenly!!!