Chana Dal Pakora are crispy, crunchy and soft fritters made with chickpea lentils (bengal gram), onions, herbs and spices. Makes for a nice tea-time snack.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 240 minutes
  • Cook time: 30 minutes
  • Total time: 270 minutes
  • Yield: 3
  • Category: Snacks
  • Cuisine: North Indian

Ingredients

  • ½ cup chana dal ((hulled and split bengal gram))
  • 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 2 to 3 garlic cloves (- small-szied, roughly chopped)
  • 1 inch ginger (- roughly chopped or 1 teaspoon chopped)
  • 1 green chili (roughly chopped or ½ to 1 teaspoon chopped)
  • 1.5 to 2 tablespoons chopped onions
  • 1 pinch asafoetida ((hing))
  • 1 pinch baking soda (- optional)
  • 1.5 to 2 tablespoon water (- for grinding or blending)
  • 2 tablespoons chopped onions (- to be added later to the ground batter)
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves (- can also be added later in the batter (optional))
  • salt (as required)
  • oil (for deep frying or shallow frying, as required)

Method

Making chana dal batter

  1. Pick and then rinse the dal for a couple of times in water.
  2. Soak the chana dal in enough water for 3 to 4 hours or overnight.
  3. Drain the soaked dal and add them to the grinder.
  4. Add 1.5 to 2 tablespoons of the chopped onions together with the chopped green chilies, ginger and garlic, asafoetida, fennel seeds, cumin seeds in the grinder or blender.
  5. Add 1.5 to 2 tablespoons water and grind to a smooth batter. Do not add too much of water while blending. If the batter becomes thin or runny, the batter won't hold shape while frying and burst in the oil.
  6. Take the ground batter in a bowl. Add 2 tablespoons chopped onions and salt.
  7. Also add a pinch of baking soda if using. Mix the batter very well.

Making chana dal pakora

  1. Heat oil for deep frying in a pan or kadai.
  2. Drop spoonfuls of the batter in medium hot oil.
  3. When the batter has firmed up and the pakora looks light golden and slightly crispy, turn over each pakora with a slotted spoon and continue to fry.
  4. When the second side has become golden and crispy, turn over again a few times and fry until the pakora have an even golden color.
  5. Place the fried pakora on kitchen paper towels to remove excess oil.
  6. Use up the remaining batter and fry the pakoras until crisp and golden.
  7. Serve these lentil fritters hot or warm with mint chutney or coconut chutney or tomato ketchup.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.