Masala Vada are spicy and crunchy fritters made with bengal gram, onions, herbs and spices like fennel seeds, coriander seeds, dry red chilies and black pepper. These South Indian vegan fritters are a popular street style tea-time snack with a crisp texture and bold flavor.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 135 minutes
  • Cook time: 20 minutes
  • Total time: 155 minutes
  • Yield: 10 · 10 Masala Vada
  • Category: Snacks
  • Cuisine: South Indian

Ingredients

  • ½ cup or (120 grams) chana dal ((husked & split bengal gram))
  • water (– for soaking chana dal, as required)
  • 1 to 2 dry red chilies (– deseeded and halved)
  • 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
  • ½ teaspoon coriander seeds
  • ¼ teaspoon black peppercorns
  • ¼ cup or 1 small onion (– finely chopped)
  • ½ to 1 teaspoon or 1 to 2 green chili (– chopped)
  • 1 teaspoon or 1 inch ginger (– finely chopped)
  • 9 to 10 curry leaves (– finely chopped)
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons coriander leaves (– chopped)
  • 1 pinch asafoetida ((hing))
  • salt (as required)
  • oil (– for deep frying, as required)

Method

Preparation

  1. Rinse the chana dal for a couple of times in water.
  2. Soak them in enough water for 2 hours.
  3. Drain the soaked chana dal very well and set aside.

Making Masala Vada Mixture

  1. In a blender or mixer-grinder, add dry red chili (deseeded and halved), fennel seeds, coriander seeds and black pepper.
  2. Grind the spices to a coarse mixture.
  3. Next add the soaked chana dal to the mixer-grinder or blender in which the spices were coarsely ground.
  4. Grind to a coarse mixture. Some whole or partially crushed chana dal should be there in the mixture for a crunchy texture.
  5. Do not add water while blending as it can make the mixture loose and difficult to shape. If you have trouble blending, then add only 1 to 2 tablespoons water.
  6. Remove the ground chana dal mixture to a mixing bowl.
  7. Add chopped onions, green chilies, ginger, curry leaves, coriander leaves, asafoetida and salt according to taste.
  8. Mix very well.

Shaping & Frying

  1. Shape the mixture into medium-sized vadai. Make medium-sized balls first and then flatten them slightly. If you are unable to shape the masala vadai, add 1 to 2 tablespoons rice flour to the mixture.
  2. Heat oil for deep frying in a kadai or pan on medium heat.
  3. To check the oil temperature, add a small portion of the mixture to the oil. If it rises steadily and quickly, the oil is ready for frying.
  4. Carefully slide the vadai into the hot oil.
  5. When one side becomes light golden, gently turn over with a slotted spoon and fry the other side.
  6. Fry until the masala vadai become crisp and golden.
  7. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on kitchen paper towels to absorb excess oil.
  8. Fry the remaining masala vada in batches and do not overcrowd the pan.
  9. Serve the street style masala vada hot with coconut chutney or coriander chutney.

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.