Chana Dal Vada are a delicious South Indian snack made with split chickpeas, fresh green chillies and onions. They're a popular street food and are usually served with Indian masala tea or coffee. With my techniques, you'll get vada which are crispy outside and fluffy inside.
Note – This recipe has been updated from our recipe archives with new images and content. First published in 9 February 2010, the recipe is slightly changed now and made with few eaxtra ingredients.
I've got a soft spot for vada in all varieties! One of my favourites is Gujarati dal vada but these South Indian chana dal vada closely follow!
Soaked chana dal is ground to a coarse paste with whole spices, fresh aromatics and herbs. The vada are then shaped and deep-fried until golden and crispy. I love that the inside remains fluffy and packed with flavour!
Ingredients notes
Be sure to check out the full recipe and exact ingredient list below in the recipe card.
Chana Dal - I soak the chana dal for a few hours before using in the recipe. This makes the dal easier to grind.
Onions, green chillies, ginger and garlic - fresh is best and gives fresh flavour to the vada. I often have to adjust the amount of chillies I add based on how spicy they are.
Whole spices - cinnamon, black pepper corns, fennel seeds and dried red chillies
Curry leaves - a classic in South Indian cooking.
Coriander - fresh coriander leaves add "freshness"!
Oil - my go-to oil for frying is sunflower oil. I find it gives a really crispy outside and doesn't impart it's own flavour.
Step by Step Method
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📖 Recipe
Chana Dal Vada
Ingredients
- 1 cup chana dal
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 2 tablespoon green chillies chopped
- 2 tablespoon curry leaves chopped
- 2 tablespoon coriander leaves or mint chopped
- 2 tablespoon ginger chopped
- 1 tablespoon garlic chopped
- 2-3 cloves
- ½ inch cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 2 dry red chillies broken
- salt
- oil to fry
Instructions
- Rinse 1 cup chana dal under running water then soak in plenty of water for at least 2 hours.
- Place 2 tablespoon ginger, 1 tablespoon garlic, 2-3 cloves, ½ inch cinnamon, 1 teaspoon black peppercorns, 1 teaspoon fennel seeds and 2 dry red chillies in a grinder and grind to a coarse powder.
- Drain all the water from the soaked dal, (keep 2-3 tablespoons dal for later use). Then add to the ground spices and grind everything until you get a coarse paste. Do not add any water.
- Transfer the ground paste into another bowl, add chopped 1 medium onion, 2 tablespoon green chillies , 2 tablespoon curry leaves, 2 tablespoon coriander leaves or mint and salt . Combine everything with your hands to make the vada batter.
- Take 3 tablespoons of the vada mixture in your hand and make round ball. Gently flatten on your palm. The vada should not be too thick or not too thin. Place them on a flat surface.
- Heat oil in a kadai or frying pan on medium heat, then carefully add a few vada in the hot oil, and fry them on medium to low heat.
- Keep turning them using a slotted spoon, so the vada evenly fry all over.
- Repeat the procedure for the remaining vada and serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
PLEASE NOTE: Nutritional values are estimated by a computer and may vary based on ingredients and portion sizes. For personalised dietary advice, please consult a qualified healthcare professional.
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Hayley Dhanecha says
I like making chana dal vada when I want something crisp and savoury, especially for tea time or as a starter for guests.
Anonymous says
Lovely vadas aka koftas.My kids are just like your kids.They say the same thing.How cute:)
Renuka Bedre - Rao says
Your kids are so sweet!! this is such a nice recipe..our initial posts r really dear to us! gud tht u reposted!
Meena says
Jagruti, isnt it strange & interesting that I am going thru the same thing! I have a new blog too, so of course my daughter, being the smartypants she is, wants to offer me ideas to make the blog more interesting:))
BTW, Love this recipe...in South India, we have a similar recipe for vada, which has toor dal in addition to the chickpeas but no garlic.
I will definitely try out this version and let you know how it turned out!