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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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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Unknown says
My all time favorite, looks good. WOW your kids also get involved in your blogging, that's really good.
Pari Vasisht says
Hi. I am commenting on all the three posts..
The Hareera paste I am yet to try but sounds hot..suits me fine.
The Couscous I love in any form and with the veggie platter I am ready to eat it.:-)
I liked your idea of freezing the koftas, so true our initial days of blogging is when one want all the attention...and people do not know us then. But u have grown fast dear considering it's a new blog.
TREAT AND TRICK says
Love this dish...looks so yummy, thanks for sharing.
Guntur Traditions says
very nice recipe
Sowmya says
innovative n looks perfect....tempting..
Gita Jaishankar says
I love the spicer version of this falafel...looks so crispy and inviting 🙂
Preeti Kashyap says
Nice recipe...reminiscent of falafel!
Veggie Hut says
Lovely.. I made falafel today..quite similar to this one.. Loved ur pic!
Sandhya Hariharan says
Nice post.... Loved ur story... I wud also eagerly waiting for comments when I first started.. this showed more people are getting into the network:)
Dhanya Ganesh says
Kofta looks delicious. Will try this soon. Also thank you so much for stopping by my space.
Rachana says
I love chickpeas and these koftas look great! And your kids have an equally sweet contribution to this blog!!!Wow!!!
Sunitha says
Looks great and freezing and reheating is very convenient I do that some times. Its great to have people visit and leave us a note...thanks for a great recipe.
Simplyfood says
These look easy and delicious.I have not made koftas but I use a similar recipe to make chickpea and kidney beans spicy bean burgers.
Unknown says
I love chickpeas and I use them in several ways but never to make "meatball"...what a wondeful discovery!!!!I asked your friendship on facebook.
Cheers
SE says
these look great...hey nice to see your kids are involved in the blog too!!