Gujarati Dal Vada are lentil fritters made with split green moong dal. With this recipe, you can achieve perfect street style dal vada that are crispy outside and light and airy inside. Delicious with sliced onions, fried green chillies and a hot cup of masala chai.

Deep fried gujarati dal vada served with fried chillies and raw onion slices.

Recipe Summary: Gujarati Moong Dal Vada

✅ Recipe Name: Gujarati Dal Vada
🕒 Ready In: 30 minutes plus soaking time
👪 Makes: 10 Dal Vada
🍽 Calories: 87 per vada
🥣 Main Ingredients: Green chilka moong dal, garlic, green chillies
📖 Dietary Info: Vegan, gluten-free
⭐ Why You'll Love It: These are proper Gujarati rainy-day vada: crisp outside, light and airy inside, spicy enough to wake everything up, and made for eating hot with raw onion, fried green chillies and masala chai. No baking soda needed — the texture comes from the coarse batter and a good whisk.

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Gujarati dal vada are deep-fried lentil fritters made with soaked green moong dal. They are crisp on the outside, soft and airy inside, and full of ginger, garlic and green chilli.

In Gujarat, they are especially popular as a rainy-day snack.

They're different to South Indian vada made with chana dal.

The magic of these moong dal vada is in the batter.

Too smooth, and the vada lose their texture. Too watery, and they become flat.

Too little whisking, and they can feel heavy.

I've kept the method as simple as possible, but these small details matter.

You soak the dal well, remove most of the skin, grind it coarsely, then whisk the batter until it feels lighter. This whisking step is why I do not need to add baking soda.

Moong Dal Vada Ingredients

Full ingredients list with measurements can be found in the recipe card below.

Green moong dal

Use green/chilka moong dal for traditional Gujarati dal vada.

Soaking

Soak the dal for around 4-6 hours.

The dal should soften enough to grind, but you do not want it soaking for so long that the batter becomes watery.

Removing the skin

After soaking, rub the dal between your fingers to loosen and remove most of the skin.

You do not need to be obsessive.

Some skin left behind is fine, and I find that actually helps the vada look and feel more rustic!

Grinding

I use a food processor because it is easier to control the texture. A blender also works, but be careful not to make the batter too smooth.

Add as little water as possible. Only add a splash if the machine really needs help.

Ginger, garlic and green chilli

All these ingredients must be fresh for the best taste!

Adjust the green chillies depending on how spicy you like them, but dal vada should have a little kick.

Sunflower oil

I like frying these in sunflower oil.

It gives a good crisp finish, and I find it works well for other fried snacks too, like bajri na vada and homemade puris for pani puri.

How to Make Gujarati Dal Vada

Step 1: Rinse the green moong dal. Soak in plenty of water overnight, or for at least 6–7 hours. Drain the soaked dal along with most of the skin.

Peeled garlic, ginger and green chillies with drained soaked moong dal in a blender jar.

Step 2: Add the drained dal to a food processor with ginger, garlic and green chillies.

Coarse moong dal batter in a mixing bowl.

Step 3: Pulse to a coarse, thick batter.

Light and fluffy moong dal batter in a bowl.

Step 4: Whisk the batter well for a few minutes, until it feels lighter and becomes pale in colour.

Female hand is dropping a small amount of batter in hot oil.

Step 5: Gently drop small amounts of batter into hot oil.

Gujarati dal vada deep frying with green chillies and turning in brown colour.

Step 6: Fry until the vada are golden, crisp outside and cooked through. Turn them gently as they fry so they colour evenly. At the last minute, add the green chillies and remove with a slotted spoon.

Hayley's Recipe Tips For Success

Use green/chilka moong dal only. This gives Gujarati dal vada their traditional flavour and texture.
Soak the dal well, but do not over-soak it. Atleast 4-6 hours. If it soaks for too long, the batter can become loose.
Remove most of the skin after soaking. You do not need to remove every single bit. Some skin left behind is fine.
Drain the dal really well before grinding. Extra water in the dal will make the batter too thin.
Grind the batter coarsely. Do not make a smooth paste. The coarse texture helps the vada stay light inside with a crisp outside.
Add as little water as possible. Only add a splash if your food processor or blender really needs help.
Whisk the batter well before frying. This adds air to the batter and helps make the vada light and airy without baking soda.
Do not add onion to the batter. Onion releases water and can loosen the mixture. Serve raw onion slices on the side instead.
Fry on medium heat. If the oil is too hot, the vada brown too quickly. If it is too cool, they absorb oil and become heavy.
Use rice flour only as a rescue fix. If the batter is too loose, add a little rice flour to thicken it. It keeps the vada fairly light, but the best texture comes from a properly drained, coarse batter.
Refrigerate the batter if making it ahead. Dal vada batter thins as it sits, but chilling helps it stay thicker and easier to fry.
Serve them straight away. Gujarati dal vada are best hot from the oil with raw onion, fried green chillies and masala chai.

Half piece of moong dal vada with fluffy interior with stack of dal vada.

Make Ahead, Storage & Reheating

You can make the batter ahead, but I find dal vada batter thins the longer it sits. However, if you are not frying straight away, keeping the batter in the fridge keeps the batter thick and easier to deep-fry.

If it has loosened too much, add a little rice flour.

For the best texture, fry dal vada fresh and serve them hot.

Dal vada are definitely best eaten fresh. That is when they are perfectly crisp outside and soft inside. Yum!!

Leftovers can be stored in the fridge, but they will lose some crispness. You can reheat in an air fryer or oven until hot but they won't be the same.

As always if you make this recipe, be sure to leave me a comment, rate this recipe and tag me on Instagram @jcookingodyssey or #jcookingodyssey. I love seeing all your photos of my recipe recreations!

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