Masala Vada

Ingredients:

1 cup chana dal or also known Bengal gram
1 tablespoons rice flour
1 cup potatoes boiled peeled and mashed
1 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 teaspoons fennel seeds crushed
1 teaspoon mango powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper crushed
1/8 teaspoon asafetida
1 tablespoon ginger paste
2 tablespoons finely chopped green chilies
1/4 cup cilantro finely chopped

Also need oil to fry

Method

Wash and Soak chana dal in three cups of water for about 4 hours after soaking this will become about twice in volume.
Drain the water, keep 2 tablespoons soaked dal aside. Grind dal coarsely without adding any water. I like to use food processor.
Take out the dal in a mixing bowl, add all the ingredients, potatoes, rice flour, salt , fennel seeds, mango powder, black pepper, asafetida, ginger, green chili, cilantro and soaked chana dal. Mix it well.
Lightly wet your palms, this will make easy to roll the vadas. Take a lemon size ball of the mix, flatten it with your hands, making them to about half inch thick patties. This should make about 16 patties. I like to make few of patties before I start frying.
Heat the oil in a frying pan, (frying pan should have about 1” of oil) over medium heat. Oil should be moderately hot when you drop the vada, oil should sizzle and come to surface slowly. Gently drop the vadas in oil making sure they don’t overlap.
Fry the vadas both sides till golden brown and crisp, turning over two to three times. This should take 6-7 minutes. Repeat the same procedure for the rest of the mix.
Take them out over paper towel, this absorb the access oil.
Serve vadas as they are or with chutneys, I like them with coconut chutney.