Masala Vadai Recipe - Paruppu Vadai Recipe - Spiced Dal Patties

Crispy delicious Masala vadai recipe made out of dal is one of the very special recipes of South Indians. This occupy a place in almost all function lunch menus and as a snack crunch for evening tea time. Here I am giving step by step procedure with wonderful pictures for preparing this recipe in your home as a snack or when guest arrives.

This Masala vadai is prepared by using dal so it is always called as parrupu vadai or as masala parrupu vadai. In this recipe I used the dal called pattani parrupu which is also called as Split yellow peas dal or as vadai parrupu. This vadai(patties) can also be prepared by kadalai parrupu (channa dal) instead of pattani parrupu. So dont worry if you not having pattani parrupu you can make this recipe using channa dal also. I prefer using pattani parrupu as it tastes good and it gives you a nice crispiness to the vadai. Don't worry there are also a way to make your channa dal vadai also crispier by adding tbsp of rice flour. You can add rice flour to both vadai irrespective of dal you using to get crispier. But today I didn't use rice flour and I made the vada using pattani parrupu.

In all south Indian meal this vadai will be the compulsory item in all functions and also when guest arrives for lunch. There is also a tradition in most south Indian homes that whenever guest arrives they wont serve lunch without vadai and payasam. This also goes very well as tea time snacks.

There are different types of vadai we can prepare like urad dal vadai, plain dal vadai, sago vadai etc. I try to post different types of vadai soon. Here in this vadai we will be adding some ingredients like sombu (fennel seeds), ginger, garlic and some more ingredients which converts it into a mouth watering recipe.

Ingredients for Masala Vadai Recipe: To grind: Pattani Parrupu (split yellow peas dal or vada parrupu)-  1 cup (If you not having the above dal you can use Channa Dal / Kadalai parrupu – 1 cup) Green Chilli – 3 nos Ginger – 2 inch Garlic – 5 to 6 cloves Fennel seeds/Sombu – 1 tsp Cinnamon stick - 2 inch Cloves - 3 nos  Salt to taste Oil for deep frying For Mixing: Pattani parrupu  – 5 to 6 tbsp from soaked kept aside without grinding Small Onions – 10 or Big Onion – 1 chopped Curry leaves few Coriander leaves few

Method:

• Soak dal in water for about 1 to 2 hours. After that strain it in a colander until all the water are drained (This will prevent it from excess water in the vadai batter which will affect the final outcome of vadai).
• Reserve 5 to 6 tbsp of dal for later use.
  
• I used grinder to grind dal you can use mixie also. If you using mixie, just put the dal in pulse to get a coarse texture. Also when you using mixie after every single pulse make sure that you mix the dal otherwise lower dal will get soft as compared to dal present in the upper layer.
• First grind masala and then grind dal.
• Grind garlic, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, fennel seeds (I used powder, you can use seeds also) and green chillies.
• After masala grinded add dal and grind it to a coarse texture without adding water. It will take just 1 to 2 minutes.This is the important step in this recipe. Texture is very important for the final outcome of vadai.
  
  
  
• After it is grinded to a coarse texture add  coriander leaves, curry leaves.
  
• Add chopped small onions (small onions gives better taste than big onions), soaked dal and mix well.
• Keep water by side and wet your hands, make round shape and flatten like patties as shown in the picture.
• At the same time heat oil in a kadai for deep frying.
  
• Before dropping the vadai in the oil, make sure oil is in right temperature. To check that take little vadai batter and drop it in oil, it should soon rise to the top. The oil should not be very hot too.
• After oil comes to right temperature drop the vadai for deep frying.  There will be more bubbles to the side of the vadai. As the vadai cooks there will be very less bubbles that time you take out the vadai.  At this stage vadai will be nice golden color.
  
• Serve with lunch or as a tea time snacks.
  

Note:

• When you drop the patties in the oil, the oil should be at right temperature. After you dropped all patties reduce the flame to medium and cook. If not the outer portion will get cooked soon as compared to inner portion.
• Flip the vadai while frying for even cooking.
• If the batter has excess water you cant be able to shape the patties. To overcome, you can add rice flour. This will also gives crispiness to the vadai.