Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Paruppa(Channa Dhal) Vada



Paruppa Vada is a  very popular snack of South India and one of my favorites. This is also called as Masala Vada. Best way to enjoy this is with a cup of tea or coffee.

INGRDIENTS:

Channa dhal - 1 cup
Red Onion - 1
Green chillies - 3-4
Ginger - 1-1 1/2" long
Curry leaves - few sprigs
Chilli powder - 1-2 tsp
Fennel powder - 1/2-1 tsp
Asafoetida powder - 1/2 tsp
Vegetable oil for deep frying
Salt to taste


PREPARATION:

Soak Channa dhal in water for few hours (4-5hrs min). Drain the water completely.
Keep aside a tablespoon of the soaked  Channa dhal  and some Curry leaves. This is to make sure that you have some whole Channa dhal and some whole Curry leaves in the Vadas and it basically gives it a good appearance.
Roughly chop the onion, ginger and green chillies.

Grind all the remaining Channa dhal in the food processor. Try not to add any water or else the batter will not stick together during the frying process. Now add the roughly chopped onion, green chillies, ginger, curry leaves to the food processor and pulse it until everything gets mixed well. Add the chilli powder, fennel powder, asafoetida powder and salt and pulse it again. Transfer the mixture to a bowl. Now add the Channa dhal and the curry leaves that you had kept aside. Make sure everything is incorporated well.  Let it rest for 15-20 minutes.

Heat some oil in a deep frying pan. Keep it at medium heat. Make sure the oil is not very hot. If the oil is  too hot, it will prevent the inside part of the Vadas from getting cooked and the outer part will only get burned.

Make small balls out of the mixture and flatten them slightly with your hands. Now slowly drop it into the heated oil. Make sure both sides get cooked properly. Take them out when it has attained golden brown in color. Enjoy !