Perfect to enjoy as a crunchy mid-day or evening snack, this protein-rich dal vada recipe is an absolute must-try. The vadas are super flavorful and crunchy, and you can batch make them too!
Tempted enough to give the recipe a try? Here’s all you need to know about making them the right way.
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Ingredients For the Recipe
You’ll need just a few simple pantry essentials to put the dal vada together.
For the Vadas
- Chana dal (split chickpea): ½ cup
- Water: For soaking
- Cumin seeds: 1 tsp
- Cumin powder: 1 tsp
- Coriander powder: 1 tsp
- Red chili powder: 1 tsp
- Asafoetida: A pinch
- Salt: 1 tsp
- Turmeric powder: ½ tsp
- Green chilies: 2
- Ginger garlic paste: 1 tbsp
- Coriander leaves: A bunch
- Onions (finely chopped): ½ cup
- Curry leaves (finely chopped): ¼ cup
- Rice flour: ¾ cup
For the Green chutney
- Coriander leaves: A bunch
- Mint leaves: ½ cup
- Garlic cloves: 8-10
- Green chilies: 2-3
- Salt: 2 tsps or as per taste
- Lemon juice: Half a lemon
How to Make the Dal Vada
Making the dal vada is a super easy process. Just follow these simple steps and you're sorted.
Soak the chana dal for 1-2 hours or until they double in size.
Next, drain the water and transfer the chana dal into a blender.
Add cumin seeds, cumin powder, coriander powder, red chili powder, asafoetida, salt, turmeric powder, green chilies, ginger-garlic paste, and coriander leaves into the blender.
Make it into a coarse powder-like mixture with minimal addition of water.
Preheat the air fryer to 400°F for 5 minutes.
Next, transfer the content of the blender into a bowl. Add finely chopped onions, curry leaves, and rice flour. Mix well.
Coat your hands with oil and start shaping the vadas by taking a small portion of the mixture and shaping it into a round disc. Make as many as you can with the mixture you have.
Spray the air fryer basket with oil.
Next, place the pieces in the air fryer basket, spray a bit of oil on them, and cook them at 400°F for 8-10 minutes.
You can flip them once in between so that they are cooked well.
For the green chutney, blend everything together in a blender. Adjust salt and lemon juice if required.
Serve vadas hot with green chutney and enjoy as an evening snack with tea.
Frequently Asked Questions
This easy dal vada recipe requires the use of simple and classic ingredients that you’re most likely to have in your pantry. However, you don’t necessarily need to stick to using just those- there’s a lot more that you can add to the dal vada mixture.
Chopped veggies like zucchini, carrots, bell peppers, and even spinach can be added to the mixture to make the vadas healthier. 
This dal vada recipe requires the use of chana dal (split chickpeas), but you can actually replicate the same recipe with a lot of other dals too. In fact, you can also use a combination of two or more dals and enjoy the unique taste and flavor of your fritters. 
The consistency of the vada mixture needs to be just right- if the mixture is too watery, your vadas won’t be shaped properly, and they’ll end up absorbing a lot of oil while they are being fried.
If your vada mixture has turned out runny, you can add a spoonful of chickpea or rice flour into it and give it a good mix. Check the texture once again and add more of the flour if needed. It is also a good idea to adjust the amount of salt and seasonings you have added in, to compensate for the addition of the flour. 
Any leftover dal vadas can be refrigerated for upto 5 days. Just make sure you use an airtight container or a Ziploc bag to store them and reheat them in the microwave to enjoy the perfect texture and flavor.
You can also make the batter in a big batch (minus the onions and other veggies), and refrigerate it. Then, when you want to fry the vadas, you have the batter ready to be used. 
Tips & Tricks to Make the Dal Vada
Making the dal vadas may be a super simple and straightforward process, but you might want to keep these additional tips and hacks in mind to make sure you nail the recipe.
- While the recipe calls for the lentils to be soaked for just a couple of hours, it is always a great idea to let them soak overnight. Not only will this help them cook much faster, but will also reduce the phytic acid content in them, which will make them easier to digest and for their nutrients to be absorbed by the body.
- Once you add the onions (and any other veggies) into the mixture, fry the vadas immediately. Remember that veggies tend to lose water once they are added to the mix, and letting the mixture stay that way for a while can cause it to become loose and runny.
- If you are deep-frying the vadas, always fry the vadas on medium heat- this will ensure that they are cooked to perfection- crunchy from the outside and super soft on the inside.
- Fancy an extra crispy and crunchy texture to your vadas? Once they are shaped, coat them in some dry roasted semolina or rice flour and then fry them.
- You can also add some chopped mint leaves into the dal vada mixture to make the vadas more flavorful and fresh.
Serving Ideas & Suggestions
There’s nothing like a batch of hot and crispy dal vadas served with some delicious green chutney on the side. If you’re not too keen on making the chutney, you can serve them with some tomato ketchup or mustard, or any other dip of your choice.
Loved whipping up this delicious snack? On the hunt for some more easy snack recipes that you can try your hands at? Here are a few handpicked ones you need to try out.
📖 Recipe
Dal Vada with Green Chutney: Indian Chickpea Fritters
Ingredients
Ingredients for the Vadas
- ½ cup Chana dal , (split chickpea)
- 3 cup Water, (For soaking)
- 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon Cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon Coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon Red chili powder
- 1 pinch Aesofetida
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric powder
- 2 pcs Green chilies
- 1 tablespoon Ginger garlic paste
- 1 bunch Coriander leaves
- ½ cup Onions , (finely chopped)
- ¼ cup Curry leaves , (finely chopped)
- ¾ cup Rice flour
Ingredints for the Green chutney
- 1 bunch Coriander leaves
- ½ cup Mint leaves
- 10 pcs Garlic cloves
- 3 pcs Green chilies
- 2 teaspoon Salt
- ½ pcs Lemon juice
Instructions
- Soak the chana dal for 1-2 hoursor until they double in size.
- Next, drain the water and transferthe chana dal into a blender.
- Add cumin seeds, cumin powder,coriander powder, red chili powder, aesofetida, salt, turmeric powder, greenchilies, ginger garlic paste, and coriander leaves into the blender.
- Make it into a coarse powder-likemixture with minimal addition of water.
- Pre-heat the air fryer at 400° Ffor 5 minutes.
- Next, transfer the content of theblender into a bowl. Add finely chopped onions, curry leaves, and rice flour.Mix well.
- Coat your hands with oil and stratshaping the vadas by taking a small portion of the mixture and shaping it intoa round disc. Make as many as you can with the mixture you have.
- Spray the air fryer basket withoil.
- Next, place the pieces in the airfryer basket, spray a bit of oil on them, and cook them at 400°F for 8-10minutes.
- You can flip them once in betweenso that they are cooked well.
- For the green chutney, blendeverything together in a blender. Adjust salt and lemon juice if required.
- Serve vadas hot with green chutneyand enjoy as an evening snack with tea.
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