Swaadista

Dill masala vada, or sabsige masala vade, is a tasty and crispy snack that’s popular in southern India. These little treats are made from chana dal (split chickpeas), chopped onions, fresh dill(sabsige soppu in kannada), and a few spices that give them a nice kick without being too spicy.

They’re often enjoyed on the side with rice-dal, and even with Idli and Chutney. However, they also make a fabulous evening snack too, especially when paired with hot chai or tea.

While the traditional way to cook these vadas is by deep-frying, you can actually get that same delicious taste and crunch by shallow-frying them. This method uses way less oil, and it’s why I prefer this over the traditional method. But the vadas need to be as thin as possible to cook through.

These delicious shallow-fried dill masala vadas are my family’s favorite, so I make them quite often! I hope you try this recipe and love it as much as we do!

Prep time: 3 hours
Cook time: 30 minutes
Total time: 3 hours 30 minutes
Yield: 10-12 masala vadas

Ingredients:

1 cup or 200g channa dal/ split chickpea, soaked for 3 hours and drained
3 green chilies
2 cloves of garlic
1/4 inch of ginger root
2-3 cloves
1/4 inch cinnamon bark
5 tablespoons of fresh dill, finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
Salt to taste
Cooking oil, enough for shallow frying

Method:

1. Into a blender, add soaked and drained Chana dal, leaving behind 2 tablespoons of it. Add green chilies, garlic, ginger, cloves, and cinnamon. Blend it into a coarse paste by adding 2-3 tbsp of water.

2. Into a mixing bowl, add the coarsely ground paste, plus the 2 tbsp of chana dal previously kept apart, finely chopped onion, dill, and salt to taste. Combine everything to get a well-binding mixture.

3. Pour enough cooking oil to fill the bottom of a frying pan and heat it. Once hot enough, take a golf-sized roundel of the vada mixture, flatten it using your palm, gently place the flattened vada in oil, and shallow fry on low-medium heat on both sides until brown.

4. Carefully remove vadas from the pan and place them on a paper towel to drain out excess oil.
5. Enjoy hot dill masala vada as an evening snack or as a side dish with rice-dal.

Notes:

• Drain water completely from soaked Chana dal else the mixture will become soggy.
• If the mixture becomes soggy, add about 1 tbsp of chickpea flour or rice flour and mix well.
• You can either blend green chilies or finely chop them and add them to the mixture while adding onions and dill.
• Add dill generously. More dill = More tastier the vada!
• You could store the vada mixture in the refrigerator and make fresh vada before consuming. Do not refrigerate vada, they will lose their crunchiness.

If you tried this recipe, let me know how you liked it by leaving a comment below or tagging a picture of your preparation on Instagram @swaadista

Happy cooking, happy eating!