Dal Vada (Lentil Fritters)

Deep fried dal vada with crispy, golden brown exterior placed in a woven basket.

Course: Appetizer, Snacks

Cuisine: Indian, South Asian, Sri Lankan

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Prep Time: 55

Cook Time: 15

Total inactive time: 45

Total Time: 1 10

Servings: vada

Calories: 70kcal

Author: Dini Kodippili

Crispy, golden brown, deep fried lentil fritters with a soft, delicious, curry flavored lentil filling, these dal vada are a famous street food and savory snack in South Asia!

EASY - Easy recipe, but requires deep frying. Very versatile and can be made in large batches for freezing. Great as a party appetizer or tea time snack.

Makes 20 medium vada or 40 bite-sized vada.

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Ingredients

360 g dried red lentils 2 cups (see recipe notes)
1 small onion about 100 g (yellow or red onion can be used)
3 - 4 small green chili or 2 serrano peppers
3 - 4 red chili optional, or 2 finger red peppers
3 cloves garlic
½ inch ginger skin removed
10 curry leaves
¼ cup cilantro known as coriander leaves in South Asia
1 tsp Sri Lankan curry powder or use garam masala
1 ¼ tsp sea salt adjust to your taste
1 pinch hing optional
Vegetable oil for deep frying

Instructions

Making the spiced lentil mixture for vada

Place the lentils in a sieve, and rinse and wash the lentils until the water runs clear.
360 g dried red lentils
Transfer the lentils into a large container and completely cover the lentils with room temperature water (add enough water for the lentils to double in size).
Let it soak for a minimum of 1 hour (or up to 2 hours).
When the lentils are almost ready, chop and prepare the rest of the ingredients.
Finely chop the onion, curry leaves, and cilantro. Set aside.
1 small onion, 10 curry leaves, ¼ cup cilantro
Roughly chop the garlic and ginger. Set aside.
3 cloves garlic, ½ inch ginger
If you’re using chili, you can remove the seeds to reduce the heat if you prefer. Finely chop the chili and set aside.
3 - 4 small green chili, 3 - 4 red chili
Strain the soaked lentils through a sieve. Let the excess water strain through the sieve over a bowl to remove as much water as possible. I like to place the lentils on a clean paper towel or cloth napkin to remove excess water.
Set aside about ¼ - ⅓ of the soaked lentils in a bowl.
Place the remaining soaked lentils in the blender jug and add the chopped garlic and ginger.
3 cloves garlic, ½ inch ginger
Blend until the lentil mixture is fairly smooth, and the garlic and ginger are blended well, with some lentil pieces still visible.
Add the remaining lentils into the mixture and pulse a few times only. This will help to yield a coarser texture to the lentil mixture. Scrape all of the mixture into a bowl.
Add the finely chopped onion, chili, curry leaves, cilantro, curry powder, salt, and hing (if using).
1 small onion, 3 - 4 small green chili, 3 - 4 red chili, 1 tsp Sri Lankan curry powder, 1 ¼ tsp sea salt, 1 pinch hing
Mix well to combine. The mixture should look a little coarse and a little stiff when formed into a ball. If the mixture is very soft, then there might be too much water in the mixture. Please see recipe notes below on how to fix this.

Shaping the vada

When the mixture is ready, you can start shaping and frying them. I like to shape them as I fry them, but you can also shape them all first, and then fry them after as well.
To prevent the batter sticking to your hands, keep your hands slightly wet. You can also use a cookie scoop to make sure the portions are even, if you like.
For small vada, portion about 1.5 - 2 tbsp (about 15 g) into a ball. Then slightly flatten it. It should still be about ¾ - 1 inch thick.
For medium vada, portion about 3 - 3.5 tbsp (about 30 g) of the mixture and shape into a ball. Then slightly flatten it. It should also still be about ¾ - 1 inch thick.

Frying the vada

In a pot, place the oil for deep frying. For even frying, the vada should be able to float in the oil without touching the bottom.
Vegetable oil
Heat the oil over medium heat until it reaches about 350°F / 180°C. Carefully drop the vada into the oil to fry them. Do not overcrowd the pot as this will lower the temperature of the oil (and make the vada oily and soggy).
Fry the vada for about 1.5 - 2 minutes (for small ones), 2 - 2.5 minutes (for medium-sized ones). Until they are a dark golden brown on the outside, and cooked through on the inside.
Break the first fried fritter in half to make sure the inside is evenly cooked. If it's undercooked or raw in the middle, you may need to adjust the oil temperature and frying time to get the correct results.
Place the fried vada in a paper towel lined sieve to drain excess oil. Let it cool down slightly.
Serve while still warm (ideally with green coconut chutney).

Notes

Chili

I add red chili and green chili for flavor and color. You can add red OR green chili, or both if you like. If you don't like spicy food, or if you're making these for kids as well, you can leave out the red and green chili.

Lentils

I like to use 270 g / 1.5 cups of red lentils and about 90 g / 0.5 cup of split yellow peas (as seen in pictures in the post), but this is optional. You can just use red lentils.

Soaked lentils

The soaked red lentils weigh about 550 g in this recipe (water weight of 190 g).

Overnight storing

Once you've made the dal vada mixture, you can store it in the fridge for up to 24 hours. I like to let it sit in the fridge overnight, as it allows the lentils to absorb more of the flavors and salt.

Mixture is too soft

If your mixture has too much water, it'll have a very soft texture, and will be floppy when formed into shapes. Storing this overnight will allow this excess water to be drained as well.

To do so, place a cloth napkin or multiple layers of paper towels in a large bowl or container. Scrape the lentil mixture into the napkin or paper towels and fold over the edges to fully cover the mixture. Cover this with a lid or plastic wrap and place in the fridge. The napkin will absorb the excess water overnight.

Extra information

Step by step recipe instructions with images

Storage tips

Recipe tips

Nutrition