Moong Dal Vada (Pakoda)
Moong dal vada, a quick and tasty vegetarian Indian snack is one of the famous street foods in Gujarat which is usually served with tea or coffee during cold rainy days. It is also known as moong dal pakoda and moong dal bhajiya in different parts of India. In this recipe, moong dal (split yellow or green lentils), onion, ginger and green chilli are used to make this crispy and spicy deep fried fritters.
| Ingredients: |
| 1 cup Moong Dal (split green gram with or without skin) |
| 1 medium Onion, finely chopped |
| 1 teaspoon chopped Ginger (1/2 inch piece) |
| 2 Green Chillis, chopped (more or less as per the spiciness) |
| 2-4 tablespoons finely chopped Coriander Leaves |
| 1/8 teaspoon Baking Soda (check the quantity) |
| 1 teaspoon Cumin Seeds |
| Salt, to taste |
| Oil, for deep frying |
Directions:
- Wash the moong dal in water for 2-3 times.
- Soak it in enough water for 3-4 hours. After 3-4 hours, drain excess water from the soaked dal.
- Take a small or a big jar of the mixer grinder. Add 1 teaspoon chopped ginger and 2 green chillis.
- Add soaked and drained moong dal.
- Grind it in a grinder or food processor until medium coarse texture. If required, add 1-2 tablespoons water while grinding. Don’t add too much water.
- Transfer it to a medium size bowl. Add 1 finely chopped onion, 3-4 tablespoons finely chopped coriander leaves, 1/8 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon cumin seeds and salt to taste.
- Mix well. If required, add a little bit of water to make a little soft batter (keep it thicker than bhajii batter). (If the batter turns runny, add a few teaspoons of gram flour (chickpea flour) or rice flour or semolina (sooji/rava) to make a little bit thick batter).
- Heat oil in a deep kadai over medium flame for deep frying. When oil is medium hot, drop a small portion of batter into the oil and if it comes upward without changing the color then it is ready for deep frying. If it turns brown immediately then oil is too hot. When oil is medium hot, drop 6-7 small lemon sized amount of batter in oil using your hand or a spoon.
- Deep fry them until light golden brown and crispy.
- Remove them from oil using a slotted spoon and transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper. Do the same process for the remaining batter. Hot Moong Dal Vada are ready. Serve them hot with tomato ketchup and green coriander chutney.
Tips and Variations:
- If you are in rush then soak moong dal in hot water for 1 hour instead of soaking for 3 hours in step-1.
- Vada tastes best when they are hot.
- Do not add more water while grinding otherwise batter will become too watery. If it happens then add little amount of rice flour or gram flour or semolina (sooji/rava) tto adjust the consistency of batter.
- Drop a small amount of batter in oil and check, if it immediately comes on the surface and does not change the colour then oil is ready. If it turns brown immediately then oil is too hot.
- Do not fry vada on very high flame otherwise, they will turn brown from outside and remain uncooked from inside.
Taste: Crispy from outside and soft from inside
Serving Ideas: Serve this vada with hot tea or coffee as an evening snack. It can also be served with sliced onion and fried green chilli.