Masala Vada

Every morning after getting up from bed, 1st activity of the day is to enter in my kitchen and take a tea-pan in hand. It has been a routine call for me, skipping which I can't expect a good day!!! It happens at times when hubby is in hurry to leave for job, I still manage to have a quick tea-time :) If not, I don't specially make one for me... as I always believe, it's not something you can enjoy alone!!!

But now I wonder if that's the case of morning time only??!!! Naah... Whenever I make it, I expect myself to sip on a cuppa tea n do non-stop chattering with my hubby.. No matter if it's 8 am or 11 pm! :P

I do try a variety of flavors while making tea i.e. Ginger, Cardamom, Mint, Cinnamon, Cream etc.. Even iced/lemon tea is also included in my list! Many a times, it doesn't turn out to be the best... we still love it always! And to add an extra element to those beautiful tea-sessions, I keep a plate of some munching entity around ;) To bite something new, I tried this delicious, crunchy snack - "Masala Vada" and it worked great...

Makes: 12-15 

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup Chana Dal

1 tbsp Rice

2 tsp Besan 

2 tbsp Chopped Onions

1 tsp Ginger Paste

2 tsp Chopped Mint Leaves

1/2 tsp Garam Masala

1/2 tsp Roasted Cumin Powder

1/8 tsp Baking Soda

Salt, to taste

Oil, to deep-fry

STEPS TO FOLLOW:

- Soak chana dal and rice together in a bowl of hot water for 2 hours. Drain excess water out of it.

- Take them in a grinder jar and grind coarsely with minimal use of water (possibly no water).

- Transfer it to a bowl and add rest of all ingredients. 

- Mix everything well and heat oil in a deep pan.

- Make flatten tikkis of a small ball and slide 3-4 carefully at a time in frying pan.

- Deep-fry them till dark brown in color. Take them out on a crumpled paper towel to absorb excess oil.

- Serve hot with onion rings and Coriander-Mint Chutney.

SJ's NOTE:

- Besan can be eliminated completely as soaked chana dal doesn't need much binding. 

- I kept 2 tsp of soaked chana dal aside and added it later while mixing all ingredients for extra crunch!