Dal/Chana Vada ....Lentil fritters

Ingredients:

•  Channa Dal  - 2 cups
•  Toor Dal - a handful
• Red chillies - 4 to 6  adjust spice
• Salt - to taste
• Ginger grated - 2 tsp
• Grated coconut - 3 TBSP (optional)
• Turmeric - half tsp
• Coriander and curry leaves
• Oil - to deep fry

Method:
1) Wash and soak the dals separately with the red chillies for 45 mins - 1 hr.
2) Drain completely. 

3) Now keeping aside a handful or two of the soaked dal, grind the rest of the dals with turmeric, grated coconut, ginger, chillies to a coarse paste without ANY water. Remove to a bowl.

3) Now to the pulsed paste, add the whole soaked dals, salt, coriander and curry leaves and mix well. Do not add water at any stage, except while soaking as the vadais will go runny as well as absorb extra oil.

4) Cover the lentil dough with cling wrap and refrigerate for a max of 20 mins (this helps me every time as the salt coagulates under refrigeration and the vadais turn very crispy).
5) Divide into equal lemon sized balls and pat gently into a small patty. Makes 20- 25 approx. Heat the oil meanwhile for frying.

6) To check if the oil is hot, pinch out a small dough into the oil. If it rises to the top immediately, it is ready. 
7) Move the flame to medium-high now, and slide the vadais in batches. Fry on this heat only for perfect vadais.
8) Serve hot with a cup of tea 


TIP : If you are making vadais for a party , and need to refry them again just before serving, fry it on low heat once. Remove on a tissue paper. Cool in a glass / stainless steel vessel with a light tissue paper. Re-fry again jsut before serving on medium-high heat just before serving