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    Home » Air fryer Recipes » Air Fryer Indian Recipes

    Chana Dal Vada Recipe | Masala Vada Recipe (Step-by-step Recipe + video)

    By Rachna Published: Jan 25, 2017 · Modified: May 25, 2022 19 Comments

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    This chana dal vada or masala vada is a very popular snack in South India. It is also known as ambode in Karnataka or paruppu vadai.

    Traditionally these vadas are deep-fried but I make chana dal vadas in Air fryer with very little oil.

    You can also make them in appe or paniyaram pan or microwave as well.

    This is made on festivals and special occasions or when relatives or friends visit.

    It is a favourite of all of us in the family so it was imperative that I learned the recipe and cooked it at home.

    How to Make Masala Vada

    You need soaked chana dal, spices and herbs. It is a pretty simple recipe and you can substitute herbs depending upon what is available.

    Dill really does add a lot of flavour to the vadas, but I have managed without it when it's not available.

    You can use the same recipe with other dals like moong dal (small yellow lentils), orange or red lentils (masoor dal) etc. but the traditional recipe calls for chana dal (or split gram or chickpeas).

    How to Make masala vada Pictures

    Soak chana dal for 4 hours in water. Drain well and keep aside. Blend the dal coarsely in a blender without any water. Let a few lentils remain whole.

    Add chopped chillies, ginger, curry leaves, dill, cilantro and chopped onion.

    Mix well.

    Add salt and form thin round patties or vadas with your hands.

    Preheat Air fryer to 180 C or 360 F for 5 minutes. Brush the basket with oil. Lay the vadas on it and brush once with oil.

    Cook for about 10 minutes at 180 C. Flip vadas.

    Brush again with oil if needed. Increase the temp to 200 C or 390 F and cook for 4-5 minutes more till they are golden brown and cooked.

    Your crunchy masala vadas in Air fryer are ready. Serve hot with ketchup or chutney as a healthy snack.

    This is a vegan healthy Indian air fryer recipe. If you liked this recipe, I request you to leave a star * rating either on the recipe card or in the comments.

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    Here's the recipe card:

    📖 Recipe Card

    Chana Dal Vada | Masala vada South Indian style

    Rachna Parmar
    This tasty chana dal vada or masala vada or ambode is a popular Indian snack. It is very healthy vegan recipe, that you can make deep fried, in Air fryer or in appe pan.
    5 from 9 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save Recipe Saved Recipe
    Prep Time 5 minutes mins
    Cook Time 15 minutes mins
    Soaking time 4 hours hrs
    Total Time 4 hours hrs 20 minutes mins
    Course Accompaniment | Appetizer, Snack
    Cuisine Indian, Karnataka | South Indian
    Servings 4
    Calories 196 kcal

    Equipment

    • Air fryer

    Ingredients
     

    • 1 cup chana dal Split Bengal gram or chickpeas or 250 gm.
    • 1 onion finely chopped
    • 2-3 green chillies finely chopped
    • 2 tbsp. dill leaves finely chopped
    • 1 tbsp. cilantro leaves finely chopped
    • a sprig of curry leaves finely chopped
    • 1 tbsp. ginger finely chopped
    • salt to taste
    • 2 tsp. oil for Air frying more for deep frying

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    Instructions
     

    • Soak chana dal for about 4 hours. Drain water from soaked dal and make sure it is dry.
    • Then coarsely blend the dal in the blender without using water. Leave it slightly coarse. You definitely do not want a paste. So just give a couple of quick blending motions. If some of the lentils remain whole, don't fret. As a matter of fact, that is desirable.
    • Now take out this coarse semi-paste in a container. Add finely chopped ginger, chillies, onion, cilantro, dill and curry leaves with salt to lentil batter. Add everything together and mix with your hand so that it is uniformly distributed. Now make small flat balls using your hands.
    • Use a little oil or water on your palms if the mix sticks though it generally doesn't.

    For Air frying

    • Preheat Air fryer to 180 C or 360 F for 5 minutes. Brush Air fryer basket with oil and line the vadas on it. Brush with oil and cook for about 10 minutes.
    • Turn the vadas in the middle and brush again with oil. Now crank up the temperature to 200 C or 390 F and cook for 4-5 minutes more till the vadas are golden brown. Take them out and serve hot.

    For Deep frying or cooking in Appe pan

    • To deep fry heat the oil to high heat. I use mustard oil because I love its taste but you can use any vegetable oil you like. Deep fry till golden brown ensuring that you reduce the heat to medium high else the outside will be brown too soon while the inside stays uncooked.
    • Now drain them out and serve hot with any chutney or ketchup. This is very filling and incredibly delicious. Enjoy.
    • For appe pan, heat it after brushing the holes with oil. Use a spoon to spoon in vada portions. Lightly brush with oil. Cover and cook on low to medium heat till one side is browned. Flip and apply some more oil and cover and cook. Your golden vadas are ready to serve.

    Notes

    1. Make sure that your lentil mash is very dry. Do not use any water when blending the lentils. A slightly coarse mash is fine.
    2. Always add onion and salt only before you are planning to cook else your vada batter will get soggy.
    3. You can make the lentil mash and store in the fridge for a couple of days. Add onion and salt before frying.
    4. Add green chillies as per taste and how much heat you like.
    5. You can use other lentils like moong dal or orange lentils in the same recipe.
    6. If you make thinner vadas, your vadas will be crisper and air frying time will be lower.
    7. You must eat them right away or they lose their crispness.
    8. No need to flip the vadas midway. You can flip them right towards the end of 10 minute cooking at 360 F. The vadas come out easily and do not stick to the basket at this juncture.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 196kcalCarbohydrates: 33gProtein: 8gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 83mgPotassium: 129mgFiber: 13gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 820IUVitamin C: 12mgCalcium: 102mgIron: 2mg
    Tried this recipe?Let me know on Instagram @rachna.parmar or tag #rachnacooks
    Check out our Food videos Subscribe to our Food channel for recipe videos

    If you liked the recipe, I request you to leave a star * rating. Thanks.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Shilpa Gupte says

      January 25, 2017 at 11:49 am

      Hey, Rachna, your posts on this blog leave me feeling hungry always! Now I just WANT to eat these wadas, with steaming hot sambhar (they taste awesome with sambhar!) or chutney, but I don't want to go make it, I just want it all ready made...that's how famished I feel right now! 😛
      I am going to make these and let you know how it turned out. Just the other day I ate these at the local idli wala and I drooled over the plateful of these wadas he handed me. 😛

      Reply
      • Rachna says

        January 26, 2017 at 4:29 pm

        Awww You are so adorable. I wish I could have sent some over to you. Some day we will have them over a cup or chai or coffee.

        Reply
    2. Beloo Mehra says

      January 25, 2017 at 12:40 pm

      You make it sound so easy and simple, Rachna. I will definitely try making these vadas some day soon. I like these dal vadas much more than the other regular vadas.

      Reply
      • Rachna says

        January 26, 2017 at 4:28 pm

        Me too. And they are actually very easy to rustle up.

        Reply
    3. Beat About The Book says

      January 25, 2017 at 5:47 pm

      These seem so no-fuss. I've had them at some SouthIndian restaurants and love their crunchy texture.

      Reply
      • Rachna says

        January 26, 2017 at 4:28 pm

        They actually are. Just assemble all the ingredients. Nothing complicated here and truly delicious.

        Reply
    4. Rajlakshmi says

      January 25, 2017 at 6:45 pm

      I love mustard oil too, but I haven't seen that here. Loved this... it's my favorite but havn't tried making it at home 😀 Will bookmark this 😀

      Reply
      • Rachna says

        January 26, 2017 at 4:27 pm

        You should. It's really very simple. 🙂

        Reply
    5. Vidya Sury says

      January 26, 2017 at 10:34 pm

      I just love this vada, Rachna. So healthy! By the way, let me share something funny. When Vidur was here for a break, FreshMenu had a falafel dish which he was curious about and wanted to try out. When we ordered it, we were shocked to find 5 tiny masala vadas on top of a rather sad salad. Very disappointing and overpriced.

      You know we call this "aamai vadai" and I don't know why, because aamai means tortoise 🙂
      I am going to make this tomorrow! ♥

      Reply
    6. Nabanita Dhar says

      January 27, 2017 at 9:24 am

      ohh I love these. You give me any kind of vada and I'll be happy. Your post actually reminded me of pusto vada that mom makes. Now I have a craving for some channa dal and pusto vada. 😀

      Reply
      • Rachna says

        January 27, 2017 at 10:48 am

        I totally agree with you. All vadas work. 😀

        Reply
    7. Shilpa Garg says

      January 27, 2017 at 7:28 pm

      Sounds and looks great. We dont use chana dal very frequently. This recipe has inspired me to make the best use of the jar of chana dal that's lying in my kitchen! 🙂

      Reply
      • Rachna says

        January 27, 2017 at 7:28 pm

        Hope you enjoy it. ?

        Reply
    8. Meenu Malhotra says

      January 30, 2017 at 6:09 pm

      Hey Rachna, thanks for sharing this simple & healthy vada recipe. My daughter is fond of vadas. I'll make this for my little one. I haven't tried making it at home, but now I'll do it, hope I'll make it perfectly.

      Reply
    9. Jaibala Rao says

      January 31, 2017 at 10:11 am

      These Vadas are my absolute favourite, though I can never make them right. That is what grand moms are for 🙂 Will try them again now using this recipe.

      Reply
      • Rachna says

        January 31, 2017 at 10:54 am

        The recipe is really easy. You will love it.

        Reply
    10. Lydia says

      February 01, 2021 at 9:41 pm

      Wow, they sound good! I'll have to try this recipe sometime.

      Reply
      • Rachna says

        February 01, 2021 at 10:26 pm

        Thanks Lydia

        Reply
    11. Vani Ramanna Thilagar says

      May 09, 2024 at 9:45 pm

      5 stars
      Healthy recipe! In fact I love all your recipes. Thanks for sharing

      Reply
    5 from 9 votes (8 ratings without comment)

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