Name: Tea Kadai Style Masala Vadai recipe by Sandhya Ramakrishnan at BetterButter
Prep time: 120 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 150 min
Yield: 10
Ingredients: Kadalai Paruppu / Channa dal - 1 cup; Thuvaram paruppu/ toor dal- 2 tbsp; Rice flour- 1 tbsp; Green chilies- 2; Red chilies- 2; Mint leaves- 10-15 leaves; Few Cilantro leaves (3-4 stems); Ginger- 1 inch piece; Garlic- 3 cloves; Sombu/fennel seeds- 1 tsp; Onion- 1 large sized (chopped finely); Salt to taste; Oil as required to deep fry

ABOUT Tea Kadai Style Masala Vadai RECIPE

Tea kadais or roadside tea/coffee shops are a common site in every Indian city. The tea and coffee they serve in these shops do have a separate kick to them that we do not get when we make at home. At the same time a bite of the spicy masala vadai and then a sip from the steaming hot tea glass will make every evening a memorable one. I remember my days in post graduation when a tea shop opposite to our college was our meeting place where we used to sit before and after classes (did I miss saying also during classes?).

Ingredients Serving: 10

Kadalai Paruppu / Channa dal - 1 cup
Thuvaram paruppu/ toor dal- 2 tbsp
Rice flour- 1 tbsp
Green chilies- 2
Red chilies- 2
Mint leaves- 10-15 leaves
Few Cilantro leaves (3-4 stems)
Ginger- 1 inch piece
Garlic- 3 cloves
Sombu/fennel seeds- 1 tsp
Onion- 1 large sized (chopped finely)
Salt to taste
Oil as required to deep fry

Instructions

Wash and soak the kadalai paruppu (channa dal) and thuvaram paruppu (toor dal) for a couple of hours. Then drain them in a colander and keep aside.
Meanwhile, grind the fennel seeds, ginger, garlic, mint leaves, cilantro, green chilies and red chilies into a paste.
Now add the soaked and drained dals to the mixer and grind it coarsely without adding any water. If the mixer seems to be getting stuck, add couple of teaspoons of water and then grind.
Make sure that you grind the batter coarsely and not fine. It is absolutely fine to have few pieces of dals left whole. Also add a little salt when grinding.
After grinding leave the batter in the refrigerator for at least half an hour. (This step helps to not soak up lots of oil when deep frying.)
In the meantime, chop the onions finely and add this to the chilled vadai batter. Also add the rice flour and mix everything well.
Heat oil in a kadai. Take a handful of batter in your hand and make a ball out of it. Now flatten the ball using your palm and then drop this into hot oil.
Fry the vadais on both sides until they turn golden brown, then drain them out on paper towels. Note that these vadais are usually a bit on the darker side.
Serve them hot for best taste.

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