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Served simply in a newspaper with a generous topping of sliced onions and fried green chillies, Dal Vada is one of the most popular snacks from Ahmedabad. Whether you are a student in the city living on a budget or an office worker on your way back home, picking up a fresh serving of Dal Vadas is something every true-blue Amdavadi does. The locals are so used to eating this dish with onions and chillies that unlike most Indian pakodas, these Dal Vada don’t necessarily require any chutney on the side.
One major reason for this is that Dal Vada is a street-style snack for Amdavadis on the go, and chutneys can get messy. The second reason is that Dal Vadas are flavour bombs that have everything a chutney could offer anyways! No, this does not mean that these very Gujarati Pakodas are packed with too many spices. In fact, Dal Vada is a simple lentil-based fritter that barely requires too many ingredients. Instead, this snack depends on the natural flavours of green moong dal, also known as Chilkewali Moong Dal.
Because Dal Vada is basically made of green moong dal, you need a few hours or proper foresight to prepare this dish. This moong dal needs at least four to five hours of soaking to get to a stage where you can rub the skin off and start with making the Dal Vada batter. The batter itself is quite simple, and requires ingredients like asafoetida, ginger, green chillies and plenty of coriander leaves. The soaked green moong is naturally soft and makes for delicious, fluffy and crispy Dal Vadas.
If you are looking for a new snack to try every evening, then these Dal Vadas from Ahmedabad should be on your list. Packed with plenty of proteins and carbs from the lentils, along with minerals and antioxidants, this dish is one that packs a punch of health as well as taste. Here’s the recipe.
Image courtesy: Facebook/Talking Street
Ingredients:
1 cup green moong dal
2-3 green chillies, finely chopped
1 tsp ginger, grated
½ tsp asafaoetida
2 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped
Salt, to taste
Water, as required
Oil, for frying
Sliced onions, for garnish
Fried green chillies, for garnish
Method:
1. Soak the green moong dal in plenty of water for 4-5 hours or overnight.
2. After soaking it, rub the moong dal between your hands until the green skin comes off.
3. Keep rubbing until 70 per cent of the skin comes off.
4. Transfer the soaked dal into a grinder and add a teaspoon of water to make a fine paste.
5. Place the batter in a bowl, then add green chillies, ginger, asafoetida, coriander leaves and salt. Mix well.
6. Heat oil in a wok and add the batter to make small, round vadas.
7. Fry the vadas until golden brown then remove onto a paper towel.
8. Serve hot with sliced onions and fried green chillies on the side.
