Masala Vadai

Once upon a time, there was a paati (grandma) making masala vadai. There was a kaka (crow) that always stole paati's vadais. One day there was a cunning fox crossing the tree where the kaka was sitting with a stolen vadai in his mouth. The fox could smell the wonderful vadai smell and it stirred the appetite in him. He so wanted to eat that vadai. He thought of an evil plan to get the vadai. He told the kaka that the kaka had the most wonderful voice in the forest and asked if he could please sing a beautiful song for him. The kaka was floored by the compliment. He was stupid and opened his mouth to sing the song. And the vadai fell down and the fox picked it up, ate it and ran away!

Moral of the story - Eat your vadai before someone else gets to it! LOL!

And to eat yummy masala vadais, make it fresh at home and sit on your tree with a plate full of it!

Soak Kadala paruppu (Channa Daal) - about 2 cups for about 3-4 hours after washing well.

Just before you are ready to make the vadas, drain all the water out and move the daal to a mixie or blender. Add red chillies, salt and hing. Grind well to make a coarse paste. Don't make it too fine.

Like this.


To this, add fresh chopped green chillies, ginger, cilantro, and onions. Add some peanuts or cashew nuts for a nice crunchy bite.

Mix well. Do not add any water while mixing. Add salt if needed. You can also add a little bit of red chilli powder if you want more heat.

Fry in hot oil till the vadais are nice and golden brown.

There you are.

Sorry I did not get to take more pictures of the vadais finally! You probably know why!


Enjoy! Peace Out!