Vadai are delicious savoury snacks. They come in many forms, the simple fritter, the one that looks like a doughnut and the one with a prawn in it. Vadais are popular across Sri Lanka and South India, often eaten at tea time, when guests come to visit. This is my chana dal recipe (or dhal) for masala vadai, which is probably one of the easiest to make.

Vadai are usually deep fried. For this chana dal recipe, I’ve oven baked the spicy lentil fritters. It cuts the calories while keeping all the taste. It’s a win-win recipe.

What’s the best way to eat a masala vadai?

You eat vadai as a snack, served up with a cup of tea. If that’s not for you, then serve them up with a dip. An easy dip is to whip yoghurt with chopped coriander, chilli and lime. Or, check out my recipe for beetroot raita.
You can add vadai into a salad. Vadai works with fresh tomatoes and cucumber and a dressing made from the spicy yoghurt dip.

7 tips for making the perfect oven-baked masala vadai

It’s important to use the right dal, definitely chana dal (or split chickpeas). I did try red lentils and that was a total disaster!
Soak the chana dal for two hours. Drain the dal well. I drain mine in a colander over the sink. This will help you to form the patties.
Use a food processor to chop the onions, garlic, ginger, chilli spices, and coriander. You’ll get an even consistency.
Maldive fish is optional – if you are vegetarian or vegan, leave it out.
Forming patties is tricky and takes practice. There will be some disasters, so don’t give up. Grab a handful of the dal mixture and mould to the size of a golf ball. Press down to flatten into a chubby disc.
The tricky bit is placing the vadai onto the baking tray without it collapsing. My technique is to place the patty onto a fish slice and then nudge the patty onto the baking tray.
And to prevent the patties from sticking to the baking tray, give it a quick spray with vegetable oil – works a treat!

7 tips for the perfect oven baked chana dal masala vadai you’ll love every time

Author: Tooting Mama
Prep Time: 40
Cook Time: 30
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Yield: 14 1x
Category: Snack
Cuisine: Sri Lankan

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Ingredients

Scale

500g chana dal
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp fennel seeds
8 curry leaves
1 tsp Maldive fish (optional)
1 large red onion
4 cloves of garlic
2 cms ginger
1 green chilli
A handful of finely chopped coriander leaves
Salt
Vegetable oil cooking spray

Instructions

Soak the dhal in a bowl of cold water for two hours before draining and setting it aside
Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celcius
In a small frying pan, on low heat, dry roast the dried spices, and curry leaves. When the fragrance is released from the spices, take off the heat and set it aside
Grind the Maldive fish in a pestle and mortar and set it aside
Take the chana dal, and in a food processor blitz it into a grainy pulp – you should be able to see whole pieces of the dhal within the pulp. Tip this into a bowl
In the food processor blitz the onion, garlic, ginger, green chilli and coriander – again to a pulp and tip into the bowl with the pulped chana dal
Add the spices and the Maldive fish into the bowl with the chana dhal, add a little salt to taste
Using your hands mix everything together
Again using your hands mould the chana dal mix to a golf-ball sized ball then flatten to chubby disc. You’ll need to give the lentils a good squish and a squeeze for the chana dal to clump together
I place the vadai onto a fish slice then nudge the vadai onto the baking tray, which I’ve sprayed with vegetable oil to prevent sticking
You may need a couple of trays, and pop in the oven and bake for 30 minutes
Take out, leave to cool, whip up a dip, and serve