MASALA VADA

Ingredients

1. Channa Dal - 1 cup
2. Onion -1 finely chopped
3. Green Chilly -  3 chopped
4. Ginger - 1 small piece
5. Garlic - 4
6. Dry red chilly - 5
7. Fennel seeds - 1 tsp
8. Black Pepper - 1 tsp
9. Coriander seeds - 1 tsp
10. Asa foetida - a pinch
11. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
12. Curry Leaves a few
13. Salt as needed
14. Oil for frying

Method

1. Wash and soak the dal for 2 hrs and drain the water out. After keeping aside 2tbsp of dal, coarsely grind the rest of the dal.
2. Grind red chilly, green chilly, ginger, garlic, fennel, coriander, black pepper and curry leaves together to a coarse paste, then add salt asafoetida turmeric powder and whole dal, mix well. 
3. Add the above mix to the ground dal paste, mix all the ingredients very well.
4. Heat oil in a pan for deep frying. Apply some oil on your palms and take a small portion of the dal mix and make like  small patties and gently slide  one after another (3 in each batch) into the oil on medium flame. 
5. Do not disturb them after putting into  the oil until they become firm, then flip them to the other side.  Fry until the vadas become golden and crisp on both sides, then take them out and place on a tissue paper. Make sure that the oil is hot enough and not too hot to fry.
6. Serve hot as evening snack.