Paruppu Vadai

Name: Paruppu Vadai
Yield: Makes 18-20
Cuisine: Sri Lanka
Ingredients: 1 sprig curry leaves, leaves picked and finely chopped; 1 teaspoon fennel seeds; ½ long green chilli*, finely chopped; vegetable oil, for deep-frying; about 1 tablespoon plain flour (optional); 4 dried long red chillies*, stalks removed and chopped; 1 red onion*, finely chopped; 400 g (14 oz/2 cups) chana dhal*, soaked in water for 4 hours; 1½ teaspoons salt; 1 teaspoon cumin seeds; 4 cloves garlic, ground into a paste

Preparation info

Makes
18-20

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Hidden Kitchens of Sri Lanka

By Bree Hutchins

Published 2013

About

Vadai is a savoury snack, or ‘short eat’ as Sri Lankans call them, made from deep-fried pulses. There is paruppu vadai made from chana dhal and ulundu vadai made from black gram. Malathi made her vadai from chana dhal; they were incredibly moreish, especially when accompanied with a cup of hot, sweet milky tea.

Ingredients

400 g (14 oz/2 cups) chana dhal*, soaked in water for 4 hours

Asia
Sri Lanka
Punkudutivu
Jaffna
Savoury
Snack
Spicy
Vegetarian

Method

Drain the soaked dhal, then rinse and drain again thoroughly. Using a food processor, process the dhal into a coarse paste (without adding any water). Transfer to a large bowl and set aside.

Pulse the chopped onion in the processor for a few seconds, then transfer to a small bowl and add the garlic paste, dried chillies, green chilli, curry leaves, fennel seeds, cumin s