Parippu / dal vada

Crispy vada served with tea. An eternal deadly combination. (especially when it rains!)
In the following recipe, you will find that I have written 'optional' or 'opt' beside many ingredients. That is because the basic recipe is the same for parippu vada. But you can adjust the other ingredients to suit your family's taste.

Do not play with the basic ingredients though!!

Here I have added spinach to the batter. That is just my addition this time around.

There are lots of additions and subtractions you can do in this recipe. So go ahead and have fun. I have noted down 3 options you can use.

Yield : 15 medium vadas

Basic Ingredients:
Chana dal / kadala parippu - nearly 1 cup

Urad dal / uzhundu - 1 tbsp

Salt - 1tsp

Rice flour - 1 tbsp + more if necessary
Chilli flakes - 1 tsp (or) 2 whole ones
Asafoetida powder - 1 tsp
Oil for Deep Frying

Additional Ingredients:

Coconut - 1 tbsp (opt)

Green chilli - 2 , chopped fine (opt)

Ginger - 1 tsp grated (opt)

Coriander leaf - 1 tbsp (opt)

Curry leaf - 4 sprigs, torn (opt)
Ghee - 1 tsp (opt)
Onion - 1 medium, chopped fine (opt)

(If you using onion in your batter, towards the last batch of frying, you might have to add 1 tsp more of rice flour, as onion leaves water into the dough.)

Can be added ingredients:
Spinach - 6 tbsp (opt) 
or
Cabbage - 1 cup packed (opt)
(add salt to cut cabbage, keep aside 5 minutes and squeeze out water)
or 
Carrot -1 large grated (opt)

Opt 1: I have used only coconut, salt, asafoetida, chilli flakes and ghee with my chopped spinach.
Opt 2: I have made parippu vada with chilli flakes, green chilli, ginger, onion, curry leaf, asafoetida and coriander leaf.
Opt 3: During pooja at home, we stick with coconut, red chilli, ginger, curry leaf and ghee.

Soak the 2 dals in water for 3 hours. 

If you are using dried red chilli , keep it soaked with the dals.

Drain well after 3 hours and grind coarsely without adding water.

Add the ingredients you are using except oil and rice flour. Mix well. 

Add rice flour (1/2 tsp at a time) to just dry out the dough a bit.The dough must be wet for you to make a ball which holds shape. You may have to use a little over 1 tbsp of it. 

If you use too much, the batter with become crumbly and you cannot make a vada patty.

Mix well and make small patties using wet hand.

Deep fry in hot oil in batches.

Keep the flame on medium as otherwise the outside will brown and the inside will remain raw.

Serve hot with tea!