Chana Dal Vada Curry Recipe

Chana Dal vada Curry also known as the Masala Vada curry is a delicious South Indian curry made from masala vada cooked in tomato onion gravy.

Chana Dal Vada Curry is a delicious and one of the best side dish for Idli/Dosa/Chapati. This curry is mostly made in north eastern parts of Tamil Nadu. It is packed with proteins and the goodness of Indian spices.

Traditionally, this dish is made with deep-fried masala vadas. But, this one is made out of steamed vadas which is much simpler and healthier.

Serve Chana Dal Vada Curry along with Tawa Paratha, Palak Raita 

How to make Masala Vada Curry Recipe - Chana Dal Vada Curry Recipe

1. To begin making the Masala Vada Curry Recipe/ Chana Dal Vada Curry recipe, thoroughly wash and soak chana dal for 2 hours.
2. Once the dal is soaked, coarse grind chana dal with the ingredients for making the base (dry red chili, curry leaves, fennel seeds and salt). Just sprinkle water while grinding, the masala vada batter should be thick.
3. Spoon the masala vada batter on a Idli plates and steam it exactly like how we steam Idli. The steamed masala vada should be ready in 10-15 minutes.
4. Meantime, we can start making the curry. Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan, add whole black pepper, cloves, bay leaf, cumin seeds, slit green chili, curry leaves and sliced onions. Make sure to remove few seeds from green chili if you want to make it less spicy.
5. Once the onion turn golden, add ginger garlic paste and chopped tomatoes. Let the tomatoes to become mushy.
6. Add all the masala powders - turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, kashmiri chili powder and salt. Let it cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
7. Add required water and let the Curry masala cook for a few minutes. Once the masala is cooked, crumble and add the steamed masala vada (from step 3).
8. Cover it with a lid and cook the Masala Vada Curry on a medium flame. The curry will absorb all the water and become thick. This will take around 5 to 7 minutes.
9. Finally add chopped mint leaves, coriander leaves and ghee. Give the Masala Vada Curry a stir and serve.
10. Serve Chana Dal Vada Curry along with Tawa Paratha, Palak Raita 

Ingredients

To make the base for the curry

• 1/2 cup Chana dal (Bengal Gram Dal)
• 1 Dry red chilli
• 5 Curry leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon Fennel seeds (Saunf)

To make the curry

• 2 teaspoons Cooking oil
• 1 teaspoon Ghee , adjustable
• 2 Cloves (Laung)
• 2 Whole Black Pepper Corns
• 1/2 teaspoon Cumin (Jeera) seeds
• 1 Bay leaf (tej patta)
• 1 Green Chilli , slit
• 5 Curry leaves
• 1 Onion , sliced
• Ginger Garlic Paste , as required
• 3 Tomatoes , chopped
• 1/4 Turmeric powder (Haldi)
• 1/2 Red chilli powder
• 1 Coriander (Dhania) Powder
• 1/2 Kashmiri red chilli powder
• Salt , to taste
• 7 Mint Leaves (Pudina)
• Coriander (Dhania) Leaves , chopped, as required