To start making Masala Vada Curry Recipe/Chana Dal Vada Curry Recipe, wash and soak the chana dal thoroughly for 2 hours.
After soaking the dal, coarsely grind the dal with the base ingredients (dry red chillies, curry leaves, fennel seeds and salt). Just sprinkle some water while grinding, the masala vada batter should be thick.
Spoon the masala vada batter onto the Idli plate and steam it like you would steam Idli. Alternatively, you can also take the Vada batter in a paniyaram pan, add a little oil and fry until brown and crispy. The latter brings a delicious flavor to the Masala Vada Curry.
Make sure to drizzle oil while frying vada in paniyaram pan.
In the meantime, we can start making the curry. Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat and add whole black peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon, bay leaves, chopped green chillies, curry leaves, ginger, garlic and onions. If you want the green chili peppers to be less spicy, be sure to remove some of the seeds.
Once the onions turn golden brown, add the tomato puree and all the masala powder – turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder, chilli powder and salt. Cook until the masala curry boils, 2 to 3 minutes.
Add required water and let the curry masala cook for a few minutes. Once the masala is cooked, add the masala vada to the curry mixture.
Cover and cook masala vada curry on medium flame. The masala vada curry will absorb all the moisture and become sticky. This takes approximately 5 to 7 minutes.
Finally add chopped mint leaves, stir the masala vada curry and serve.
Serve with Masala Vada Curry tava paratha, Palak Raita and Satvik Carrot Sprouts Salad A weekday meal.You can also serve this curry with Ghee baked dosa or a Karnataka Style Meal Dosa Recipe
