Vengaya vadai

Vadai - Deep fried Indian spicy doughnut; vengayam (Tamil) - onion.

This is another version of masal vadai with more onion. It is a popular snack in the tea stalls of Tamilnadu and Kerala.

Click to read and enjoy the old Tamil song behind:)

Ingredients:

Channa dhal / Bengal gram lentil - 3/4 cup
Red onion - 3 (medium size)
salt - to taste
green chilies - 3 (chopped)
fresh ginger - 1 inch
curry leaves- 1 sprig
fennel seeds (peruncheeragam/ sombu)- 1/2 tbsp
dry red chillies - 3
cooking oil-250 ml. (for deep frying)

Method:

Soak the dhal for 1 hour in cold water.
Grind dhal with red chillies, salt, ginger,fennel seeds to a coarse mixture without any water.
Chop the onion finely by hand (not in chopper, as it will yield more water to batter and a dark vadai).
In a mixing bowl add the dhal mixture, chopped onions, finely chopped green chilly and curry leaves. Mix well .
Heat oil in a frying pan. Wait till it is hot.
Take a lemon size ball of the mixture, slightly flatten in the palm of your hand and then carefully put the vadai in hot oil . Keep flame in medium heat.
Deep fry on both sides to a golden brown color to mild red color.
Remove the onion vadai , drain oil by placing over a  paper towel .

Serving suggestions:

Makes 12 big size vengaya vadai.
Serve hot with Coconut chutney.
Serve with tea or coffee.

Healthy version:
Add 2 tbsp oil to the batter and shape them into thin vadai.
Bake them at 350 deg C for 15 minutes , flip and bake for 5 minutes or till done.

Note:

This batter cannot be refrigerated after adding onion (otherwise the vadai will get dark while frying).