Air Fryer Vada Recipe

For this next recipe, rather than a vegan alternative, I'll be sharing how to make an already vegan dish oil-free! Another South Indian favorite: vada! Made of lentils and normally deep fried, vadas are very tasty, but probably not super healthy because of the deep-frying 😅 So that's why we are going to AIR FRY 😃 I personally like these more too because they're a bit more crunchy (depending on how long you air fry).

Also head over to my Instagram page for more nutrition info about saturated fats and oils! I think this recipe is a fun one, and I hope you enjoy the process too!

Makes: 7 servings

Preparation: Total 6-9 hours

Air Frying: variable, at least 20 minutes

Ingredients

1 rice-cooker-cup of split chickpea dal (chana dal)

1 rice-cooker-cup of black gram dal (urad dal)

1/2 rice-cooker-cup of yellow split lentil (moong dal)

1 medium size onion

1-1.5 inches fresh ginger

8-10 green chilies

1/2 cup mint leaves

3-4 stems of curry leaves

1 teaspoon whole pepper

1-1.5 teaspoons whole cumin seeds

1 teaspoon whole coriander seeds

Salt

Making

1. Add the chana dal, urad dal, and moong dal to a bowl and rinse thoroughly. Then soak them for 6 to 8 hours.

2. After soaking, drain the water out. Then, grind the dals together in a food processor. Grind coarsely.

3. Add the ginger, green chilies, cumin seeds to the mix. Add a little salt per taste. Grind again.

4. Cut the onion into small cubes. Roughly chop the mint leaves. Pluck the curry leaves from their stems.

5. Transfer the ground batter into a bowl and add the onion, mint leaves, curry leaves, whole pepper, cumin seeds, and coriander seeds. Mix well.

6. Ready the air fryer. Take a small amount of batter in your hands and flatten it into a circle (approximately 3 inch diameter). The thickness should be around 3/4-1 centimeter.

(**I can't cook so I find these measurements necessary 🙈)

7. Arrange the circle/patty in the air fryer basket. Depending on the size of the basket, you can put 4 to 6 patties at a time.

8. Set the temperature on the air fryer to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and fry for 5-10 minutes. Then, flip the vadas (patties) onto the other side and fry for another 10 minutes. These times are approximate. Fry until the vadas turn brown and crispy. Check regularly to make sure they do not burn.

9. Once the first batch of vadas are fully cooked, you can remove them. Put in the next set of patties and repeat! Make as many as you like and you can save the batter for later if you wish.

Serve with various side dishes such as sambar and different chutneys! Or plain ol' ketchup is great too :D

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