Baked Vada/ Easy Baked Lentil Vada

Have you ever eaten a baked vada? I was intrigued with the idea when I read about it some years ago and filed it away in my memory to try out one day. Ever since I made the shift to healthy eating, cooking and baking, I have enjoyed experimenting in my kitchen and my husband and daughter and friends have been very supportive, eating everything I cook or bake without a murmur and motivating me to continue with my quest for healthy, delicious recipes. One evening, I was feeling bored, so I took out my recipe book and while flicking through it came across my Mum’s recipes for Vadas. It was the perfect recipe for that day. I went ahead and the rest is history. I now bake them very frequently and everyone loves them. Last week, a guest had eight in one sitting and enjoyed himself. That’s the best compliment every cook looks forward to.

The Recipe:

Soak 1/4 cup toor dal, 1/4 cupblack gram dhal ( uddu)and 1/2 cup bengal gram dhal ( split chickpeas) in water to cover completely for 2 hours.

Drain completely and grind ( reserve 2 tbsp bengal gram dhal ) with 1 tsp salt, 1 small piece cinnamon, 2 cloves, 1 green or red chilli, to a rough texture. Add 1 small chopped onion, coriander leaves, the reserved bengal gram dhal and 1 tbsp oil. Mix well. Add 1/8 tsp baking soda (optional) and mix again. Divide into 12 portions. Flatten on baking paper on tray and drizzle some oil over on each flattened disc and bake in middle rack immediately in pre heated oven at 220 Celcius for 30 minutes till brown and crisp. Bake longer ( an additional 10 minutes) for dark brown vadas. Serve with mint chutney or tomato sauce.

To Attend My Healthy Cooking Class & Food Tours CLICK HERE