Wadhia Dal Wada

Green Moong Dal Wada (fritters) – this has been one of my favourites for a long time now. So much so that my mother got wild when I raided the kitchen while she was making these and made off with some – all the time. These are best eaten hot, preferably, with a hot cup of masala tea and mint chutney! And that’s what I did to round off the weekend this morning. I must admit, however, I made must have made a mistake, since these turned out to be extra hot – stuffed with a lot of green chilli!
This is what happened:

Ingredients (Fritters):
1 cup green moong dal (soaked in water overnight)
1 onion finely chopped
3-4 green chillis (I used six)
1 small piece ginger
2 flakes garlic, crushed
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 bunch finely chopped coriander leaves
Salt to taste
Oil

Preparation:
Grind the soaked and drained moong dal, green chillis, ginger and salt to a paste without adding water. Remove in a dish and add chopped onions, coriander leaves and cumin seeds, mixing well. Heat the oil in a deep pan. Once the oil is very hot, reduce flame and fry the fritters until they reach a golden brown colour. Serve with masala chai, though I used the Mumbai Tapori variety!

For the mint chutney, take a bunch each of coriander and mint leaves, a small raw mango, three green chilli and a small onion. Grind in a mixer, add salt and it’s ready.