To begin making the Masala Vada Curry Recipe/ Chana Dal Vada Curry recipe, thoroughly wash and soak chana dal for 2 hours.
Once the dal is soaked, coarse grind chana dal with the ingredients for making the base -dry red chili, curry leaves, fennel seeds and salt. Just sprinkle water while grinding, the masala vada batter should be thick.
Spoon the masala vada batter on a Idli plates and steam it exactly like how we steam Idli. Or you can pan fry the Vada batter in a paniyaram pan with a little oil until it browned and crisp. The later gives a delicious taste to the Masala Vada Curry.
Ensure you drizzle oil while pan frying the vada in the paniyaram pan.
Meantime, we can start making the curry. Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan on medium flame, add whole black pepper, cloves, cinnamon, bay leaf, slit green chili, curry leaves, ginger, garlic and onions. Make sure to remove few seeds from green chili if you want to make it less spicy.
Once the onion turns golden, add the tomato puree and all the masala powders – turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, chili powder and salt. Let it cook for 2 to 3 minutes until the masala curry comes to a brisk boil.
Add required water and let the curry masala cook for a few minutes. Once the masala is cooked, drop in the masala vada into the curry mixture.
Cover it with a lid and cook the Masala Vada Curry on a medium flame. The masala vada curry will absorb all the water and become thick. This will take around 5 to 7 minutes.
Finally add chopped mint leaves and give the Masala Vada Curry a stir and serve.
Serve Masala Vada Curry along with Tawa Paratha, Palak Raita and Satvik Carrot Sprout Salad for a weekday meal. You can also serve this curry along with Ghee Roast Dosa or a Karnataka Style Set Dosa Recipe