• Wash and soak the chana dal with water. Soak the dal in water for a minimum of 3 hours and a maximum of 6 hours.
• Meanwhile, prep the other ingredients - plucking and washing dill leaves will take some time.

  Cut an onion and dice them into small bits. Wash and peel the ginger and cut them into small pieces.
• Drain the water from the soaked dal and rinse it out. Make sure to drain out all the water before adding it to the mixer jar for making the batter.

  To the chana dal, add the chopped ginger and dried red chilles.

  If you like, you can keep a handful of soaked chana dal aside to add to the batter.
• Grind into a coarse paste. Transfer the batter to a bowl.
• To the batter, add the chopped onions, chopped dill leaves, soaked full chana dal and salt. Mix all the ingredients well and check for seasoning.

  Once done, keep the batter aside and get the oil ready for deep frying.

Frying the Masala Vadas

• Place a kadai on low to medium heat and add the cooking oil. Once the oil is warm, take a small piece of batter and check if the oil is hot enough. If it floats to the top, then the oil is ready.
• Take a small ball of the masala vada batter and flatten it out on your left palm with some water. Take it with your right hand fingers and transfer it to the hot oil.

  (The flatter the vada, the crispier it will be. The rounder the vada, the denser it will be. )
• Add as many vadas as possible without crowding the oil. Once the bubbling slows down on one side, flip the vada to the other side and allow it to cook.
• Do not change the temperature of the oil to hasten the cooking process. You might end up with a vada cooked on the outside but raw on the inside.
• Once both sides are done, with the help of a slotted spoon/ladle, remove the vadas from the oil to a plate lined with kitchen tissue paper.
• Serve your Masala Vadas hot with a chutney of your choice.