Simple Parippu Vada Recipe (Tasty!)

Jump to Recipe

It’s a rainy day. The monsoons have arrived early this year, bringing life to the parched soil. The smell of wet earth and jasmine flowers permeate the warm air and calm your senses. Asian koels call out, announcing the coming of dusk. You are sitting on your parents’ veranda as the smell of aromatic spices and fried dal meanders out in the evening air. The sound of sizzling hot oil coming from the kitchen announces the arrival of a South Indian delight… Parippu vada! This parippu vada recipe will take you to Southern India with its deep savory flavors and exotic aroma!

I can almost smell the familiar scent of curry leaves and hot tea in my Paatti’s home as she cooks her favorite parippu vada recipe. This popular street food, parippu vada or parippu vadai is a popular tea shop staple and household favorite in many parts of South India.

Even if you are not South Indian or familiar with South Indian cuisine, this snack recipe can be an ideal way to get familiar with the deep savory and spicy flavors of South Indian food.

Parippu Vada Recipes

Parippu, or parappu, means lentils. Paruppu vadai is essentially a chana dal vada made out of Bengal gram and seasoned with onions and different herbs like curry leaves, etc. Some people also use toor dal (split pigeon peas) for the recipe. Many different types of vada recipes are a part of South Indian cuisine, like medu vada, uzhunnu vada, masala vada, etc., but today’s recipe focuses on this delicious vada recipe called parippu vadai.

So, let’s make this crunchy vada with a step-by-step recipe and stepwise photos.

Instructions for Parippu Vada Recipe

Like many South Indian recipes, this dal vada recipe starts with soaking the lentils and then grinding them to make a batter, This snack recipe is a deep-fried delicacy that does not require toasting the dal.

So follow me to the kitchen for this evening snack.

Soak Chana Dal

Take ½ cup of chana dal or bengal gram and run it through water a couple of times until the water runs clear.

After thoroughly washing the dal, soak it in enough water for about two hours, but make sure to not soak any longer to retain its crispiness. 

Making the Batter

Drain the soaked lentils completely and add it to a food processor to grind it to a coarse mixture. Make sure to avoid using too much water while grinding the mixture, as you want a thick paste. But, if your food processor is having a hard time, add a tablespoon of water to loosen it up.

The mixture should be a coarse paste with some whole chunks of chana dal still in it.

If the mixture becomes too thin, add a little rice flour to fix the consistency.

Make Dal Vada Mixture

Pour your dal mixture in a mixing bowl and add the rest of the ingredients to it.

Take a small onion and chop it, 1-2 chopped green chilies, 8-10 chopped curry leaves, and 2 tbsp chopped coriander and a small piece of finely chopped ginger and add it to the mixture.

Add enough salt according to taste.

Then start making small to medium-sized balls of the mixture and flatten them to make 1/2 inch thick little cakes out of the mixture.

Fry parippu vada

Heat enough oil on medium flame in a kadai or heavy based wok.  Use a high smoke point oil for best results.

When the oil is hot enough, it is time to start deep-frying your dal vada. To check the heat level, drop a little batter into the oil, if it quickly floats up, your oil is ready for frying.  If you have a thermometer, the ideal temperature of the oil is 350º – 375º F.

Fry the parippu vadai one side at a time. Flip them to make sure both sides are crispy and golden brown.

Do not over fry them and keep an eye on the heat to avoid burning the dal vada. 

Remove them from the oil with a slotted spoon on kitchen paper towels to absorb extra oil.

Fry the remaining vadas in batches and serve them piping hot.

Serving

This parippu vada recipe is meant to be served piping hot as a snack with tomato chutney, coconut chutney, mint chutney, or any dip of your choice. This is not just an evening snack; you can serve it as a side dish with many other South Indian main course meals like rasam rice, sambar, dal fry, and stir-fried vegetables. You can also make a south indian snacks platter and pair it with other snacks like uzhunnu vada, ulli vada, aloo bonda, fried idli etc.

FAQs

What is Parippu Vada made of?

Parippu vada is made primarily of chana dal or bengal gram lentils with other ingredients like onions, curry leaves and green chilies, etc.

Is Parippu Vada healthy?

Well, eating deep-fried food every day is probably not the best idea. But, it is gluten-free, vegetarian, and fantastically delicious, so having an occasional vada or two is fine in my opinion. To keep fired foods are healthy as possible, you can use a high smoke point oil that does not easily oxidize like avocado, sunflower oil, or refined coconut oil.

Is Vada Junk food?

It is a popular snack food in India, but snacks like these are made from whole food ingredients are generally unprocessed. This differs greatly from the highly processed and packaged junk food you buy in the stores.

Is dal and parippu the same?

Parippu is the Malayalam word for dal, so yes, they are the same.

Is kadala parippu and parippu vadai same?

Kadala means chana dal, or Bengal gram, and parippu vada is made of the same lentils.