chana dahl fritters

I am often drawn to Indian flavour profiles when I'm cooking with pulses because what other cuisine is so adept at turning humble legumes into such a rich variety of dishes?

We're calling these delicious morsels fritters. In India they go by many names like pakora,vada and bora depending on the region.

These are somewhat like a falafel, although the outside is much crunchier and the inside lighter and fluffier.  Whereas a falafel is made of Chickpea flour (aka Besan), these use split chickpeas - Chana Dahl that are simply soaked, blitzed and fried. 

Another selling point is there's no need to pre-cook the chana dahl.

I like to serve these with a variety of accompaniments for dipping. For a quick meal, chutney and natural yoghurt are an excellent, no fuss choice, or you can go accoutrement crazy. Think palak (spinach curry), coconut chutney, tomato and tamarind chutney, mint and coriander chutney and lime pickle.

I served mine with tomato and  tamarind chutney, mint and coriander sauce and spinach curry. (pictured above)

Prep Time: 20 mins prep +3 hours soaking time, Cook Time: 15 mins 
Makes about 16.
​Serves 2 as a main or 4 as an entree

Ingredients:
2 cups chana dahl
1 medium onion finely chopped
1 green chilli finely diced (optional) - keep seeds if you want the dish extra hot, otherwise just use the flesh of the chilli.
3-4cm piece fresh ginger, grated 
3-4 tbsp fresh coriander leaves finely chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp chilli powder
salt to taste
Sunflower oil for frying

Garnish:
1 tbsp fresh coriander leaves and/or mint leaves, coarsely chopped
1 green chilli, sliced into thin rounds

Method:
Rinse and soak the chana dahl in cold tap water for 2-3 hours - use a large bowl and make sure the dahl is well covered with water.

Drain the dahl and use a food processor or powerful blender to turn it into a fine(ish) paste or batter, about the consistency of a pesto. It will probably still have a few whole pieces of dal scattered through it, which is fine.

Add the remaining ingredients to the ground dahl - onion, fresh and dried herbs and spices  -  and mix well.

Pour oil into a medium sized saucepan or wok - it needs to be 1-2cm deep. Heat oil over medium-high heat. Test that the oil is hot enough by dropping in a teaspoon of the dahl mixture. If it sizzles a lot, it's ready. Turn heat down to medium to maintain a good but not-too-hot temperature (if the fritters get too brown too quickly or the oil starts smoking, take the pot off the heat for a minute and turn the heat down). Roll dal mixture into balls (use an ice cream scoop or dessert spoon to help keep even sizes) and place carefully into the hot oil. Fry for about 2 mins before carefully flipping them over to cook the other side. They're ready when golden brown. Use a slotted spoon to lift them from the oil and place on a plate lined with kitchen paper. Transfer to a warm oven (approx 120°c) to keep hot while you fry the rest.

Freeze: you can freeze both cooked and uncooked fritters for up to 3 months. I recommend putting them in the freezer before frying as you'll get a texture close to the freshly fried fritters once thawed and fried. However they will lose a little of their light texture. Freshly fried is best!