Chettambado / Dal Vada.

Chettambado / Dal vada / Chana Dal Fritters ...... These are deep fried Vadas that are relished almost all round India but very famous in the Southern parts of India ...... Here is a typical Konkani Saraswat Style Vada that is famous by the name "Chettambado" that are enjoyed during tea time or as snacks or starters ...... Go ahead and enjoy them fresh and hot with Tomato Ketchup .......

** Soak 1 cup of chana dal / black gram dal with 1/4 cup of urad dal and 1/4 cup of moong dal together in plenty of water for 2 hrs. Also soak 1/4 cup of chana dal separately. Wash well again and drain on a colander for a good 15-20 minutes. The water should be completely drained off.

** In a mixer grinder add in 4-5 red chillies (chopped), one handful of freshly grated coconut (Optional), 5-6 pepper corns , 1/2 tso hing / asfoetida powder, salt to taste ... to a coarse paste. Do not add water, once this is coarsely ground add in the drained chana dal, urad dal, moong dal mixture and ground to a coarse paste. Do not add water. If necessary sprinkle water to enable grinding. The mixture should come to a balling consistency when rolled on hand. 

** Remove the ground mixture in a wide bowl and add in 8-10 finely chopped curry leaves and the whole chana dal that was soaked separately after draining it off also properly. Some of the whole chana dal is added later on to get a lovely chana dal bites when eating the chettambado. That crunchy is taste is awesome. Mix all well. When rolled in hand it should be sticky and coming to rolling consistency. Bind them into round tikkies, flatten a little bit and deep fry in hot oil till golden colour. Repeat till all the mixture is done.  Serve hot with tomato ketchup or any chutney of your choice.

** Note:
** You can add in some coconut cut into small pieces which in konkani we call Katla. They impart a nice crunchy taste to the vadas.

** You can add chopped onions / any type of leafy veg. to this too.

** The mixture should not be watery and come to binding roll, but in case its on a little bit thinner side then you can add in a few tablespoons of chana dal flour / besan and binding it into a roll too.