Wash the chana dal 3-4 times in fresh water. Soak it for 7-8 hours or overnight. After soaking, discard the water.

Add 80% of the soaked chana dal to a mixer grinder jar. Reserve 20% for texture. Add ginger, garlic, and green chili. Grind to a coarse paste using the pulse mode. Open the jar occasionally to mix ingredients for even grinding, without adding extra water.

Transfer the coarse paste to a large bowl.

In a mortar, grind cumin seeds, coriander seeds, fennel seeds, and black peppercorns into a coarse mix.

Add this spice mix to the dal mixture.

Stir in the reserved chana dal, chopped onion, salt, chopped curry leaves, fresh coriander, rice flour, hot oil, and a pinch of asafoetida. Mix thoroughly with your hands to combine all ingredients.

Take portions of the mixture and form roundels. Flatten them gently between your palms, making the edges slightly thinner than the middle. This creates the crispy edge.

Heat oil to 165°C. Drop the vadas carefully into the hot oil. Don’t stir immediately; let them hold their shape.

Stir and fry over medium flame until they turn crisp and golden brown. Transfer fried vadas to a sieve to drain excess oil.

Enjoy your crispy dal vadas hot with chutney or as a snack.