Sivarajan Family Paruppu Vada with Chickpeas

Paruppu vadas are a crispy fried savory snack from the state of Kerala in India. They’re usually made with tuvaram paruppu (pigeon peas or yellow-split peas), or other types of legumes, but Deepa’s family uses chickpeas!

Makes 10-12 vadas.

Ingredients

1 cup dry garbanzo beans
2-4 dry red chilies
½ cup chopped onions
½ teaspoon grated ginger
4-6 curry leaves
canola oil or other refined oil
salt to taste
optional: add garlic or 1 tablespoon of cooked spinach to the vada mixture for variety

Instructions

Soak the garbanzo beans for 2-3 hours and drain. Blend all the ingredients together in a food processor using a little water to a coarse consistency. (Tip: blend the beans in two batches, one more coarse than the other; this will make the vadas more crisp.) Taste for salt and heat and remove the mixture to a bowl.
Use your hands to mix and make sure it is well combined. Shape them into golf ball sized round balls and then flatten them using your palms to make a vada. Remember to tightly shape them so they do not fall apart while frying.
Use a kadai or a heavy bottomed pan for frying. Pour in about 1.5 inches of oil and allow it to heat up. Add a small piece of the vada mixture to the pan to check if the oil is hot enough. The vada should float to the top; if it sinks that means the oil is not hot enough. If it browns too quickly, it means the oil is too hot. The vada needs to cook on a low flame so the inside gets cooked evenly without the outside browning too much too soon.
Once the oil is hot, add as many vadas as possible in a single layer. Do not move or turn the vada for 2-3 minutes after adding as they tend to disintegrate. Do not crowd the pan; fry only a few at a time.
Fry the vadas for 6-8 minutes on a low flame. Use a skimmer to turn them halfway through so they brown evenly on both sides. Remove from pan and place over a kitchen tissue or in a colander to drain the excess oil. Serve hot with coconut chutney or mint chutney.