Parippu vada recipe Kerala style is a very popular snack recipe in South India.
Parippu vada means dal vada (dal fritters) and we use either bengal gram (skin removed and processed chickpea grams) or we use toor dal (yellow pigeon peas) to make this delicious vada or South Indian fritters.
Parippu vada as known in Kerala is more popularly known as masala vada (with little variations) in other parts of South India.
Parippu vada is a vegan/vegetarian snack which is a deep fried delicacy (crispy on the outside and soft on the inside) which you can enjoy for snacks.
In this parippu vada recipe Kerala style, I used toor dal or yellow pigeon peas to make the parippu vada (also known as masala vada in other parts of South India) along with few other ingredients to add flavor to the dish.
In South India itself, you may see slight variations in the ingredients or preparation of different food items including this parippu vada and this recipe for parippu vada is a Kerala style recipe.
In other parts of South India, I have seen that this parippu vada, known as masala vada, looks much flattened while in Kerala style recipe, we do not flatten them too much, so it will have a much thicker center where it is more soft and it has a slight curved look.
In parippu vada recipe Kerala style, the main ingredient is either bengal gram or toor dal (as I mentioned above, I used toor dal which is yellow pigeon peas) and other ingredients include shallots (small onions), ginger and few more other ingredients.
The use of small onions or shallots in the recipe is very important as it adds much flavor to the dish.
However, if you don't have shallots, you can use a small piece of regular onion which is chopped very finely. Either way, just make sure not to skip onions as we want the best flavor for this yummy parippu vada.
Parippu vada is a deep fried delicacy, much like uzhunnu vada (see the recipe for uzhunnu vada here which is made using urad dal).
To make parippu vada, we make the batter from the dal and other ingredients and then make small balls from the batter which is slightly pressed in between the palms and then deep fried in hot oil.
We do not use any water in making the batter and we make the batter slightly coarse to make the perfect vada batter. So make sure not to use any water while grinding the batter.
Parippu vada and uzhunnu vada are popular snack items in Kerala and often they are enjoyed (sometimes together) with tea in the evening or sometimes with breakfast.
Parippu vada is a kid friendly snack recipe, if you are making for kids, just avoid using green chilies to reduce spiciness and you can serve them with their favorite dips like tomato ketchup for example (traditionally it is served with coconut chutney or sambar).
So here is how you can make Kerala style parippu vada following parippu vada recipe Kerala style.
Parippu Vada Kerala Style Recipe Below
Parippu Vada Recipe Kerala Style
Ingredients
- toor dal split split yellow pigeon peas 2 cups
- shallots 10 to 12
- green chilies 3 to 4
- ginger finely chopped 1 tablespoon
- salt as required
- red chili powder 1 teaspoon
- curry leaves 8 to 10
- oil for deep frying
- extra oil 1 tablespoon
Instructions
- Wash the toor dal in water and soak in enough water for at least 4 to 5 hours or overnight for best results.
- Peel the shallots and chop them finely, keep aside(if you are using regular onions, make sure you are chopping it finely as it will be difficult to mix large pieces of onions with the batter).
- Slice the green chilies in thin round slices, keep aside.
- After soaking the dal in water for at least 6 to 7 hours or overnight, drain the water used for soaking and lightly rinse the dal again.
- Now we keep aside a little dal separately (which we don't grind as we need them as in the recipe). You can keep aside 2 to 3 tablespoons of soaked dal separately in a bowl which we will use later.
- In a good quality food processor, grind together the remaining dal, salt, curry leaves together to make a slightly coarse batter. We do not make this a smooth batter, so make sure not to overly grind the batter. The batter is slightly coarse, which is necessary to make the perfect vada with great texture, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.
- Transfer the grind mixture to a large bowl, and add the sliced green chilies, chopped ginger and onions, and also the extra dal that we kept separately after soaking. Mix all ingredients well until well combined to form the batter for parippu vada. Keep the batter closed for about half an hour for best results.
- After 30 minutes, you can just add the extra one spoon of oil to the batter and mix well, which will help you with handling the batter better.
- Heat oil in a deep fry pan and once the oil is hot enough, take some batter in your hands to make a ball and gently and slightly press the batter in between your palms (you can oil your palms to make it easy for you to handle) to make a small vada which will look slightly curvy. If you try to make it too much flat, it will have a tendency to break apart. You can avoid this by keeping the shape slightly curvy which means it is little heavier in the middle so it won't break.
- Transfer the vada gently to the hot oil, without splashing the oil, for deep frying. I usually transfer the vada first to a large spoon (from the hands) and gently transfer the vada to the hot oil by holding the spoon near to the sides of the pan. This helps me to transfer the vada to the oil without splashing the oil, but this is just an idea you can do it your way just make sure you do it gently without splashing the oil.
- At a time, you can fry three to four vada or little more depending on the size of your pan. Make sure not to overcrowd the pan as it will become difficult to handle it. You can fry all the vada in multiple batches.
- Once you transferred the vada to the hot oil, wait for the vada to turn golden brown in color on the bottom side which will take a minute or so. Keep the heat medium to high, to avoid the vada from breaking apart. If you are making uzhunnu vada and parippu vada using the same oil, I recommend frying the uzhunnu vada first, as there will be some residue left after making the parippu vada.
- Once the vada has turned golden brown on one side, gently flip the vada to fry the other side too, until the vada is golden brown in color on both sides.
- Transfer the vada using a slotted spoon (to drain the oil) to a serving plate which can handle hot food( I do not recommend using plastic) which is lined with paper towels to absorb the excess the oil or transfer the vada to a flat surface (which can handle heat) lined with aluminium foil.
- Similarly fry all the vada in multiple batches if needed, until all the batter is finished.
Serve the hot parippu vada with coconut chutney or sambar or you can also enjoy it with tomato ketchup or any of your favorite dips as you wish, along with a cup of tea for snack or breakfast!
Hope you found this post on parippu vada recipe Kerala style helpful in making easy and yummy Kerala style parippu vada for snack or breakfast!
Ejey
A very good recipe of parippu vada... Loved it😍😍🤗🤗🤗
Recipe Garden
Hi Ejey, Thank you for your kind words 🙂 Glad you liked it!