Vada Curry

This one is a classic in Tamil Nadu and goes really well with Idli, Dosa or chapati

Ingredients:
FOR VADA
1 cup chana dal (bengal gram)
1 tsp fennel seeds (saunf)
1 red chilli (you can use more depending on the need for spice)
1 onion chopped finely
2 tsps curry leaves, chopped
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying

FOR GRAVY
2 large onions chopped finely
4 large tomatoes, pureed
2-3 green chillies chopped
Salt to taste
2-3 cloves
2" piece of cinnamon (dalchini)
1-2 bay leaves
1 tsp asafoetida (hing)
1 tsp fennel seeds (saunf)
1 tsp jeera (cumin)
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
1 tsp garam masala

Method:
VADAS
1. Soak the chana dal for 3-4 hours (1 hour in hot water) alon with the saunf, red chillies. Coarsley grind them with as little water as possible. The aim is to get very thick batter
2. Add the chopped onions and curry leaves to the chana dal batter
3. Heat oil and drop spoonfuls of batter to make vadas. Cook till the vadas turn golden brown and crispy from the outside. Set aside

GRAVY
1. Take 2 tbsps of oil in a large kadai. When the oil is hot, add the cloves, cinnamon and bay leaves. Fry for a few seconds. Then add the chopped onions, ginger-garlic paste, green chillies and fry till onion turns pink.
2. Add the tomato puree, turmeric powder, salt and garam masala. Cover and let it simmer for 10-12 minutes till the raw taste/smell of tomatoes is gone
3. To the cooked gravy add one glass of water, cover and let boil for 10 mins. In the meantime, roughly scramble the vadas and keep aside
4. Once the gravy has boiled well, add the scrambled vadas and mix thoroughly on very low heat. Mix for 2 minutes and turn off the heat. The vadas will absorb the water from the gravy to thicken it. If it is too thick, add some more water
5. In a seperate container, heat 1 tbsp of oil and add the mustard seeds to it. When the mustard splutters, add jeera, saunf, asafoetida and curry leaves. Pour this onto the vada mix (chaunk lagana)
6. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with idli/dosa/chapati