- Wash chana dal in water and soak it in water for 2 hours. Drain off and set aside. Now take a mixer jar, add soaked dal, and run it several times to get a coarse mixture. Do not add water. If required only very little. To the mixing bowl, add chana dal mixture, chopped onion, curry leaves, saunf, salt. Mix together all the ingredients to get a well binding mixture. To shape Masala vada, take a small portion of mixture, make it to a ball. Place it on left palm, flatten it, then reverse it on fingers of right hand and drop in hot oil. On a medium flame, heat oil in a pan. Gently slide the vada one after the other. Later turn them to other side and fry unroll golden & crisp on both sides. Serve chana dal vada's hot.