Ingredients:

  Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
--------  ------------  --------------------------------
     1/2  liter         yellow split peas
   2      teaspoons     salt
   8                    green chiles -- (to 12)
   1      inch          ginger
 175      gram          onion
                        curry leaves
   1      bunch         coriander leaves
  20      grams         cashew nuts -- optional
   2                    cardamom pods -- optional
     1/2  teaspoon      masala powder
     3/8  liter         oil

Preparation:

Masala Vadai is a South Indian snack. Soak yellow split peas in water for 2 - 3 hrs. Grind the soaked mixture with salt coarsely, without adding much water. Cut the onions into small pieces along with ginger, green chiles and add them to the mixture along with coriander leaves and curry leaves. Now add the masala powder and add all other optional ingredients. Mix thoroughly. Fry small spoonfuls of the mixture in hot oil. Traditionally, a banana leaf is used and the mixture is taken in lumps of the size of a small lemon and lightly pressed on the banana leaf and the resulting flat thingie is dropped into the oil and fried until it turns brown. The intensity of the color needed is dependent on your taste! Translated from Cook And See (`Samaithu Paar') by S. Meenakshi Ammal, a cookbook in Tamil