Ingredients:

  Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
--------  ------------  --------------------------------
   3      cups          Bengal gram dal (chana dal)
   1      cup           toor dal
   1      cup           black gram dal
   2      tablespoons   grated coconut
   2      tablespoons   ghee
                        oil -- for frying
   4                    red chiles
  15                    green chiles
   4      sprigs        curry leaves
     3/4  teaspoon      asafetida
                        salt -- to taste

Preparation:

Clean, wash and soak dals together for 3 hours. Drain water completely. Grind red and green chiles, curry leaves, asafetida, salt, and a spoonful of dals together to a fine paste. Add rest of dals and grind coarsely. Do not add any water. Add ghee and grated coconut and mix well. Take a spoonful of batter on a clean polyethylene sheet and pat into 2-inch Vadais (patties). Make 4 to 5 Vadais at a time. Heat oil and deep fry Vadais until crisp. Drain and serve hot with Chutney or Raita. Makes 45. For Masala Paruppu Vadai (Fried Snack With Pulses and Onions) - Make a batter as above. Omit grated coconut. instead add 3 onions (peeled and chopped fine) and 2 tablespoons coriander leaves (chopped fine) to the batter just before frying and mix well.