Cabbage Vada (South Indian Style)

The Indian food scene is blessed with a variety of snacks, of which deep-fried ones are everyone’s favorite. It’s very difficult to find an Indian who would not want to indulge in them! Cabbage Vada, more popularly known as Cabbage Dal Vadai in South India is one such yummy deep-fried snack. The main ingredients in this are ground lentils and cabbage, of course. This is my take on the Cabbage Vada recipe.

More on this Cabbage Vada

Vada are a category of deep fried savory snacks made with lentil batter and flours, vegetables and sago or sometimes a combination of these. Some vada versions include masala vada, Batata Vada, Medu Vada, Sabudana Vada, Maddur Vada, this Cabbage Vada and more.

This Cabbage Vada recipe is my version, which is inspired from the famous South Indian snack of Dal Vada. While the dal vada is made with hulled and split brown chickpeas/Bengal gram or chana dal, the Cabbage Vadai is made with a mixture of both ground black gram (urad dal) and chana dal along with fresh cabbage.  

The chana dal makes the Cabbage Vada crisp and the urad dal contributes to the soft texture. I make these vadas with both purple as well as green cabbage. After preparing these vadas, if you have some leftover cabbage, you can also prepare these Cabbage Pakoda.

The best vadas are prepared by soaking the lentils or dals overnight. By doing so, the vadas will be soft and have a porous texture to them. Addition of ginger and green chili adds the essential spice factor to this Cabbage Dal Vadai.

Though this Cabbage Vada recipe is a no onion, no garlic one, you can also make it with onions. Even chopped carrots can be added to the vada mixture.

Serve these with a lovely green chutney, Coconut Chutney, tomato sauce, sambar or rasam by the side. A cup of tea also pairs great with Cabbage Vadai.

How to make Cabbage Vada

Preparation

1. Rinse and soak ½ cup urad dal and ½ cup chana dal in enough water overnight or at least for 4 to 5 hours. Then drain the lentils.

2. Add the lentils in the grinder jar along with ½ teaspoon black pepper, ½ teaspoon fennel seeds, ½ teaspoon cumin seeds and 1 pinch asafoetida. You can also add these spices whole to the batter, instead of grinding them.

3. Add very less water (I added about 4 tablespoons water) and grind to a smooth, fine and fluffy batter. Set aside.

4. Chop cabbage, 1 inch ginger, 1 or 2 green chilies and coriander leaves. I have added purple cabbage, you can also use green cabbage.

5. Add the chopped cabbage, coriander leaves, ginger, green chilies, 2 teaspoons chopped curry leaves (optional) and salt as required to the vada batter.

6. Mix everything very well and keep aside.

Fry Cabbage Vada

7. Heat sufficient oil in a kadai. Drop spoonfuls of the batter in medium hot oil. If you have ground the lentils to a thick batter, you can flatten them and shape into round patties like the traditional Dal Vadai.

8. When one side is partly cooked and pale golden, turn over and continue frying.

9. Fry till golden brown and crisp.

10. Drain the vadas on paper towel to remove excess oil.

11. Serve Cabbage Vada hot or warm with Mint Chutney, coconut chutney or Sambar and Rasam.

Expert Tips

1. Soaking: It is best to soak the dal/lentils overnight as this makes the vadas soft and gives a porous texture to them.
2. Ingredients: Use lentils that are within their shelf life and fresh. Do not use aged lentils as they might spoil the taste. Whole spices can be added to the batter, instead of ground ones. Feel free to reduce or omit the spices according to your preferences. But do not omit ginger and cumin seeds as they help in digestion.
3. Gluten-free option: To make a gluten-free version, skip the asafoetida or add gluten-free asafoetida.
4. Variations: You can add onions or chopped carrots to the vada mixture. While preparing these without onions during festivals, you can add a generous pinch of asafoetida to mimic the onion flavor. The Cabbage Vada can also be made with only urad dal or chana dal.

FAQs

This Cabbage Vada post from the archives first published in December 2013 has been republished and updated on 2 May 2022.