Calories in Masala Vada

ICMR-NIN lists 2 masala vadas at about 150 kcal in its table of approximate values for common foods, so one vada is counted at 75 kcal. No weight or diameter is given. Masala vada, also called paruppu vadai, chana dal vada or dal vada, is shaped by hand into a flat disc, and one cook's vada can be twice the thickness of another's. The tea-stall version is often larger and darker than the home one. Use the figure as a rough guide, and expect a big, thick vada to exceed it.

The vada is built from chana dal and toor dal, soaked and ground coarsely with onion, chilli, fennel and curry leaves. Nothing else binds it: no flour and no batter. The dals supply starch together with protein and fibre, which is more than most fried snacks can claim. The rest of the energy is oil from the kadhai. Because the grind is coarse, the surface of the vada is rough and full of crevices, which gives the crunch people like and also gives the oil somewhere to lodge. Oil is far more energy-dense than dal, so even a modest amount matters.

One masala vada is about 4% of a sedentary man's daily energy requirement and 5% of a woman's. Two with a cup of tea, about 150 kcal for the vadas, is the usual snack. It is the third lightest per piece among the 10 fried snacks here, between medu vada at 70 kcal and puri at 80 kcal. Being made of dal, it has more substance than a flour-based fried snack, but it does not replace a meal: there is no vegetable to speak of, and the oil comes along regardless.

This is an approximate guideline figure, so use it to compare snacks, not to count precisely. A vada made of chana and toor dal is still a deep-fried food, and bought ones are often fried in oil that has been used through the day. For most people that makes it an occasional snack. Those managing diabetes, blood pressure or kidney disease should ask their doctor or dietitian how fried dal snacks fit their plan.