Wash and soak the chana dal in plenty of water for 3 - 4 hours, for best results soak it overnight. After the soaking period, drain the water and reserve 2 tablespoons of dal aside.

In the dry grinding jar of your mixie coarsely grind the dry red chillies (they should be flaky, not completely powdered). Add the soaked chana and salt to taste and coarsely grind it (pulse it a few times till you get a very grainy mixture - do not grind it to paste). Remove into a bowl

To the bowl add chopped onions, chopped ginger, sliced green chillies, chopped coriander, chopped curry leaves, cumin and hing. Now add the reserved whole chana dal. Mix well and divide the mixture into 8-10 equal portions.

Wet your palms with water and roll each portion into a ball and flatten it into discs

Heat oil for deep frying on a medium high heat. To check readiness of the oil drop a tiny ball of the prepared mixture into the pan. If the ball sinks down, the oil is not hot enough yet. If it floats up within 2-3 seconds with several tiny bubbles around it, the oil is ready for frying.

Gently slip 2-3 discs into the hot oil ( do not overcrowd the pan - fry in batches if your pan is small) and fry until golden brown on both sides. Use a perforated spatula to spoon them out and drain excess oil against the pan before placing them on an absorbent kitchen tissue.

Serve hot with chutney and/or ketchup