Cook lentils before or after shaping into veggie meatballs?

Question

I would like to make vegetarian meatballs out of green lentils. Will I get better results by grinding the lentils first into lentil flour and then forming into meatballs, or only grinding them after cooking them?

Answer 1

The recipe that I traditionally used calls for cleaned then boiled lentils that were then allowed to cool and then transferred to the food processor and reduced to a smooth paste.

Answer 2

There is an "established" indian dish like that, it is called Masala Vada; western vegetarian meatball recipes probably took the idea from there. Looking at a couple recipes easily found on the net for such vadai, they all suggest the lentils be soaked, then ground raw.