Dahi Vada

This is a north Indian dahi bhalla recipe in which deep fried lentil dumplings are soaked in thick beaten sweet curd and topped with Coriander Tamarind chutney and roasted cumin / jeera powder or chaat masala powder.

Here are the ingredients used for the preparation of Dahi Vada.

Measuring cup used

1 cup = 125 ml

INGREDIENTS :

For Vadas

(1) 1 cup Urad dal (Split, skinless black gram)

(2) 1/4 teaspoon of Methi dana (Fenugreek seeds)

(3) Water for soaking urad dal

(4) 1 sprig of Curry leaves, finely chopped

(5) 2 whole green chillies, finely chopped

(6) 1 inch sized ginger, finely chopped

(7) 3 pinch of Asafoetida (Hing) powder

(8) Half teaspoon of Cumin seeds (Jeera)

(9) 1/4 teaspoon of Carom seeds (Ajwain)

(10) Salt

(11) Oil for frying the vadas

For sweet Dahi / Curd

(12) 250 gms of Dahi / Curd well beaten

(13) 3 teaspoon of sugar

For Tempering

(14) 1/4 teaspoon of black Mustard seeds (Rai)

(15) 2 pinch of Hing / Asafoetida powder

(16) 8-10 Curry leaves and

(17) two whole red chillies

For Garnishing

(18) Roasted Cumin / Jeera powder

(19) Chaat Masala powder (Optional)

(20) Coriander Tamarind chutney

Course : Snack

Cuisine : North Indian

Serves : 3-4 persons

Time required : 2 hours for soaking urad dal and 30 minutes for cooking = 2 hr 30 mins.

METHOD :

(1) Wash 1 cup of urad daal / split skinless black gram under cold running water. Soak it in water along with 1/4 teaspoon (which is equal to my 2 pinch) of methi dana / Fenugreek seeds. Soak it for 2-3 hours. They will get bigger in size and become softer due to the soaking process.

(2) During these 2-3 hours beat 2-3 cups of curd / dahi or yogurt along with 2 tablespoon of sugar by whisking it. Then refrigerate it for 2 -3 hours or till it gets chilled.

(3) Prepare Coriander Tamarind chutney and keep it ready. Recipe link for Coriander Tamarind chutney is given below.

Coriander Tamarind / Dhaniya Imli Chutney

(4) Once 2-3 hours are over, drain the soaking water and put the soaked urad dal with methi dana in the grinding jar and grind till smooth fluffy batter is formed. I did the grinding without using water as we want thick fluffy batter. Stir and grind constantly as we are not using water. In case, you are finding it extremely difficult to grind without water, use 10 ml of water only.

Transfer the batter from the grinding jar to a bowl as shown.

(5) Gather all the ingredients required to prepare the vada.

Urad dal batter, green Chillies, Ginger, Curry leaves, Asafoetida / Hing, Cumin seeds / Jeera, Carom seeds / Ajwain, Salt

Chop Curry leaves, green chillies and ginger piece finely as shown.

Curry leaves, Ginger and green chillies, all chopped

(6) Add 3 pinch of Asafoetida / Hing powder, 1/4 teaspoon of Ajwain / Carom seeds, half teaspoon of Jeera / Cumin seeds, 2 whole green chillies (minced) 1inch sized ginger finely chopped and curry leaves chopped to the batter.

(7) Keep vegetable oil in a wok / kadhai for heating on the gas stove and during this time add salt to the batter. We add salt later just before deep frying because due to salt the batter becomes watery and we don’t want that.

After adding salt to the batter, mix well.

(8) Keep a bowl full of water ready along with the Vada batter.

(9) Once the oil is hot, wet your one hand with water from a bowl and take about 2 table spoon of batter and carefully slide it into the hot oil with your thumb. I fried the vadas in two batches for the amount of batter I had. Keep stirring the vadas for even frying and browning.

First batch of Vadas frying…..

Second batch of Vadas frying…..

Transfer them on to an absorbent tissue paper for soaking the oil once the vadas are fried.

(10) The Vadas are ready. Keep them aside on a plate. It can be had as a snack too along with Coriander Tamarind chutney as shown.

(11) After that dip the vadas in a large bowl with lukewarm water and let it soak for 30-40 minutes.

The vadas with increase in size and change colour due to soaking them.

(12) Squeeze out the extra water from the vadas by very gently pressing them between two palms and keep aside.

(13) Dip the vadas in the sweet curd taken from the fridge in such a way that all the vadas are covered with curd.

(14) Prepare a tempering by adding 1/4 teaspoon of black mustard seeds, 2 pinch of Hing, curry leaves and two whole red chillies to two teaspoon of warm oil as shown.