Dahi Vada (Dahi Bhalla Chaat)
User Reviews
4.9
Dahi Vada (Dahi Bhalla Chaat)
Description
Dahi Vada (Dahi Bhalla Chaat) involves soaking a mixture of urad dal and yellow moong dal overnight or for several hours, then grinding it with ginger, green chili, and salt to create a thick, airy batter. This batter is whipped to incorporate air, ensuring the vadas are light and soft. They are deep-fried in hot oil until puffed and cooked through. After frying, vadas are soaked in warm water briefly to soften them further and remove excess oil.
The vadas are then assembled in a bowl with chilled yogurt seasoned with salt and sugar. They are topped with tamarind and mint chutneys which provide tanginess and herbaceous notes. Finally, roasted cumin powder, chili powder, and chopped cilantro garnish the dish adding layers of aroma and color. The finished dish presents a balance of creamy, tangy, spicy, and mildly sweet flavors with a spongy, melt-in-mouth texture.
Dahi Vada is served as a flavorful snack or appetizer, popular in Indian cuisine especially during festive occasions. Its cooling yogurt base and savory lentil vadas make it suitable for a light meal or street snack. It pairs well with crisp fried snacks or can be enjoyed on its own for a satisfying taste experience.
For storage, fried vadas should be cooled completely before refrigerating or freezing without soaking in water to avoid sogginess. To reuse stored vadas, soak them in warm water to rehydrate and press gently before assembling. Whipping the batter well and frying at the correct oil temperature are key to achieving soft, airy vadas.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup split skinned black gram lentils aka urad dal
- 3 tablespoon yellow lentils split, aka Moong Dal
- 1 green chili pepper
- 1 inch ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon salt adjust to taste
- neutral cooking oil for frying vada, generic cooking oil
Assembling ingredients (for about 10-12 vada's )
- 2 cups yogurt chilled
- 1/4 teaspoon salt adjust to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar adjust to taste
- 1/4 cup tamarind chutney to taste
- 2 tablespoon mint chutney to taste, contains cilantro
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin roasted, aka Jeera powder
- 1/4 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder
- cilantro chopped, to garnish, leaves
Instructions
Soak the lentils
- Take the lentils in a large bowl and wash them a few times until the water runs clear. Soak them overnight. If you are in a pinch, you can soak them in warm water for 4 hours.
Make the batter
- Drain the soaking water. Add ginger, green chili pepper, salt and lentils to a blender, such as Vitamix.
- Grind on low to medium speed to form a almost smooth batter. The batter should be thick and of dropping consistency. Remove in a large bowl. (Add a little water 1 tbsp at a time if needed for blending)
- Whip the lentil batter vigorously to make it light and fluffy. You can do that with a spoon or ladle. (To figure out if the batter is ready to make the vadas, drop a small ball of the batter with a spoon in a bowl filled with water. If the ball immediately starts to float on top, the batter is ready to make vada.)
Fry the Vada
- Heat oil in a wok or kadhai. Make sure the oil is hot before making the Vada’s. You can check by dropping a single drop of the batter, it should rise to the top of the oil immediately. After the oil is hot, reduce to medium heat.
- Add the batter to the oil using a spoon or ice-cream scooper. (Take water in a small bowl. Take a large spoon, dip it in water, then take batter in the spoon and drop it in the hot oil. Now before making the next vada, dip the spoon in water again and then take the batter. Repeat for each vada)
- When you drop the Vada’s in the oil, then keep pouring oil over them using a ladle. When the Vada’s look cooked (golden brown in color) are done on one side, flip them over with a ladle.
- When the other side is done, take them out in a bowl lined with a paper napkin to soak the excess oil. Fry in batches. Do not overcrowd when frying the Vadas.
Soak the Vada's
- Now soak the vada’s in lukewarm water as soon as they are fried for about 15 minutes. The vada’s will soak up the water, double in size and become super soft.
- Now, take each vada and gently press in between your palms to remove excess water.
Assemble the Dahi Vada
- Whisk the yogurt and season it with salt and sugar. If the yogurt is too thick, add some water or milk to get the right consistency.
- Place the softened vada’s from step 4 in a bowl. Pour the yogurt over them, so they are all covered with the yogurt. Drop the tamarind chutney and mint cilantro chutney over them and sprinkle the roasted cumin powder and red chili powder.
- (optional) You can now refrigerate this for 1-2 hours so the lentil balls soak in the yogurt.
- Garnish with some cilantro and Enjoy!
Notes
- Use homemade or store-bought plain yogurt chilled for assembling.
- Whisk the batter vigorously before frying to incorporate air for light vadas.
- Fry the vadas in hot oil over medium heat to cook centers without flattening.
- Cool fried vadas to room temperature before storing; do not soak in water during storage.
- Stored vadas keep 3-4 days refrigerated or up to 2 months frozen; rehydrate in warm water before use.
- Do not overcrowd the frying pan as vadas expand slightly while frying.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 10Serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories 95 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 95kcal | 5% |
| Carbohydrates | 14g | 5% |
| Protein | 6g | 12% |
| Fat | 2g | 3% |
| Saturated Fat | 1g | 5% |
| Cholesterol | 6mg | 2% |
| Sodium | 215mg | 9% |
| Potassium | 110mg | 2% |
| Fiber | 4g | 16% |
| Sugar | 4g | 8% |
| Vitamin A | 74IU | 1% |
| Vitamin C | 2mg | 2% |
| Calcium | 70mg | 7% |
| Iron | 2mg | 11% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
4.9
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