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Dahi Vada
December 27th, 2007 filed under Appetizers, Chaat
Dahi Vadas are lentil dumplings topped with a spicy savory yogurt and tamarind chutney. These are great as a side dish for a formal dinner or served as a chaat.
Makes about 30.
Ingredients:
For Vadas:
- 3/4 cup washed Moong dal
- 1/4 cup washed Urad dal
- Oil to fry
For Garnish:
- 1 1/2 cup yogurt
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon red chilly powder
- 1/2 teaspoon roasted cumin seed powder
- 3 tablespoons tamarind chutney
Method:
To make the Vadas:
- Mix both dals and wash several times until the water appears clear.
- Soak dal in 4 cups of water for at least six hours.
- Drain the water and blend dal to very creamy texture. Just using enough water as needed to blend. Using too much water while blending dal will not be creamy in texture.
- Whip dal batter using a spoon in a circular motion for about two to three minutes until batter will become light and fluffy. If needed add few spoons of water.
- To fry the vadas, use a flat frying pan. Do not put more than 1/2 inch of oil in the frying pan.
- Place the heat on medium high. To check if oil is ready put a little batter into the oil, oil will sizzle and batter should start expending upwards slowly without changing color.
- Place about 1 tablespoon of batter into the oil. Batter should not be covered with oil. This will allow the vada to expand. The vada will be softer if they are shallow fried.
- Fry the vadas in small batches. Fry the vada until thew are golden brown all around.
- After you have made all of the vadas, place the vadas in luke warm water and soak for about 20 minutes.
- Next squeeze the vadas gently to take out the water, be careful not to break the vadas.
To make Yogurt topping and Garnish:
- Take two cups of yogurt and mix until very smooth. Use some milk as needed to make the consistency similar to pancake batter or lassi. Add about 1 teaspoon of salt or as needed.
- Soak all the vadas in the yogurt batter for at least twenty minutes, giving the vadas time to absorb the yogurt.
- Slowly pick up each vada and transfer into a serving dish, pouring a few spoons of extra yogurt all over the vadas.
- Just before serving, sprinkle some salt as needed, ground roasted cumin seeds, red chilly powder and finish off with a drizzle of tamarind chutney.
Variations:
- Change the proportions of dal or make vadas with just urad dal or just with moong dal.
- As an alternative, you can add chopped green chilies and crushed coriander seeds to the dal batter, just before you start frying the vadas.
- Instead of serving with tamarind chutney, you can add some chopped cilantro over the dahi vadas.
- You can also make the vadas very small and serve as a Raita dish.
- If you are vegan, you can also soak the vadas in tamarind chutney instead of yogurt and sprinkle some chopped cilantro.
Suggestions:
You can also make the dahi vadas in advance and freeze them before soaking in the water. When ready to use, take as many as needed out and soak in hot water for a few minutes. Next, change the water to room temperature and soak for 20 minutes. Now you can prepare and serve them the usual way.
i tried ur dahi vada.it was very yummy.thanks to u for sharing a wonderful recipe.
Hello,
I bought some Panch Phoran because of a recipe I wanted to make and now I cannot find that recipe. Manjula, I thought for
sure the recipe was on your site. Can you tell me which one it is? I love your recipes and the videos helps so much. Thank you.
Carol
hello aunty,
thank you very much for that videos.
thank you very much manjula aunty for that videos.
I am chinese and love this. SO I cooked it according to your recipe and it tastes very goods. My 2 years old sons also love it, even eat it dry without yogurt.
I have a question is that my dumpings are not perfect round and uniform. The shape is not as round as yours.
Did I do anything wrong?
I will try this recipe again.
aunty jee, i lov dahi vada and other spicy dishes.
obviously i will try to cook it up .
thanxs a lot for such a great VEGETARIAN SITE OF INDIA DISHES. i will tell my all friends about this site. thank u , once again . its a blessing for vegetarian people .
Namaste Manjula-ji,
I am not comfortable with frying foods – mostly my fried food ends up soaking in oil. So I had not tried dahi vada (although its my husband’s favourite) I got your dahi vada recipe from another food blog – http://thespicewholovedme.blogspot.com/search?q=dahi+vada and thought of giving it a try.
I followed your recipe verbatim and the vadas turned out GREAT! My husband loved them and has asked me to make them AGAIN. Moreover, they were much quicker to make than I anticipated and hence totally repeatable for me.
Thank you so much for the recipe and most specially for the video.
Also in the video you show a tip to start frying the vadas – you put the whisked batter in water and it rises up. Can you please include this in the steps also? I think this was a super useful tip
Thanks so much once again.
Namaste,
Purvi
Dear Manjula
Have you published a book with all your great recipes.
And how and where can it be purchased
Thanks alot God bless you.
Joe
Hello Joe, Thank you, I am working on it.
Im looking forward to your books. But the videos really make the difference as you make everything look easy! and exciting to try… you are a good teacher..
Im happy if you can include more lentil,dahl, wada, bada,south, north, etc patties, of sorts.
especially if they arent fried. Im looking for sources of protien that can be included in childrens/husbands lunches, dahl is too difficult for them to take.
I met one lady who premade little badas and froze them, then she just took some out added some sauce with rice for a fast meal. Do you have more recipes for bitter melon?
thanks again, appreciate your sharing, and your website is looking nicer and nicer. I can definetly see you on TV someday.! You would be a big hit, best thing is you are vegetarian cook. All the best, your fan.
tried your dahivada with 3/4 urd 1/4 moong they tasted very nice but were not very very soft though they were soft what to do.
1) soak the dal at least overnight,
2) grind the dal very finely til it’s like babyfood,
3) whip the ground dal with a whisk to aerate it well before making the vadas and deep frying.
Other than that, they should be very soft in the yougurt if you followed all of the other steps.
hi aunty! i tried these vadas
nd they were very delicious!!
keep posting new recipes
happy navratri!
love
anu