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Dahi Vada

Dahi Vada

Dahi Vada

Dahi Vadas are lentil dumplings dipped in yogurt and topped with spicy savory tamarind chutney. These are great as a side dish for a formal dinner, appetizer or served as a chaat.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Soaking Dal 6 hours
Total Time 25 minutes
Course Appetizer
Cuisine Indian
Servings 6 people

Ingredients
  

For Vada

  • 3/4 cup washed Moong dal
  • 1/4 cup washed Urad dal

For Garnish

  • 1-1/2 cupa yogurt curd, dahi
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp red chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp roasted cumin seed powder bhuna jeera
  • 3 tbsp tamarind chutney

Instructions
 

  • 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. In a blender, blend the dal to very creamy texture. Use only as little water as needed to blend. Using too much water for blending will not give the desired creamy texture. 
  • Whip the dal batter, stirring with a spoon in a circular motion two to three minutes, until batter is light and fluffy. Add a few spoonfuls of water as needed.
  • Cover the bottom of a flat frying pan with ½-inch of oil and heat over medium high heat. Test the oil by dropping a little batter into it. When the oil sizzles, it is ready.
  • Place one tablespoon of batter into the oil. The oil should not be deep enough to cover the batter; the vadas will be softer if they are shallow-fried. The vadas will begin to expand slowly, without changing color.
  • Fry the vadas in small batches, until golden all around.
  • After you have made all of the vadas, place them in lukewarm water and soak for about 20 minutes. Squeeze the vadas gently to remove the water, being careful not to break the vadas. Set aside.
  • Whip the yogurt until smooth. Add a little milk as needed to make the consistency similar to pancake batter or lassi. Add about one teaspoon salt, to taste. 
  • Soak vadas in the yogurt batter for at least half an hour, giving the vadas time to absorb the yogurt.
  • Slowly pick up each vada and transfer to a serving dish. Pour a few more spoons yogurt over the Vadas.
  • Just before serving, sprinkle some salt as needed, ground roasted cumin seeds, red chile powder, and finish off with a drizzle of tamarind chutney.

Notes

Variations:
Change the proportion of dals, or use only urad dal.
As an alternative, you can add chopped green chilies and crushed coriander seeds to the dal batter just before frying.
Instead of serving with tamarind chutney, you can sprinkle 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 soak the vadas in tamarind chutney instead of yogurt and sprinkle some chopped cilantro or chopped mint leaves.
Suggestions:
You can make the dahi vadas in advance and freeze them before soaking in water. When ready to use, soak as many as needed in hot water for about half an hour, then change the water to room temperature and soak for another ten minutes. Now proceed according to the recipe.
Keyword Dahi Pakora, Dahi Vada Chaat, Dal Dumpling
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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139 thoughts on “Dahi Vada

    1. Neetu, sorry not be able to reply soon, you did not whip the dal enough, but if it happens again boil the water turn off the heat add half a spoon of ENO and soak the vadas for about an hour that will help

  1. Thank you aunty very much for all ur recipes. I am a regular at ur web site and have tried quite a some of them. But the dahi vadas recipe is a hit and evryone at my home loves it when i make it. Thank you a lots.

  2. Hi, Thanks for your dahi vada recipe. I came across this recipe i have been preparing ever since. My family loves this. Its taste really awesome. And the tips that you give are indeed handy.

  3. Aunty, I dont have enough words to say thank you for all of your recipes. I have started learning cooking from you since you have appeared in youtube. Your instructions are so easy to follow.

    Thanks once again

  4. I made these today but halved the quantity for me and my husband! I had trouble whipping the batter and it wasn’t light and fluffy at all, so I gave up and fried them. However, they weren’t as hard as I thought they would be which is great! I sprinkled chaat masala over them as I didn’t have tamarind chutney. I would suggest adding some salt to the batter, as the lentil dumplings taste bland and having a big mouthful of yoghurt can be too tangy.

  5. Hi Aunty ji,

    I’m messaging from Canada. I love your method of teaching and I really want to try your recipes as some of them are perfect for breaking the fast in Ramadan right now.
    I just watched your recipe for dahi vada. I have split red lentils (masoor dahl). Can i use this to make your dahi vada?

    Thank you.

  6. hello,Mrs manjula i tried ur recipe of vegetable cutlet happy to get the real taste n the look ur recipes helps me a lot in the month of ramzan to cook different varities everyday

  7. Dear Manjula, i love this recipe but whenever i try to make it, something goes wrong, i have tried several times and every time i have followed the recipe very carefully.

    After i fry the patties they can hardly hold together, so when i soak in water they completely fall apart. the ones that keep at least a bit of shape are very oily and not very pleasant at all

    I live in America so im thinking it might be somehow the quality of the lentils perhaps would be the cause?, then again i have tried also the Chola Tikki and i had the same bad consistency on the patties

    Any help would be appreciated

    Thanks for your wonderful recipes

    Ale

    1. hmm, usually the problem I have seen is that the vada becomes too hard…never heard of a problem like yours. Something you are doing or using is wrong -but I guess neither Manjula nor I cna figure it out.

    2. maybe you’re just using too much water in the batter. today i’ve added little bit more water by accident and few of the vadas fell aparat, others were just too breakable. this doesn’t happen when i use less water in the batter.

  8. hello manjula aunty i am very glad to read ur recipe on this site
    i tried your recipe at home .i did was download recipe of rasgulla’s
    last time,iam sure u always give us the wonderful recipe,t
    thankyou…………..

  9. I just came across this site. Thanks Manjula for this wonderful site. The recipes are well-explained. I have not yet tried the videos .
    Very thoughtful suggestions about pre-cooking and FREEZING!
    I find freezing such a blessinsg.
    Thanks once again. Regards

  10. I tried your recipe with urad daal only and it came out purrfect !
    I make them very often now ..since my family loves it & they are very easy to make ..thanks Manjula

  11. Hello aunty,
    I have tried your receipe for dahi vada, never thought that making vadas was so easy. It has increased craze for making delicious food. Thanks a lot and i will try your other receipes too and hope they all will also be easy.

  12. Hello Didi,

    I made Dahi Vada as per your recipe today, and it came out so well. Your recipes are so tempting and easy to follow. As far as I remember I don’t think so I made Vada as tasty and fluffy before.
    Thanks a lot for your recipes and bless you.

  13. Hello Aunty,

    First of all I would like to thankyou very much that you have uploaded dahi vada recipe in sush an elaborated manner that its just an instant hit.
    And because of your help I have got appriciations from all my relatives and they keep on asking me to make dahi vada every time there is a get together. My husband loves it the most . I tell every one abut your site . I have learnt a lot from you . Thank you Aunty once again , and keep new recipes coming , I am definately a regular of your site.

  14. Hello,
    My mam loves all your recipes and is very delighted to try your dahi vada recipe, I really love it too, I just wanted to try it immediately when I first saw it, it is truly an excellent recipe.

  15. hi ,auntyji

    i want to learn dates &tamarind chunti can u send that recipe
    i have tried many of ur recipes all are very good (yummy ) really

    thanx waiting for this recipe

  16. Thank you so much for your recipes and videos. They are so good, especially because you create wonderful healthy tasty food with simple ingredients in a kitchen we can all relate to using pots pans and utensils we all have at home.

  17. Hello Manjula,
    I tried the dahi vadas for a party i had last week,it was fabulous,evryone enjoyed it thank u so much for the lovely recipe
    ashwini

  18. This is a very exciting post, I was looking for this info. Just so you know I discovered your weblog when I was checking for blogs like mine, so please check out my site sometime and leave me a comment to let me know what you think.

    1. Ashu, here are some tips that may correct that problem:

      1) whip the vada batter will and test by dropping a pea size into a glass of water. It should rise up to the top of the water. Otherwise, whip it some more.
      2) don’t make the vadas too large. I use a tablespoon measuring spoon to scoop the batter and put into the hot oil so they are all the same size.
      3) Fry them a little longer than you have been because the part that doesn’t absorb the yogurt is probably still a little under cooked. I fry one or two first, then cut them in half to see if they are cooked through. Then I know if the next batch needs to be cooked the same or longer.

      Hope this helps. Good luck!

  19. Hi Manjula Aunty,
    This is my first comment and I would love to say that because of yours elaborated & step by step cooking I have learnt a lot — everybody in my home loves my cooking – my husband loves the dahi vada’s a lot and the besan ka ladoo — Thank you sooooooo much.

  20. Made ‘Gobhi Paranthas’ and they turned out delicious. The tip about filling them and leaving them for a while before rolling them – was very helpful and they for the first time didn’t seep out of the dough!

    I also made the ‘Eggless Pineapple Cake’ which came out perfect. The good thing is your recipes are made with ‘cup measures’ so are easy to follow.

    Look forward to trying out other dishes as well. Thank you!!

  21. hi majula aunty,

    i am sahana, very fond of to go through ur recipes. they are very nice and as per my and my family member’s taste thank u very much.

    can you tell me where i can get the puff pastry sheets in bangalore like the one’s we get in australian super bazaars.please

    ok

    bye for now

    sahana

  22. Thank you Aunty for your reply. I have one more question: I don’t have Moong dal. Is it ok to use Channa dal or Masoor dal in its place?
    Thanks! 🙂

  23. Hello Aunty! I’m looking forward to trying this recipe out.
    I just have a question: In the written recipe, it is said that the vedas need to be soaked in warm water for 20 mins, but in the video you said to soak for 2-3 mins.
    So how long should I soak them for?
    Waiting your reply.
    Thank you!

  24. 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

  25. 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.

  26. 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 .

  27. 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

      1. 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.

    1. 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.

  28. hi aunty, i have been prepairing dahi vada with only urd dal they used to be bit hard also , i never used to whip the batter so
    much, today i will try your recepe with 3/4 urd and 1/3 moong.your recipe sounds good.

  29. Hello Aunty,

    Made dahi vadas this evening however they were a little rubbery and a few weren’t cooked inside.I had used only Urad dal.Where do u think I went wrong?
    Please advice.
    Rachel

  30. Hi, I came across your site while hunting for pictures of Dahi Vada, so I could put up my own recipe. I’ve linked the pic to your site, and am also linking up to this post from my own.
    I’ll definitely try out the dahi-free dahi vada sometime, sounds lovely!

  31. Hi Auntiji
    I tried your recipe..i had a small problem..my batter came out little thin..it was my mistake. So I added some rice flour to make it thick, vada came out ok, we enjoyed. I was happy for not throwing whole batter. After all cooking is trying new things.:)
    Thank you.

  32. Thanks for the reply Falguni. It’s helpful to know where people are from and how it influences their cooking. Knowing you are Gujarati explains the sugar.

    I cook in the style of U.P. mostly, but I like to know other regional styles also. 🙂

  33. hi jaya,

    in the north indian style dahi vadas, no sugar is added to yogurt (dahi)

    we are gujaratis – both my mother & m-i-l add powdered sugar to taste to the yogurt. they also do a vaghaar on the yogurt after whipping it. place little oil in a pan, add jeera, green chilli pieces, kadhipatta & add this vaghaar to the yogurt.

    dahi gets a sweet flavor because of sugar & vaghaar adds a very nice fragrance & spice to the dahi.

    then this dahi is used to top on dahi vadas.

    If you want to try this, when you make dahi vadas next time, you can try this on a cupful of dahi & taste the difference between both the yogurt tastes.

    My family has tasted both the yogurts & they like the yogurt that has the vaghaar & is sweet.

  34. hi,

    if you like dahi vadas that are lot more moist & dahi (yogurt) flavored…dip vadas in the dahi (yogurt) well in advance.

    If you are going to have them as an evening dessert or dinner side-dish, then dip the vadas in ample yogurt in the morning & place the bowl in the refrigerator. By evening, the vadas will soak lot more yogurt & they will be moist & yogurt flavored right to the core. The toppings can be done before serving.

    If you like to serve it as a sweet dish, then add powdered sugar to taste to the whipped yogurt to make the yogurt taste little sweeter than its fresh bland taste.
    then dip the vadas in this sweet yogurt & top with dhania & tamarind sweet n sour chutneys, sprinkle little salt, red chilli powder, pepper powder, jeera powder as per flavors that your family enjoys..

  35. Hi Kavitha,
    Use enough water to allow you to grind the dal to a creamy, but not watery consistency.
    Before you begin frying, whip the batter rapidly for a minute with a spoon or whisk to aerate the batter. Drop a pea sized portion of batter into a glass of water and it should rise immediately.

    The reason for them to be dry and rubbery could be that the batter was too dry and not whipped enough before frying.

    Try again and reply back if you are still having problems.

    Jaya A.

  36. Hi Aunty,

    I tried making this vada using very less water while grinding. Infact it took less water than you recommended. The yogurt would not soak the vada at all. Inside it turned out very dry and rubbery. I cannot think of anything else other than using little less water for grinding.

  37. Hi Manjula
    I was too excited to see video ” How to make vadas ” which is my passion. I am gonna to try your recepie. Hopefully will turn out well.Thanks a lot for this wonderful effort. God Bless you .
    cheers

  38. i tried this recipe two days back and it was awesome… turned out to be PERFECT… the only alteration i did, was, adding salt n chilli pwdr to the batter, added sugar to the dahi (very lil salt) and then beat it well and while serving, i made mithi chatni plus hari chatni… and served the dahi vada decorated wid both the chutneys… thanks a ton…
    PS also thanks for the chutney recipe. making the imli ki mithi chutney is so much easier this way… thanka!!!

  39. Hi Ayesha,
    You can use moong and urad dal as shown in the recipe -or- change the dal proportions to your liking. The urad dal alone is the traditional flavor, but some people find it harder on the tummy so the moong dal addition helps with that. Happy Cooking. 🙂

  40. dear manjula aunty
    i am new here bt i just wanna congratulate u on the wonderful work ur doin. ur recipes look awesome and simple. m gonna try these dahi baday soon…
    just a query here… what difference will it make if i change the proportions of the dals or if i wanna make it with just urad dal.. as i hav seen ppl doin that…
    thanks n regards
    ayesha sajid.

  41. Dear Manjula Aunty,
    I finally made time to make dahi vadas and they turn out very well. Today is Sunday so I turned lunch into “chaat” with dahi vadas, chhole, and poori.
    It was yummy. Wish I could have shared it with you. 🙂

  42. Namaste anuty, what if I dont have a measuring cup. If I have small bowl. I took 1/4 utad dal and two small bowls ( katori) of moong dal. Will my bater still come out good. Plz reply.
    regards
    Priti

  43. auntyji…yummy yummyy…

    i have gained more that 12 pounds!!!! evrytym u post a new recipie n i try n eat…thn it becomes regular in our diner….mera kya hoga…m becoming fat!!!!!

    thnks 4 the recipie….

  44. Thank You So Much Aunty,for replying my querry.I tried the dahi vadas as mentioned in the recipe,and they turned out to be really really great.All my inlaws were impressed.Thank You So Much.

  45. Hello Manjula Aunty,
    Thanks for posting such tasty recipes for learners like me.I would like to know that dont we have to add soda to the vadas batter in order to make them soft.Will they turn out to be more soft if we add or will it spoil them.

  46. Hi manjula,
    I like ur recipes a lot, especially recipes of samosas and rasgulla. I am just wondering if you have a recipe of chaat masala?
    Thanks a lot

  47. HI MANJULA AUNTY, YOUR R WONDERFUL.U GIVE US VERY NICE AND EASY RECIPE .TODAY I MAKE DAHI VADS AND IT’S COME VERY NICE AND TEASTY .THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR VERY EASY RECIPE.
    NASRIN

  48. Hello Preeti, yes you can add cashwe , raisins, green chili to dahi vada it will taste great.
    About Samosa and Kachori microwave is bad idea. you can freeze then half cook, difreset them and refry or heat in oven ot toaster oven.

  49. Hello Manjula aunty,
    I keep on watching your recipes …. i want to ask you that can i add some cashwe nuts and raisins in vadas ? Also want to ask you one thing about kachoris and samosas ….

    i make more kachoris and samosas at a time and i freeze them . After making if i eat immidietely those are very tasty but once i freeze and later when i reheat in microwave those kachoris and samosas leave too much oil and become so oily . Would you suggest me how i can solve this thing . Should i put less oil while kneading dough ?

  50. hello manjula aunty,
    i wanted to know if we can also make dahi wadas by using 3/4th cup urad dal and 1/4th cup of muug dal. what would be the difference? which ones would be lighter to digest?

  51. your style of making dahi wada is so simple and delicious that i can’t express
    in words. i also made jalebis with your style,it was just marvelous.my husband and both kids thanks me for both items…..but these thanks i am transferring to u
    only THANK YOU AUNTY

  52. Thankyou so much for this easy recipe alongwith the detailed demonstration. I tried out these dahi vadas today for dinner and followed your method exactly And they really came out quite well.Me and my husband relished them with the tamarind chutney. I will surely try to make them again!

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