Dahi Vada – Lentil balls soaked in Yogurt

The weather has been very hot here and so I decided to make cool dahi vadas folowing my father in laws recipe which has always been a big hit with my family.  My father in law used to make these in our restaurant so it brought make memories of how he served them with the sweet dates chutney and the hot chili and coriander chutney.  He used to make them with lots of different lentils like blck eyed peas and even mung beans.  I used Urad dall.

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Ingredients

• • 2 cups urad dall. Split and dehusked Matpe Beans
  • 4-5 green chilies
  • 1 inch grated ginger
  • salt to taste ( will need for the dall and the yogurt mixture)
  • pinch of soda bicarbonate
  • 1 litre sunflower oil for frying
  • 1 litre greek style yogurt ( can use homemade yogurt too)
  • 1 cup sweet dates and tamarind chutney
  • 1 cup coriander and green chili chutney

For garnishing (optional)

• 2-3 tbls chili powder
• 2-3 tbls cumin powder
• small bunch of coriander

Method:

1. Wash the urad dall in cold water and soak it over night.  Once soaked, transfer it to a blender and add 2 cups of old water, the green chilies, and ginger and grind the mixture until it is a lovely grainy texture.
2. Heat the oil in a karai or a wok.
3. Transfer the blended dall mixture to a mixing bowl and add the soda bicarbonate and mix well.  Take a tablespoon of the hot oil from the wok and add it to the mixture.  Adding the soda bicarbonate and the hot oil to the dall mixture will make the vadas soft and fluffy.  I learnt this from my father in law.

4.Check that the oil is hot by dropping a small piece of the dall mixture into the oil.  If it comes up too fast – the oil is ready.  Reduce the heat and using a spoon or your hands, drop some of the dall mixture into the oil.  I made mine quite small to ensure that the vadas get cooked well.  the vadas float up when they cook, turn them and once they are all golden brown, remove them.

5.Once all the vadas are cooked, boil a kettle of water and pour it in a mixing bowl.  Add the fried vadas to it and allow them to soak up the water.  The vadas will puff up when they soak up the water.

6.  In another mixing bowl, transfer the Greek style yogurt and whisk it using a hand whisk.  Add some salt to taste.

7.  Remove the vadas from the water and gently squeeze and flatten them using your palms and transfer them into the yogurt. once all the vadas are added to the yogurt – allow them to soak up the yogurt.  Garnish the top by sprinkling the ground cumin and chili powder and some chopped coriander.  Leave these to cool in the fridge for as long as possible. You will find that when you are ready to serve the vadas, your yogurt mixture will be a lot thinner than it was and that’s normal.

8.Serve the dahi vadas in individual bowls and garnish them with the dates and tamarind chutney and the green coriander and chili chutney. My family loves them with hot and spicy chili chutney  with a hint of the sweet and sour tamarind chutney.  You can also use a thinner version of my tomato and dates chutney.

Dahi vadas are really great to eat in the summer and you can make them as hot or as mild as you like them.

More snacks recipes you may wish to try out:

• Bateta vada
• Kachoris
• Mixed bhajias

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