Dahi Wada
Dahi vada, also known as dahi bhalla or dahi bara is a dish in which vada is dipped in creamy yogurt and sprinkled with some everyday spice powders. It's one of the most popular street foods in India. So for a fun appetizer or party treat, try my heirloom and classic dahi vada recipe with step-by-step photos.
Servings 4 people
Ingredients
For Wada:
- 1 Cup Urad dal without skin black lentils
- 1 tsp Ginger
- Salt to taste
- Oil for deep frying
To Assemble :
- 4 cups Fresh Curd or as needed
- Black Salt kala namak, to taste
- Cumin Powder freshly roasted
- Red Chilli Powder roasted, to taste
- Salt to taste
Instructions
How to make Wada:
- Clean, wash and soak urad dal overnight.
- Grind the urad dal with salt and ginger, adding just enough water to make into a thick and smooth paste. (In a mixing dish, place the ground batter. Stir the batter vigorously for a few minutes. This helps to aerate the batter, making it lighter and fluffier).
- Heat oil on a medium flame for deep frying. Grease your palms with oil or water and put 1 tbsp of the lentil mix in your palm.
- Make into a donut shape (these are the vadas), Slide each vada into the hot oil and fry till light golden.
- Side by side heat water in a big broad pot, once hot turn off heat. Add the Vada to the hot water.
- Don't add too many at a time. Give enough space for the Vada to breathe, as they tend to expand more in water.
- Keep in water for about 5 minutes or until they are soaked. Take the Vada out and very gently squeeze them to take the excess water out. Don't squeeze them too much to make them flat. Take out all the vada's in same way and set them aside.
- Soaking the Vada in water makes them soft and fluffy and juicy.
- Roast cumin seeds and red chilli and grind them seprately. Set aside. (You can take the quantity of red chilli and cumin seeds as pr your taste, roast them and use as per your requirement)
How to Serve:
- Add curd in a bowl, then add roasted chilli powder, and roasted jeera powder to curd and give it a nice mix. Now add black salt and salt to taste and mix well.
- Keep in refrigerator for an hour to get chilled.
- Now add the squeezed wada's to the yogurt mixture. Dip it properly so that the wada is well coated with curd.
- Place the Vada in a serving bowl and pour the yogurt mixture as needed, evenly over the Vada's, covering them completely.
- Sprinkle black salt, red chilli powder and roasted cumin powder to taste and serve. (Follow the same process for all the wada's).
Notes
- We need to incorporate air into this batter in order to make soft dahi vada. This can be done with a hand mixer or a basic hand whisk, You can also do this by using a stand mixer.
- To test if the batter has risen properly, drop a small portion into a bowl of water. The batter should float which means it's perfectly fluffy.
- If you want to serve the vada in a few hours, soak them, drain them, and keep them in an airtight jar in the refrigerator. Simply top with curd and spices when ready to serve.
- If you leave Dahi vada soaked in yogurt for long (overnight or so ) it may leave the water so prefer adding curd only when you want to serve (a couple of hours before is fine).
- Fry vada on medium heat to ensure the center cooks and they are golden and crispy on the outside.
- Frying on low heat will cause the wada to soak more oil. Too much heat will cause the vada to brown quickly and leaving the center uncooked.
- Soak them in water for a few minutes before pressing out the excess. Vada should return to its original shape if done correctly.
- Before serving, soak the wada in curd for at least 1-2 hours. (but if you don't have time you can serve immedietly.