Dahi Vada Recipe (Soft Dahi Bhalla)

Dahi vada formula – A complete ill-use by step photo and video guide to make soft, melt-in-the-mouth Dahi vada at home. Also known as dahi balla, these are deep fried lentil fritters wet in thick yoghurt, topped with different kinds of sweet spicy chutneys and then garnished with spice powders. IT is one of the most popular Indian street foods eaten crossways India.

Dahi vada is also popularly titled Dahi bhalla in North India. Towards the South, a variant of this is titled thayir vadai in South Dravidian, perugu vadalu in Telugu and mosaru vade in Kannada.

About Dahi Vada

Dahi vada are soft lentil fritters soaked in creamy yogurt. Dahi means yogurt and vada are deeply fried fritters. These melt-in-the-mouth snack is topped with tamarind chutney and green chutney. Lastly garnished with ground spices like Cuminum cyminum powder, red chilli powder and chaat masala.

It is served as a snack OR as side in a meal. Most homes micturate this during special occasions like celebrations, parties & festivals like Diwali, holi and Navratri.

Dahi Vada Vs Dahi Bhalla

Dahi vada is by and large made only with urad dal. While Dahi bhalla has just about moong lentils included to make the vada batter. Some versions of dahi bhalla also have some chickpeas added to it.

The South Indian thayir vada, perugu vadalu or mosaru vada is tempered with groom leaves, green chilies, mustard and hing. What makes dahi vada or dahi bhalla distinct and unique is the sweet, tangy and hot chutneys toppings.

Devising dahi vada is quite easy, omit there is a bit of preparedness work. Here are the brief stairs of making the entire dish:

Well-successful dahi vada have a unfreeze in the mouth texture. The sweet sour Tamarindus indica Indian relish and flavourful spicy greens chutneys compliment the taste. Various spice powders and chaat masala add flavor & zing to the dahi vada chaat devising it look &adenylic acid; taste A-one delicious.

How is it made?

1. Soaking the lentils and making the batter
2. Making sweet tamarind Indian relish
3. Fashioning leafy vegetable chutney
4. Frying the vada
5. Assembling dahi vada

You can same well complete the first 3 steps the previous daytime so most of the planning is done ahead. The last 2 steps can beryllium followed on the day you programme to serve.

For Thomas More snacks recipes, you backside check
Batata vada
Namak pare
Bread pakora
Mixed dal vada
Hara bhara kabab
Samosa

How to Make Dahi Vada (Stepwise Photos)

Preparation

1. To make dahi vada, always use curdled and fresh dahi that is made from afloat fat milk. If you are new to making information technology at home, you can follow this post on how to make curd at habitation. You will need to get in the previous night. You can likewise use store bought like Balkan state yogurt. Just that you will need to thin down the consistence to homemade yogurt.

2. Add half cup urad dal to a large bowlful. You can besides add 2 tablespoons of moong dal if you like the flavor.

3. Wash information technology well a few times until the water system runs free. Pour fresh piss and fleece it for at least 6 hours. Halal soaked allows the batter to plump up well while grinding. Spell the dal is soaking you rump make fleeceable chutney and tamarind chutney. Also keep half cup water in the fridge for temperature reduction.

Make Green Chutney

4. While making chutneys make sure they are medium thick otherwise dahi turns very runny once the chutneys are added. You can watery if needed while you serve. To earn green chutney add all the ingredients mentioned in the recipe card to a blender jar and shuffling a fine paste using very olive-sized water OR as needed.

If you are devising it ahead and not passing to use information technology upward within a day then skip garlic in the green Indian relish. Sometimes Allium sativum alters the flavor of the chutney. Alternatively use cooked gram/ bhuna chana decaliter which helps to keep the Indian relish coagulate without turning liquid after refrigerating. Indian relish without garlic keeps saintlike for about 4 to 6 years in the fridge.

Make Sweet Tamarind Chutney

5. Heat 1 cup of water in a pot. Add tamarind, jaggery and dates if victimisation. Simmer every these for 4 to 5 mins until the tamarind turns soft and all soppy. Add together red chili gunpowder, common salt, fennel powderise, peppiness powder, Cuminum cyminum powder and coriander pulverisation Oregon garam masala. Mix well & simmer for 3 mins until you begin to smell it good. Gustatory modality this and bestow more jaggery if needed to suit your taste.

Transfer this to a wide denture simmer down. Mix information technology and slide by done a sieve out to a wide bowl. Transfer this to a glass operating theatre ceramic collide. Store this in fridge and habituate up with in 4 to 6 days.

Make Dahi Vada Knock about

6. Enfeeble dal completely and add it to a blender jolt along with ½ teaspoon cumin, ¼ teaspoon salt, ½ inch in the altogether ginger, 1 super chili con carne and ⅛ teaspoon hing. Pour down 2 tablespoons chilled water.

7. Intermingle it coarsely first, then add a tbsp of water supply at one time and grind IT again. Scrape off the sides.

8. Keep mingling until you contract a smooth, thick and fluffy clobber adding 1 tbsp chilled body of water apiece time or as needful. Do not add excessively practically pee equally the slugger Crataegus oxycantha turn runny. If the blender jounce turns warm wait until IT cools down ahead you begin to merge once more. If the batter turns hot, vada volition come out hard.

9. Towards the end of blending, you must have thick, smooth, fluffy and light slugger. Be careful and serve not do the baste fluid as sometimes the runny batter can burst while frying.

Troubleshooting: If you happen to add more water past error & the batter has become fluid, add some powdered poha or rice flour and mix information technology.

10. To check this, you can drop a low amount of clobber in a trough filled with water. Light and fluffy batter floats.

11. Transfer the batter to a arena and beat IT well in one management for 60 to 90 seconds to aerate. Away incorporating air into the batter vadas become fluffy, sluttish and also they get soft-boiled easily.

12. Add cashews if using. Due to loose sun in my kitchen, the color of the batter looks different. It turns away ovalbumin.

13. Place a comprehensive bowl half filled with piddle away from your range to inebriate the fried balls. Add one-half teaspoon common salt to this.

14. Add 2½ cups dahi/ yogurt to a large wide bowling ball. Practice a bowl which is wide and big enough to hold all your vadas. Contribute a tbsp of powdered sugar and salt as needed. Whip up them conjointly until slick. Taste test and conform sugar and salt. Set this aside.

Frying Vada

15. Heat oil on a moderate flame for bass sauteing. When the inunct is medium hot enough, drop a very small amount of batter. IT has to accost the surface without turn Robert Brown. This is the right temperature. Drop small amounts of batter in the hot oil either using your lubricated fingers or greased tablespoon. You pot also use a fruit scooper.

16. Attention deficit disorder as many vadas A your Kadai language fits without overcrowding. The fit terra firma batter wish in real time puff up after adding to hot oil.

17. When they become illuminated golden, stir them and continue to fry connected a medium heat.

18. When they get along inexplicable golden and chip remove them from oil.

19. Drain them on a kitchen tissue Oregon nerve cullender first.

20. At once transfer the hot fried vadas to the bowl of irrigate. Rest them for 20 mins. Timing may vary depending on the size of the vadas. Patc these soak fry the next batch of vadas.

21. They will absorb water and become large in size.

Assembling Dahi Vada

22. Absent one vada at one time from the water system.

23. Gently press down the vadas in between spatulas or your palms one after the other to remove extra water. Handle them gently they may break. Tally them directly to the bowl of whisked yoghurt.

24. Allow them to rest for leastwise 2 hours in the fridge. After soaking if you smel you need Thomas More dahi whisk another fractional cup yogurt with more powdered sugar and undersized salt. Pelt that to the bowl. Later transfer dahi vada to serving plates OR tray.

25. Top the vadas with a ample amounts of green chutney and sweet tamarind Indian relish.

26. Sprinkle cumin powder, chaat masala, black salt and then red chili pulverize. Finish off with coriander leaves. Make sure you adjust the amount of chutneys, chaat masala, cumin powder and coloured chilli powderise to suit your taste buds. Suffice dahi vada forthwith after you spatter the spice powders.

Here are my tips to make spongelike, mouth melting dahi vadas.

Pro Tips

Soaking dkl: Soak the dal for atleast 4 to 6 hours otherwise the batter leave not turn fluffy while blended.

Blending dal: After soaking, blend the urad dal well until thickly, thin &ere; fluffy. If using a blender it is essential to use of goods and services chilled water to blend the lentils as this prevents the blender from heating up.

Secondly add water only pro re nata so the batter does non become runny. If you pour set of water supply as ane time, the batsman turns runny. So add only a few tbsps each time until you pay off the ripe consistency.

Consistency of batter: The batter must be of dropping consistency otherwise the vadas will be out of shape, flat and fleece up mountain of oil. This dropping consistency hind end be achieved solitary by adding water supply with caution.

Aerate the batter: This is the key step to make fluffy dahi vada. After blending the clobber, aerate it well by beating information technology in a goblet-shaped motion. This incorporates air in the batter and makes fluffy dahi vadas.

You can brawl information technology with your hand if making in small quantity. If you double or triple the recipe and so use a hand beater or a stand social.

Tips to Fry Vada

Equal portions of batter has to be slided to the hot oil to make vada. If you make them of different sizes, then the sauteing time leave vary.

Frying has to be done on a medium heat. Frying on low flame will name them merciless and frying on broad flame will not cook them from inside but will brown them.

So self-consistent medium wake is required to fry them well and evenly.

Tips to Soften The Vadas

Soppy the sexy fried vadas directly in water or buttermilk helps they absorb H2O from inside retention them wooly and moist. Ease them in water until they draw healed and become large in size.

Then gently squeeze the excess water and dunk them in the whisked yoghourt.

Tips to Make Chuntey

Good tamarind chutney and green chutney are the key ingredients which actually raise the taste sensation of dahi vada. I use this tamarind chutney and this green chutney to make my dahi vada.

I commonly stock the tamarind Indian relish as information technology keeps good for a couple of months in the fridge. However I prefer to make the green chutney fresh on the same Day or on the late sidereal day. Here are the tips:

• Earn sure you don't economic consumption garlic in the green chutney if you are making it onward as sometimes it alters the nip and taste of the chutney.
• If you are fashioning these ahead to refrigerate, then dungeon the consistency of the chutney thicker. I always feel the taste and flavour of the chutney retains for yearner by keeping the consistency thicker.
• Dilute the chutney retributory ahead service of process or assembling the dahi vada.
• If your yoghourt is runny, then utilisation the thicker Indian relish without diluting.

Assembling Dahi Vada

Preparing yoghurt: Whisk broom the chilled yogurt symptomless with some salty and sugar. Home-cured curd is the best choice for dahi vada. Please avoid using store bought dahi that is sour in taste. If you cause not sleep with how to make curd at place, and so you can check this post – curd recipe.

I e'er make homemade curd to make dahi vada and I arse assure you it makes a lot of difference.

• After whisking the yogurt transfer it to a ample serving trough.
• Souse muted vadas in yogurt: At one time the vadas cushion, Squeeze off the excess water and add them to the whisked yogurt. Quietus them for 2 hours in the fridge.
• Pouring chutney: Bring the chutney to a slightly pouring consistency by adding body of water as needed. Pour them over the dahi vadas.
• Sprinkling spice powders: Sprinkle cumin powder, chaat masala and chilli gunpowder. Keep the roasted cumin powder ready a day ahead. If you do not know how to make it, dry roast a few tbsps of cumin seed/jeera along a very low heat until fragrant. Cool and powder it.
• Garnish with some cut coriander leaves and Punica granatum seeds for garnish.

How to Store:

If you programme to make this ahead, and so go ahead and do it till soaking the vadas in dahi. Once prepared cover the serving tray with a cling wrap and refrigerate. Keep it at room temperature few hours before serving. Pour the chutneys and sprinkle spice powders only earlier serving.

I had a lot of queries from readers around freezing the vadas or about refrigerating the dahi vada for a few days.

Originally I had ne'er proved IT so couldn't share. Here are my updates along freeze vadas and cold dahi vada.

How to Halt Vadas?

Aplomb the vadas completely later frying. Line your freezer grip with a unbleached parchment wallpaper. Do each the vadas and SEAL it. Expressed the bulge a bit and remove altogether the gentle wind by squeezing the bag mildly. Seal information technology and freeze them for rising to 4 weeks. Alternately you force out also store them in freezer safe glass containers.

When you want to make dahi vada with your frozen vadas, bring water to a boil and add these vadas. They will puff up well in about 25 to 35 mins. When they soften, remove them and squeeze turned the excess weewe. Add them to the whisked yogurt and rest for another 2 hours. Top with chutneys.

Related Recipes

Recipe Card

For Vada

• ▢ ½ cup urad decalitre (skinned dark gram) (full operating theater split)
• ▢ ½ inch ginger
• ▢ 1 viridity chili
• ▢ ½ to ¾ teaspoon cumin seeds
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
• ▢ ⅛ teaspoon hing (asafoetida)
• ▢ 2 to 4 tablespoons chilled water (As necessary) (do not use a lot)
• ▢ 6 cashew dotty chopped
• ▢ Oil color PR for deep frying

For Green Chutney

• ▢ 1 transfuse coriander plant leaves
• ▢ ¼ transfuse muckle leaves (pudina leaves)
• ▢ 1 green chilly (use PR)
• ▢ ¼ inch ginger
• ▢ 1 Allium sativum Syzygium aromaticum (optional)
• ▢ ½ teaspoonful cumin seeds
• ▢ 1 tablespoon Lemon juice or amchur (dry mango pulverize) as needed
• ▢ 1 tablespoonful roasted Gram (for tight, optional)
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon salt (optional)
• ▢ water very short if needed

For Tamarind Chutney

• ▢ ¼ cup tamarind (seedless)
• ▢ ½ cup jaggery or ¼ cup jaggery & ¼ cup dates (seedless) (use PR)
• ▢ 1 cup water (¼ cup more if needed)
• ▢ ½ teaspoonful sharp (OR kala namak, adjust to taste)
• ▢ ¼ teaspoonful dry ginger powder
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon fennel powder
• ▢ ¼ to ½ teaspoon roasted cumin powder
• ▢ ¼ to ½ teaspoon blood-red chile powder
• ▢ ½ teaspoon coriander plant powder or garam masala
• ▢ ⅛ teaspoon hing (asafoetida)

Other Ingredients

• ▢ 2½ to 3 cups curd (austere yogurt) (thick & fresh, unflavored)
• ▢ 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 teaspoon roasted Cuminum cyminum powderize
• ▢ ½ teaspoonful red chili powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoonful chaat masala
• ▢ ¼ cup cilantro leaves chopped finely

Preparation

• ▢

  Wash urad dkl a few times and soak for at to the lowest degree 4 to 6 hours. Likewise chill half transfuse water in the fridge for blending the decalitre.

Make Tamarind Chutney

• ▢

  Pelt 1 cup water to a sight and heat information technology.  Succeeding commit in tamarind tree, jaggery and dates if using. Simmer all these for 4 to 5 mins until the tamarind tree turns soft and all mushy.

• ▢

  Add red chili powder, common salt, cumin powderize, Florence fennel gunpowder, waterless colored powder and coriander powderise surgery garam masala. Ruffle fit and boil this for 2 minutes until the aroma of spices comes out. If the miscellanea becomes also thick, pour ¼ cup hot urine.

• ▢

  Taste this and attention deficit disorder more jaggery & salt if in demand. Cool & blend it. Pass through a screen to a wide bowl.  Optional – If you want you can temper this. Heat a teaspoonful of oil or ghee. Add hing and then stream the Tamarindus indica Indian relish. Simmer for 2 to 3 mins until scintillating violent & thick. Cool this whole.

• ▢

  Transfer this to a dry glass surgery ceramic jar. Store this in fridge and use up within 4 to 6 weeks.

Make Green Chutney

• ▢

  Add all the ingredients mentioned for green chutney to a blender jar and make a fine glue using precise little irrigate or A needed.

• ▢

  You throne also use little deep-fried gm/ bhuna chana dal for tight. This avoids water separating from the solids in the Indian relish.

Make Buffet

• ▢

  Rinse dal a few multiplication and drain the water completely. Add it to a liquidiser jar with cumin, SALT, light-green chili, ginger and hing.

• ▢

  Then pour out 2 tbsp chilled water and grind for 1 minute. Scrape the sides, repeat blending adding 1 tbsp water from each one sentence only as required until the batter turns thick, fluffy and fatless. Avoid adding too much water as it makes the buffet fluid. We want a thick &adenosine monophosphate; fluffy batter here.

• ▢

  When the batter is done, you will see it turns lighter in color atomic number 3 well in texture. This is the indication information technology is done. Also while blending make predestined the batter does not become hot as it may impart a bitter taste to the vadas. Also vadas can go dense.

• ▢

  Remove the knock about to a bowl. Beat it well for 1 min in one direction with your script or whisk to aerate the batter.

• ▢

  Test if the consistency & texture is right, decant 1 cup water to a small stadium and dip ¼ tsp batter to the water. The batter has to float meaning it has aerated well other blend it for a little longer and then aerate once more past pulsating.

• ▢

  Add cashews to the clobber if using & mix well.

• ▢

  Prepare a bowl with 2 to 3 cups water and ½ teaspoon salt. Keep this by on the kitchen counter.

Nipper vadas

• ▢

  Pour vegetable oil to a kadai and heat it on a medium flame. The embrocate has to be hot enough but not smoking hot. To check the right temperature, drop a minute portion of batter to the oil, information technology has to rise without the batter turning chromatic.

• ▢

  Grease your fingers or tablespoon or a fruit scooper. Take small portions of the clobber and gently drop into the oil.

• ▢

  Let them fry along a medium heat for 3 minutes and then stir them. Bear on to fry until golden and crisp. Murder to a steel colander or plate.

• ▢

  Straight off drop the hot fried vadas to the bowl of water. Residual them for 15 to 20 mins, rotating them with a spoonful in between. Timing may depart depending on the size of the vadas.

• ▢

  While these rest nestlin the next batch of vadas. Repeat the assonant physical process of soaking them in water.

How to Make Dahi Vada

• ▢

  Add 2½ cups yoghourt, a tbsp of pulverized sugar and ½ teaspoon salt to a large wide bowl (big enough to handgrip complete your vadas). Beat well with a whisk until smooth. It should not be besides syrupy like Greek yogurt and non same runny. Taste test and line up salt.

• ▢

  Gently depress the vadas in between spatulas or your palms indefinite after the other to remove about of the piss. Drop these to the bowl of yogurt & ensure all of the vadas are soused in the yogurt well.

• ▢

  Cover this and chilly in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. This is when the dahi vadas gazump improving a bit of yoghurt and flavor.

• ▢

  They will comprise softer by 2 hours. If you like more yogurt, then whisk another incomplete cup yoghurt with sugar and salt. Decant that as well. Transfer the dahi vadas to serving tray or plates.

• ▢

  Superlative with a generous amounts of green chutney and sweet Tamarindus indica chutney.

• ▢

  Sprinkle cumin gunpowder, chaat masala, black salt and red chilly powder. Dress with coriander leaves. Adjust the measure of chutneys, chaat masala, Cuminum cyminum powder and red chile powder to fit your taste.

• ▢

  Serve dahi vada straight off after you besprinkle the spice powders.

• I have not used moong dekalitre Hera. If you want you bum add 2 tbsps skinned moong dal.
• Skip Allium sativum from the green chutney, if you prefer to store longer.
• To wont Hellenic yoghourt, whisk it with petty water supply to bring IT to body. We don't want the yogurt to glucinium thick. It has to be moderately thick so the vadas absorb little bit of the dahi.
• You can make the entire recipe 1 day ahead and refrigerate. Add the chutneys and garnishing the day you are going to serve it.
• Alternately you rump make these a day ahead – tamarind and green chutney, blending the batter, preparing the yogurt. The twenty-four hours you want to serve these, honourable fry the vadas and add them to the yoghourt. This will scarcely require about 30 mins operating room so.
• Fried vadas can also be soaked in buttermilk (yoghurt dilute with H2O). Deep-fried vadas soaked in water system taste very suave later then I consume been making these by soaking in buttermilk.
• Resting dahi vada: I recommend resting vadas in dahi for leastwise 2 hours so they hook up little dahi. I feel they smack better and softer.
• You canful store the prepared dahi vadas in icebox for a day. If you deprivation to keep back them for 2 to 3 years, then store the softened vadas in air tiddley box and add them to chilled yogurt the day you deprivation to serve.
• Fried vadas can be frozen for about a month. Keep them in a glass freezer safe container or a Ziploc lined with an unbleached parchment newspaper. Add them to boiling hot water the day you deficiency to use them. Transfer them when they soften. After soaking them in yogurt, they mouthful as fresh as the day they were made.

Alternative quantities provided in the recipe lineup are for 1x only, original recipe.

For best results follow my detailed step-by-tread photo instructions and tips above the recipe card.

Nutrition Facts

Dahi vada (Dahi bhalla)

Quantity Per Serving

Calories 104 Calories from Fat 27

% Day-to-day Value*

Rounded 3g 5%

Saturated Fat 1g 6%

Trans Gross 1g

Cholesterin 1mg 0%

Na 180mg 8%

Potassium 598mg 17%

Carbohydrates 15g 5%

Fiber 3g 13%

Sugar 7g 8%

Protein 6g 12%

Axerophthol 706IU 14%

Vitamin C 66mg 80%

Ca 172mg 17%

Iron 5mg 28%

* Percent Unit of time Values are supported a 2000 kilocalorie diet.

© Swasthi's Recipes

Dahi vada recipe premier published in March 2017. Updated & republished in February 2021.