Dahi vada is also known as "Dahi vade" (दही वडे) in Marathi, Dahi vada (दही वड़ा) in Hindi, "Dahi Bhalla" in Punjabi, thayir vadai in Tamil, thairu vadas in Malayalam, perugu vada in Telugu, mosaru vade in Kannada, Dahi Bara (ଦହି ବରା) in Odia and doi bora (দই বড়া) in Bengali. It is referred to as Dahi bade (دہی بڑے) in Urdu.
Prep time: 4 Hrs Cooking time: 25 minutes Total: 4:25 minutes Serving: 12 persons
Ingredients:
For Making Vadas
1 Cup Whole Black gram Urad dal or Minapa Pappu
1 Tbsp Raw Rice optional
1 inch Ginger finely chopped
For seasoning the batter
1 Large Onion finely chopped
2-3 Green Chillies finely chopped
1 Sprig Curry Leaves finely chopped
1/2 cup Coriander finely chopped
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
As per taste Salt
For Spiced yogurt sauce
500 ml Yogurt / Curd
As per taste Salt
2-3 Dry Red chilies
1.5-2 cups water depending on the thickness of yogurt
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
1/2 tsp Fenugreek/Methi seeds
1 generous pinch of Asafoetida
1 sprig of curry leaves
For Deep-Fry
As required oil for deep-frying
Steps to follow:
Clean the lentils using running water 2 to 3 times to remove any impurities. Soak lentils in plenty of water for about 3-4 hours. Grind lentils in a mixer or stone grinder to a thick paste along with ginger. Use very little water to grind the soaked lentils into paste or thick batter.
Take the batter in a bowl and add all the ingredients under the heading “To season the batter”. Mix it well with your hand to incorporate all the stuff into the batter.
Whip yogurt to a smooth consistency and add water to get the required consistency. It should be basically very thick. Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Add red chilies, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, and fenugreek seeds. When mustard seeds splutter, add turmeric powder, asafoetida, and curry leaves. Turn off the heat. Now pour the tempering on top of whipped yogurt.
Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat. Wet your hands and make small balls out of batter. Flatten the ball and make a hole at the center and gently slide it into the oil. Alternatively, you can take the ball of batter on a plastic cover by wetting your hands occasionally and form a disc shape. Place a hole in the center and drop them into hot oil for deep-frying. Drop the garelu/vadas carefully into hot oil and deep-fry them on both sides to just turn a light golden color.
Now take this vada and drop it in a bowl filled with water. Take it out in 30 seconds, squeeze the water just by putting the vada in the middle of both your palms or between 2 spoons. We are doing this process so that the vadas absorb curd very well and they will be very soft. Now drop this vada in tempered curd. Repeat the same process for all the vadas and flip them to the other side after an hour to make sure it absorbs curd on the other side also.
South Indian Style Dahi Vada will be ready after an hour of soaking. Refrigerate and serve chilled. You can use it for 2 to 3 days when refrigerated. Optionally you can garnish with grated carrot and Sev on top and serve.