Dahi Vada can just as easily be a main dish on a hot day as it can be the perfect accompaniment to other meat or vegetable dishes on a special occassion. You can also eat it as a snack!
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups Urad Daal without skin (black lentils)
- Salt to taste
- 2" piece of ginger grated
- 2 green chillies chopped very fine
- Vegetable/ canola/ sunflower oil for deep frying
- 3 cups thick fresh yoghurt (should not be sour)
- Red chilli powder to taste
- 1 tbsp chaat masala
- 2 tsps cumin seeds roasted gently and ground into a fine powder
- 1 1/2 tsp sugar
- Chopped corainder leaves to garnish
Preparation:
- Soak the urad daal in a bowl of water overnight. Grind it into a paste the next morning. Do not add any water while grinding.
- Add the green chillies and ginger to this paste.
- Mix 1 cup of yoghurt with 2 cups of water and salt to taste. Keep aside.
- In another bowl mix the remaining yoghurt with the red chilli powder, chaat masala, cumin powder, sugar and salt to taste. Mix well. Keep aside.
- Heat oil for deep frying on a medium flame. Grease your palms with oil 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. Drain and put immediately into the yoghurt/water mix. Allow to soak for 2-3 minutes.
- Remove from the yoghurt/water mix and press gently between your palms. Arrange these vadas in a deep platter as you prepare them.
- When all urad daal paste is used up and the the vadas are done as above and in the platter, pour the thick yoghurt mix over them to cover completely.
- Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and chill in the refrigerator for a few hours before serving.
- To serve, put 1 or 2 Dahi Vadas in a plate and garnish with Tamarind Chutney and green Mint-coriander Chutney.
