Dahi Vada - Dahi Bhalla

Dahi Vada or Dahi Bhalla is an immensely popular Indian chaat dish. This protein packed, gluten-free recipe is made from lentil fritters dunked in whipped creamy yogurt and drizzled with sweet and spicy chutney and spices. Its served as a snack, appetizer or side with main meal and is absolutely melt in mouth delicious!!

WHAT IS DAHI VADA OR DAHI BHALLA

Dahi means yogurt and vada is fritters (deep fried kind) so the literal translation for these is fritters dunked in yogurt.

The base of this dish is vada (fritters) made of Urad dal (split skinned black gram lentils). These crispy vada are also known as Medhu vada and taste super delicious on their own with side of green chutney. Thus you get two dishes using one recipe, winner!!

To make these as dahi vada, soak these vadas in water till soft and then layer with yogurt, chutney and spices and there you have delicious Dahi Vada ready!!

Dahi Vada can be served as as snack, appetizer or as a side dish with the main meal. You will find these from the road side chaat stalls  (street vendors) called as dahi bhalla chaat (in Delhi), to most Indian wedding menus as well as in high-end restaurant and even in homes.

IS DAHI BHALLA AND DAHI VADA SAME

The answer is yes!! Dahi Vada and Dahi bhalla are same dish just known differently in different parts of India. 

I have grown up eating these soft spongy yogurt-laden lentil fritters, knowing them as dahi vada but my husband calls them Dahi bhalla. Even today when I ask him should I make dahi vada? His response is, you mean bhalla?  

The reason being Northern India knows them as dahi bhalla where as Maharashtra and around they are called dahi vada. I've also heard people call them dahi bara or dahi bade.

Whatever you prefer to call them, they are simply delicious so definitely try them if you haven't already!! They are melt in mouth soft, juicy and extremely tempting, bet you can't stop eating these.

DAHI VADA INGREDIENTS:

The main ingredients to make dahi vada recipe are lentils and yogurt as the name suggests but there are other few key ingredients to complete this recipe. So lets see what all we will need.

Lentils: I always use just one type of lentil called urad dal(split skinned black gram) to make my vadas since that's how my mom makes them. But I've seen many use a mix of moong dal and urad dal. 

Aromatics : Cumin seeds, ginger & green chilli, I would recommend adding these as they give this nice flavor and aroma to these fritters. 

To serve dahi vada you will need: 

Yogurt:  I prefer using full fat plain yogurt (store-bought or homemade) and whipping it until smooth. Thin it out using water or milk as needed. Preferably keep it on thicker side so it coats the fritters. Season it with salt and some sugar (optional but recommend). 

Condiments: You will need sweet date and tamarind chutney and spicy green chutney to dress up your dahi bhalla. You can either make these at home or use store bought. These chutneys can be made ahead of time and refrigerated or even frozen. 

Spices: red chilli powder (optional), roasted cumin seeds powder, black salt (kala namak) or regular salt and chaat masala. 

HOW TO MAKE DAHI VADA

Making dahi vada is easy but just needs a little bit of planning. The steps involved in making dahi vada (dahi bhalla) are, making the batter, frying the vadas and then soaking and assembling them. Lets see details for each step:  

TO MAKE DAHI VADA BATTER:

Rinse the urad dal in water 4-5 times until water runs clear. Then soak them in sufficient water over night or in hot water for 4-5 hours or until they have swelled up.

Drain the water and add the lentils along with ginger and green chilli (optional I've skipped it) in a blender (I use my vitamix). Grind it into a smooth paste using very little water (approximately ¼ cup). The ground batter should be thick and dropping consistency. 

To make soft dahi vada, we need to beat air into this batter. This can be done using hand beater or simple hand whisk too but I prefer to use my Kitchenaid stand mixer to do this. Just easier and the machine does the job for you.

Transfer the smooth ground dahi vada batter into the stand mixer bowl and using a whisk attachment, beat on medium speed for 5 mins. 

The batter should be nice and fluffy and increased in size due to all the air that has been incorporated. Add cumin seeds, black salt (or regular salt), asafoetida and baking soda (if using, I havent used any) and again beat for a min to two until well incorporated.  

Tip: To test if the batter has risen properly, drop a small portion into a bowl of water. The batter should float which means its perfectly fluffy. 

TO FRY THE VADA:

Heat sufficient oil in a vessel (for deep frying) on medium to high heat. Test oil temperature by dropping a small drop of the batter into the oil. It should rise to the top immediately that means the oil is ready for frying. If the oil is not sufficiently hot, the vadas will soak oil making them greasy.

Once the oil is hot, turn it back to medium heat since its important to cook the centre of vadas too without excessive browning/burning them from outside.

To add the vadas to the oil, use a spoon or cookie scoop or ice-cream scoop to get same size vadas. 

Now that the oil is hot, add a scoop/spoonful of batter to this hot oil (as many as you can fry at a time without overcrowding) & deep fry on medium heat till the vada has become golden brown, flipping half way through. Drain and remove them on absorbent paper to soak the excess oil. 

These deep fried golden fritters (vada) are crispy on outside and soft on the inside and make excellent breakfast or snack with side of green chutney and hot chai. These are also called as medhu vada and usually shaped like donuts. 

Assembling Dahi bhalla: 

Soak the warm fried vada in water for 15 -20 mins. Soak only that many vadas as you plan to serve. Rest can be refrigerated or frozen. If using refrigerated or frozen vadas, soak in warm water.  The soaked vada will absorb water and almost double in size and become soft and spongy.

Meanwhile, whisk plain whole milk yogurt (homemade or storebought) until smooth. Season it with salt and sugar to taste (optional, but recommended) to it and mix and keep in refrigerator to chill.

Squeeze out the water by pressing the vada between your palms & add them in whisked yogurt. Even after you squeeze the vada they should bounce back to their shape which means they are perfect, soft and spongy.

Arrange the yogurt dipped vadas on the serving plate and refrigerated for 1 -2 hours.

Meanwhile, thin out the yogurt using water or milk, keeping the consistency still on the thicker side. Add it on top to cover this dahi bhalla completely. Sprinkle with roasted cumin seeds powder, some red chilli powder, and chaat masala.

Serve with sweet chutney and green chutney and some more of the spice mix (cumin seeds, red chili, chaat masala, salt) on the side for everyone to customize to their liking. 

That's it, out Dahi Vada or Dahi Bhalla is ready!! Don't wait any longer and savor these mouth melting treats, Enjoy!!

CAN DAHI VADA BE MADE IN ADVANCE

This is how you can make dahi vada in advance and store them

• You can make the vada a day or two in advance, allow them to cool off completely and then store them in airtight/zip-lock containers in refrigerator. They can also be frozen after cooling for later use. When you want to serve, dip the refrigerated or frozen vada in warm water and follow the steps as listed above to prepare the dish.
• If you want to serve the vada in a few hours, you can soak them, drain and store in airtight container in refrigerator. When ready to serve just top with yogurt, chutney and spices and you are ready to serve.
• If you leave Dahi vada soaked in yogurt for long (overnight ot so ) it may leave water so preferably add yogurt only when you want to serve (couple of hours before is fine).  

TIPS FOR MAKING SOFT Dahi Bhalla 

Soak you lentils overnight or suggested time. 

It's important to grind the batter smooth and whisk until air is incorporated to make it light and fluffy. 

Fry vada on medium heat to ensure the centre cooks and they are golden and crispy on the outside. Frying on low heat will cause the bhalla to soak more oil. Too much heat will cause the vada to brown quickly and leaving the centre uncooked.

Soak them in water and then squeeze off the excess water. Rightly done vada should bounce back to original shape. 

Dunk in yogurt atleast for 1-2 hours before serving so that the bhallas now soak up all the yogurt. 

MORE INDIAN APPETIZER TO TRY: 

• Alu Vadi
• Veg Puffs
• Kothimbir Vadi
• Sabudana vada
• Beetroot Cutlets

Hope you enjoy this Dahi Vada (Dahi Bhalla)!! If you give this recipe a try, please rate by clicking stars ⭐️ on the recipe card. Thank you ❤️ ! You can also follow me on Facebook | Instagram to see what's cooking in my kitchen!!

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