Dahi Vada

Dahi Vadas are extremely tasty snacks. For those who haven’t tasted these yet, these are fried lentil dumplings that are dipped in a tempered and seasoned yoghurt mix. It is light and also easy for digestion making it a great option for snacking in the summer months.

Ingredients for Vadas:
1 Cup split black lentils (Urad Dal)
1/2 inch grated ginger
5-6 green chillies paste (or as per taste)
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying

Ingredients for serving:
21/2 – 3 cups Cold Whisked Curd)
1/4 tsp Black Salt (Kala Namak)
1 tsp Roasted Red Chili Powder (or as per taste)
1 tsp Roasted Cumin Powder
1/4 cup Tamarind Chutney (or as per taste) – store bought; any brand of your choice.
Chopped Fresh Coriander leaves (cilantro)

Preparation –

Take the lentils and soak overnight or for a minimum of 3 to 4 hours.
Make a paste of the dal.
Now add salt, chili powder & ginger to this batter
Keep whisking the batter till its fluffy
Let this stand for 10 minutes
Now heat oil in a pan
Scoop the batter using a small ladle and drop it into the oil to fry till golden brown
Fry in batches till the batter is used up.
Absorb the excess oil from the fried dumplings with some tissue papers
Let the vadas cool to room temperature
Now soak these in water for 20 minutes
After 20 minutes take these out and squeeze out the water from them by pressing each vada between your palms
Now whisk the curd very well with black salt and put the vadas in this curd mixture for 10 minutes
Let this cool since dahi vadas are best served cold
While serving, take a bowl, put a vada or two, cover with curd, add some tamarind chutney, sprinkle roasted red chili powder, Roasted Cumin powder, & chopped Coriander leaves.