the-brahma-kumaris-australia

Dahi Vada

Dahi Vada

Yes, we know… this meal sounds like Darth Vada and this is a meal that even Darth Vada would like 🙂
It’s Lentil dumplings for yogurt lovers!

Serves 6

Ingredients:
1 ½ cups whole urad dhal (White/skinless black matpe bean)
5 Green Chilies, cut into 3 pieces each
3 cm long Fresh Ginger, cut into 5-6 pieces
Salt to taste
¼ teaspoon Hing power (Asafoetida powder)
1 teaspoon Cumin Seeds
500 grams Plain Cold Yogurt
1 teaspoon Cumin Seed Powder
1 teaspoon Red Chili Powder
Black Salt to taste (optional)
30 grams Fresh Coriander/Cilantro leaves, finely chopped for garnishing
2 cups water for Buttermilk
Oil for deep Frying

Method:

  1. Wash and soak whole Urad dhal for 8 hours (overnight). Rinse once again and drain the dhal after soaking.
  2. In a blender place half the amount of the soaked Urad dhal, ¼ – ½ cup water, ginger and green chilies and blend until a thick semi smooth batter. Repeat until all Urad dhal is blended and transfer to a bowl and add cumin seeds, hing, salt & set aside. Note: do not add too much water, dhal batter should be of a thick consistency (should be able to drop it in like a dough ball).
  3. Make buttermilk in another bowl by whisking 1 cup of plain yogurt with 2 cups of water and ½ tsp salt and place in a flat tray and set aside.
  4. Prepare a bowl of 5 cups of plain water and set aside.
  5. Heat oil for deep frying and on medium flame when oil is hot, repeatedly scoop about 1 tbsp of dhal batter with spoon or fingers and place about 10 batter vadas. (depending on the size of your frying pan) Once vadas start to turn a little brown, use a butter knife to turn vadas around in the oil so that it get cooks evenly. Fry till golden brown.
  6. Once vadas are fried, drain them and transfer into the bowl of water as soon as possible. Wait till the vadas sink to the bottom of the bowl and gently remove each vada and squeeze lightly to remove excess water without breaking vadas. Place squeezed vadas into tray of buttermilk to soak. Repeat steps 5 and 6 till all batter is finished.
  7. Garnish tray of vadas with the rest of the thick plain yogurt, chopped coriander/cilantro leaves, red chili powder, cumin seed powder & black salt as per taste just before serving. If you have tamarind-date chutney or green chutney you can add to garnish.

 


Urad dhal


1 cup dry skinless whole urad dhal


Washing urad dhal


Soaking urad dhal in water


Cut ginger and green chilies semi-large pieces


Soaked urad dhal, ginger, chilies & some water to be blended together


Blended thick dropping consistency batter


Scooping batter by fingers


Letting scooped batter slide into oil to form small round vadas into hot bubbling oil


Separating and turning vadas with butter knief so that vadas don’t break as they are still half cooked


Excess oil being drained out of golden brown vadas


Transferring hot vadas into a bowl of tap water to soften and remove excess oil in vadas


Gently squeezing vadas to remove excess water


Soaking squeezed vadas in buttermilk in tray


Garnished with cilantro leaves, cumin powder and red chili powder

This dish is enjoyed cold.. have a lovely meal
and “May the Force be With You…”   Yeah! 🙂