Dahi Bhalla

Dahi Bhalla or Dahi Vada is a snack or chaat item which is prepared during Indian festivals like Holi and Diwali. As per my friend Pooja, it is an item which is mandatorily prepared at their place during Holi and served to all guests who visit. This recipe is what has been handed over to her by her mother-in-law and she follows the same process that her mil has taught her to make these soft and fluffy dahi bhallas.

Usually the bhallas or the vadas are deep fried. But we have used appe pan to fry them, which ensures much lower amount of oil. The trick to making soft bhallas is beating of the batter. Traditional way is to beat it using your fingers and in the same direction. So Pooja has shown us the same process while making this recipe. Do check out the video for checking out this process too.

The recipe for making these bhallas is different from the medhu vada that is a common snack in the southern part of India.

Dahi Bhalla

Course: SnacksCuisine: IndianDifficulty: Medium
Servings

4

servings
Prep time

20

minutes
Cooking time

15

minutes
Total time

35

minutes

Delicious dahi bhalla recipe using very less oil.

Ingredients

  • For making the bhalla
  • Urad Dal – ½ cup

  • Moong Dal – 2 tbsp

  • Green Chilli – 1 or 2, finely chopped

  • Ginger – ¼ inch piece, chopped

  • Salt – as per taste

  • Oil for frying

  • For soaking the bhallas
  • Lukewarm water

  • Salt

  • Asafoetida – a pinch

  • For assembling the chaat
  • Whisked yoghurt – 1 cup (adjust quantity as per choice)

  • Salt – as per taste (optional)

  • Sugar – a pinch (optional)

  • Green Chutney – 2 tbsp

  • Imli Chutney – 3-4 tbsp

  • Coriander Leaves – a few, chopped

  • Roasted Cumin Powder – ½ tsp

  • Chilli Powder – ¼ – ½ tsp

  • Black Salt – ¼ tsp (as needed)

Directions

  • Wash and soak the urad dal and moong dal overnight or for a couple of hours.
  • Drain the water and then grind the lentils together with the chilli and ginger and add a little water, as needed, into a smooth and fine paste. This should be a thick batter.
  • Transfer the batter into a bowl and then whip it vigorously with your hands, a whisk or a spoon till it becomes light and fluffy. When a small ball of this batter is dropped in a glass of water, it should rise up.
  • Heat an appe pan and pour a little oil in all the cavities. Let the oil heat up before adding the batter into it.
  • Drop small quantity of the batter into each cavity and let it fry on one side before turning it over.
  • Alternatively, you can deep fry the bhallas too.
  • Keep a bowl with lukewarm water ready on the side. Add a little salt and asafoetida to it and mix it.
  • Once the bhallas are fried, take them out of the pan and add them to the water. Let the balls soak water for 10-15 min.
  • Take them out of water and squeeze them between your palms to remove the water.
  • Transfer this to another bowl or to a serving plate.
  • To assemble, first add the salt and sugar into the yoghurt and mix well. You can skip the sugar and salt and just whisk plain yoghurt too.
  • On a serving plate, arrange the bhallas and pour the yoghurt on them.
  • Top it up with the chutneys, coriander leaves, cumin powder, chilli powder and black salt.
  • You can also sprinkle some pomegranates and sev on the assembled dahi bhallas.
  • Refrigerate and serve cold.

Recipe Video

1 Comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *