DAHI WADA ( Lentil fritters dipped in yogurt )

Dahi Vada is an immensely popular Indian chaat dish. This is made from lentils 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!!

My family loves eating Dahi vada , we even eat the deep fried vadas with chutney like a snack and then save some for soaking in curd and enjoying that way too.

Recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup split white urad dal, soaked for an hour
• 2 green chilies roughly chopped
• 1/2 inch piece of ginger
• 1 tbsp Besan / gram flour
• Salt to taste
• Water as needed
• 2 1/2 cups curd / yogurt well beaten
• 1/2 cup sugar
• a pinch of salt
• Jeera / cumin powder to taste
• Red Chili Powder to taste
• Green Chutney to taste
• Tamarind Chutney to taste ( optional )
• Coriander leaves finely chopped for garnish
• Pomegranate for garnish  

Preparing the Vada:

• Wash and soak the urad dal. Rinse and drain the water completely.
• Grind the urad dal, green chillies, ginger and salt into a thick coarse batter using as little water as possible.
• Transfer the batter into a bowl. Add besan to the batter and whisk enough to generate air in it .
• Once done mixing nicely , the batter will become light . 
• Now the vada mix is ready to fry.
• In a kadhai / wok heat enough oil for deep frying , let it heat up so that we can fry the vadas.
• Now once oil is hot , drop in lemon sized balls/vadas with your hands carefully , deep fry the vadas on medium heat. 
• Allow the vada to cook until golden brown on one side and then flip to the other side and cook again.
• Repeat the process with the whole lot.

Preparing the Curd:

• Whisk the curd, sugar,salt and blend them together. 
• The curd should be of pouring consistency. 
• Refrigerate the mixture until you are ready to serve the vadas.

Method to serve:

• Right before serving, soak the vadas in a bowl of water(warm) for 5-10 minutes, drain and squeeze the vadas gently to remove water.
• Arrange the squeezed vadas on a serving plate and pour the refrigerated yogurt over till the vadas are completely submerged.
• Sprinkle chili powder and cumin powder. Serve immediately garnished with pomegranate , coriander and accompanied by coriander and tamarind Chutneys - i do not use tamarind chutney as the curd is already sweet .

Notes:

Green chutney: https://loveisincookin.blogspot.com/2016/04/green-chutney-cilantro-dip-side-dish.html