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Dahi Vada (Dahi Bhalla Chaat)
This popular Dahi Vada or Dahi Bhalla recipe has the softest lentil fritters bathed in creamy yogurt and topped with a sweet and tangy chutney. This popular Indian street food is loved by all and is a perfect part of any festive menu!
Lentil balls in thick yogurt topped with chutney, which also comes in 2 small dipping bowls.
Dahi Vada is popular all over India, but especially in North India. It can be served as an appetizer/snack, as Dahi Bhalla Chaat, or as a side dish for dinner. This dish is naturally vegetarian and gluten-free. It can be made vegan using vegan yogurt.
Dahi Vada is lentil fritters dipped in yogurt. Dahi is “yogurt” and Vada is “fried lentil fritters”. It’s a delicious, melt-in-your-mouth type of dish.
The lentil fritters are soaked in water to soften them. It is then dipped in creamy whipped yogurt and topped with chutney and spices. Tamarind chutney and mint coriander chutney are the most common. Also sprinkle some roasted ground cumin, and red chili and sprinkle with coriander. Some people also like to sprinkle some chaat masala on top.
Dahi Vada is also known as “Dahi baray” in Marathi, Dahi Bhalla in Punjabi, thayir vadai in Tamil, thairu vadas in Malayalam, perugu vada in Telugu, mosaru vade in Kannada, Dahi bara in Odia and doi bora in Bengali. This street food is also very popular in Pakistan.
Dahi Bhalla is a popular street snack served as Dahi Bhalla Chaat. It can also be enjoyed as a side dish to Indian food. We always used to make Dahi Bhalla during festivals like Diwali and Holi. Another popular street food is the Mumbai Vada Pav which is a potato fritter in a roll along with chutney.
What is the difference between Dahi Bhalla and Dahi Vada?
As mentioned above, Dahi Bhalla and Dahi Vada are the same dishes. Dahi Bhalle is a common term in the northern part of India while in south India the common term is Vada. Vada is also made in the shape of a donut, but it is usually made as a lentil ball to eat with yogurt.
How to make Dahi Vada?
Ingredients of Dahi Vada
To make Dahi Vada, there are 3 main ingredients plus a chutney to assemble the final dish.
- Urad Dal (split-skinned black gram lentil)
- Moong Dal (Split Yellow Moong Lentil)
- Yoghurt
- Tamarind Chutney
- Mint Cilantro Chutney – this can be skipped in a pinch.
- The good news is that the chutney can be prepared separately or before making the Dahi Vada.
Making Dahi Vada requires planning as you have to soak the lentils for several hours before you can proceed to make the batter and Vadas.
Step 1: Soak the lens
Take the lentils to a large bowl and rinse them several times until the water runs clear. Soak them overnight. If you are in a pinch, you can soak them in warm water for 4 hours.
You can soak both lentils together, they don’t have to be soaked separately like in the idli recipe.
Step 2: Make the dough
Drain the soaking water. Add the ginger, green chilies, salt, and lentils to a blender such as a Vitamix. Blend on low to medium speed to form an almost smooth dough. The batter should be thick and dripping in consistency. Remove to a large bowl.
To make a soft Dahi vada, it is important to whisk the lentil batter vigorously to make it light and fluffy. You can do this with a spoon or ladle.
To check if the dough is ready to make vadas, place a small ball of dough with a spoon into a bowl filled with water. If the ball immediately begins to float on the surface, the dough is ready to make defects.
Some people add baking soda when making the dough. I never had to add it to get a soft blemish.
Step 3: Prepare the Vada
Heat oil in a wok or kadhai. Make sure the oil is hot before making the Vada. You can check this by dropping a single drop of batter, it should immediately rise to the surface of the oil. After the oil is hot, reduce it to medium heat.
Here is an easy trick to make lentil balls easily using a spoon. Scoop the water into a small bowl. Take a large spoon, dip it in water, then scoop the dough into the spoon and drop it into the hot oil. Now, before you make another mistake, dip the spoon in the water again and then take the dough. Repeat for each defect.
You can also make vada by scooping the batter with your hands (very carefully) or with an ice cream scoop.
When you drop the Vada into the oil, then keep pouring the oil over them using the ladle. When they are cooked looking Vada (golden brown color) on one side, flip them with a ladle.
Dahi Vada steps to fry
When the other side is done, remove them to a dish lined with a tea towel to soak up the oil.
Fry in batches. Do not overcrowd the Vadas while frying.
Fried Dahi Vada Balls
Here’s what happened (or is still happening) for me. Once the Vada is made, half is eaten just like chutney or tomato ketchup. Oh…these are so good. Serve hot!
But don’t get carried away and eat them all, save some for the real treat – Dahi Bhalla!
Fried lentil fritters in a bowl with chutney in the back
Step 4: Soak the Vada’s
Now soak the vada’s in lukewarm water once they are fried (I mean the leftovers;-)). Soak for about 15 minutes. The bug soaks up water, doubles in size, and becomes super soft.
Now take each blemish and gently press between your palms to remove excess water.
Do this with any defects you plan to add to the yogurt right away. If you want to save for later, read the saving instructions below.
Step 5: Assemble the Dahi Vada
Beat the yogurt and season it with salt and sugar. I used yogurt made in the Instant Pot. Sugar is optional but highly recommended. You want to use cold chilled yogurt here.
You want to have the chutney and spices ready. Chopped coriander.
Place the soft Vada from step 4 into the bowl. Pour yogurt over them so that they are all covered with yogurt. Place the chutney on top and sprinkle with spices. Garnish with cilantro.
I like to add tamarind chutney (tamarind chutney works great too) and roasted cumin.
Now you can put it in the fridge for 1-2 hours to soak the lentil balls in the yogurt.
