Sunday, April 22, 2007

Dahi Bhalle aka Dahi Wada


I've convinced myself that Dahi Bhalle can be classified under the "fried, but no oil" category( I think I just invented a new category here;-) ) Well I do fry it, but the soaking of the wada in water after the deep frying gets rid of most of the oil, me thinks! I make a huge batch of these wadas and then freeze them. They freeze very well. When in a mood for chaat, I make either Dahi Bhalle or Papdi chaat.
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Dahi Bhalle is wadas dunked in loads of chilled and seasoned curds and then topped with tamarind chutney and spices. Papdi chaat, a popular snack in the northern parts of India is a tangy and spicy mix of crushed papdis (fried dough) and dahi bhalle, again served with loads of curds and chutneys. The roadside bhaiya(vendors) have their own signature blend of spices, which, if not impossible is pretty hard to duplicate. I add freshly roasted jeera(cumin) powder, red chili powder and salt. I've seen my friends add chat masala and black pepper powder as well, you can choose the mix that best suites your taste.
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I learnt how to make Dahi bhalle/Dahi wada from my mom, she makes the best dahi bhalle ever ;-)
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1 cup urad dal soaked for 2 hours
(you can soak a handful of yellow moong dal along with the urad dal)
1" ginger piece
1 green chili
pinch of soda (optional)
Curds
salt, fresh roasted & powdered jeera powder, red chili powder, sugar
chopped coriander leaves
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Grind the soaked urad dal, ginger and green chili very well. It is best to do it in small batches to avoid over heating of the grinder motor. Add very little water while grinding, the batter should be light and airy. It is very important NOT to make the batter watery, else the wadas will not be fluffy. The ginger and chili gives just a subtle hint of the spices, the intent is NOT to overpower the wadas with any strong flavor. Add salt to the batter. Can add a pinch of soda just before frying to lighten the batter. Spoon the batter into the hot oil and deep fry on medium heat till done and cooked through.


Once all the batter is used up and wadas are ready, I separate them into batches. I keep one batch for cooling down so that it can be ready for freezing. Dunk the other batch into hot water and squeeze them soft. (If the wadas turn out hard, it can still be salvaged. Bring salted water to a boil and add the wadas. Let them soak in the water for a few minutes and then squeeze, they are ready to be used)
Arrange the wadas on a platter. Whisk chilled curds with some salt, sugar and water to thin it down a little. Do not make it too watery though. Pour this over the wadas. Garnish with lots of tamarind chutney, jeera powder, red chili powder and chopped coriander leaves. Enjoy chilled dahi bhalle!
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I have tasted different variation of this. Some like their curds to be sweet, others like it salty. The Gujarati version has a sweet and spicy flavor and uses liberal amounts of curds.
The Punjabi version is salty and the wadas are just submerged in the curds but not floating in it. The dahi wada that I've tasted in Udipi cafes has tempered sweet curds.

How about one more look......

57 comments:

Sig said...

Yummy pictures Richa, Siv loves these dahi wadas... I've bookmarked for him, will ask him to try making it sometime...
Hope you had (having) a great weekend...

FH said...

Richa,I love this dish too and I am waiting for summer to make it myself my style!;D

Looks great enjoy dahi balla:)

Lakshmik said...

Mmm. Mouth watering dahi vada.

Anonymous said...

one of my fav.
i make them like donuts though
lovely shots :)

musical said...

Yaar Richa, send me some bhalle :). i love these totally! moonh vich paani aa riya e!

Anonymous said...

richa, i love papdi chat and dahi vadas. who doesn't?:) your pictures are mouthwatering. send me some of those that are in your freezer now.

indosungod said...

Dahi wadas (Thayir Vadais) looks delicious, just the snack for a hot summer afternoon.

We add the wada to salted curd tempered with mustard, cumin and red chillies.

Anonymous said...

Looks like you love to make me drool over your pictures. wadas look so good. Feel like taking a bite from the picture.

Btw...I make kale chane yesterday and it came out owesome.Thanks a lot.

Richa said...

thanks sig. yeah sure, do try. Also as I said, they freeze very well.
hope u had a good wknd too!


thanks asha, glad u liked it.


hey lakshmi, will save some for you, stop by anytime ;-) hope you had a good weekend.

hi anusharaji, thanks for stopping by. glad you like it.

Richa said...

musical dear, sure will send bhalle your way, thuadde lai jaroor ek vaddi batch banake bhej davangi. hope you had a good wknd.


hey reena, sure, a big batch of bhalle coming your way, express mail! do confirm receipt. can i hope for some mousse ;-)
enjoy..


hi isg, yeah it sure is one tasty snack. I've tasted the version you mentioned. thanks

hi shilpa, glad u enjoyed the pics & the recipe.
I'm happy to know that you tried my kale chane recipe and enjoyed it. It is a fav at my house.
enjoy..

Nupur said...

Looks delicious, Richa. I know I am going to be making these a lot in summer. I like your idea of adding a bit of moong dal and ginger to the vadas.

Kribha said...

Dear Richa,
My hubby was drooling over your pictures. This is his favorite snack and I have not done it in a while. Never knew that vadas freeze well. That's a good tip.I usually don't use moong dal. Will try that variation too.
Hey, I'm sorry that I did not mail about this earlier. I tried your broad beans curry and it turned out really good. I reduced the amount of jaggery to 1 tsp instead of a tbsp. Initially I was a little hesitant to add it to the curry. But I realized that jaggery is the key ingredient that makes it different from other curries. Truly loved it. Will try it again using 1tbsp of jaggery. My hubby says 'thanks' too.

Sia said...

he he he...fried but no oil???? yeah yeah!!! with the stuffs we eat we need this kind of catagory to convince ourselves of not eating more fried stuffs;)
love it girl... just parcel me some across.. waiting for summer so that i can eat as much as i want and then go out for long walk;)

Coffee said...

Delicious!!!! Absolutely delicious!!!! :) The pic looks awesome!!!!

Sharmi said...

The pic looks yuuuuuummmmyyyy!! I had dahi wada in my friends place this weekend. she served it with some tamarind chutney. your pics are mouthwatering.

Ramya's Mane Adige said...

my, my.... your pics look amazing!! I just love them!!! too tempting not to try them out :)

Anonymous said...

Thanks Richa, this is one of my fav dish. Thanks for the detailed version of how to make it. I am no expert like a lot of you guys over here, but will try to make it. Thanks again.

Samir

Kribha said...

sorry richa...it's not broad beans, it is DOUBLE BEANS curry. I don't know how I came up with that name.

Pravs said...

wow ! this looks irresistible.I am sure your family enjoyed this.

Richa said...

thanks nupur! yup do try with moong dal as well, it comes out so good!
enjoy

dear kribha, you are most welcome. I'm glad that your hubby enjoyed the pics as well.
It is so nice to know that you and your family enjoyed my recipe of double beans. did you make it along with the kadhi as well?
enjoy

hey sia, sending some chilled dahi bhalle your way!! yup fried but no oil - i'm sure you too liked my new category ha!ha!

thanks sharmi. yup these are one much loved snack items. glad you enjoyed my pics. drop in anytime for these ;-)

Richa said...

hey ramya, what's there to wait for? go ahead and make it soon!! enjoy
thanks

hi samir, welcome to my blog. I'm glad i cud be of help! do visit again.
thanks


thanks pravs! yes my family enjoyed it a lot and have some more in the freezer for later ;-)
enjoy..

Manjula said...

Thats so delicious. A wonderful picture says it all. Dahi vada makes me nostalgic, I used to volunteer in my Dads shop during summer holidays, just so that I could eat Dahi vadas everyday from a near by restaurant ;)

Seema Bhat said...

Richa, Dahi is my all time fav and must have in table and dahi wadas look fabulous. The chutneys on them, the colors and just mouthwatering.

Dr. Soumya Bhat said...

Hmm wish i was your neighbour.Really wanna have a bite atleast if not the whole bowl.this looks so good.I just cant stop my mouth from watering..hmm really looks prefect.

Prema Sundar said...

Lovely pictures Richa. it si really a feast for the eyes. I love dhahi bhalle and papdi chat.. waiting to make them .thanks for sharing.

Kribha said...

No Richa. I did not make kadi. Will try that combo soon.Thanks again.

Richa said...

thanks manjula for ur sweet comments! there is something about bhalle isn't it? loved by one and all. enjoy...

thanks seema. yes I always serve it with the tamarind chutney, it goes so well. drop in anytime, you are most welcome.
enjoy...

thanks soumya, you are too kind. I too wish I was your neighbor, I wud have enjoyed ur yummy halwa then ;-)
anyway sending some your way dear.
enjoy...

thanks prema, I too enjoy the papdi chaat. Crunchy and soft at the same time and all the tangy chutney taste, it is something to savor! drop in anytime dear for the bhalle!
take care

sure kribha! that combo is very tasty, am sure you & your family will enjoy.
thanks

Bharathy said...

Hi richa,Nice to see the perfect vadas.I always try to make dhai vadas..ending up in a flop..I love north indian version ,as my pal Mary makes,with jeera powder and sugar..
Will def try yours richa:)

Viji said...

Interesting Richa, similar like our thayir vada with additional seasoning. Nice post. Viji

bee said...

ko ko, fi yuo sya os, ti si nto fredi. :-D

Richa said...

thanks bharathy, if you like the north Indian version, do try this one. Use ample tamrind chutney & the jeera, chili pwd. As i mentioned grind it well in batches without using too much water and i'm sure you will do fine.
enjoy

thanks viji. you are right it is like the thayir vada.
enjoy

hey bee, looks like you too are a fan of my newly cetraed ctaeorgy, heh!heh!
wcelome to the fan club ;-)

Anonymous said...

Hi Richa!
I love Dahi bhalle! My mouth is watering just looking at the picture. YUM YUM!

musical said...

Yaar, looking at these dahi-wada reminds me of the tamarind chuntney with cut bananas :-D

haven't had that in a while.....

hope that you are having a nice day.

Richa said...

welcome to my blog, hema!
yup they are a fav at my home as well.
enjoy

musical haanji, hun tusi maennu fruit chaat di yaad dila ditti! muh wich pani agaya, o te meri bot fav haegi. i've lot of imli chutney, will make it, thanks yaar for reminding me ;-) thuannu bhi bhej davangey chaat & bhalle! doing good, thanks and hope u too are having a good day!

Anonymous said...

richa, i am still waiting. kitne din lagte hain kudiye express mail bhjene mein.:))

Richa said...

hey reena, just got a call from my dakia babu, he opened the packet and gobbled up the whole dish, said ees bar maf kardo, cud not resist. Not to worry, this time I'll get it myself ;-)

Aahaar Vihaar said...

Richa, Wow, dahi vada looks so good. I love dahi vada which mom makes adding kara boondhi's to the dahi.

swapna susarla said...

WOW richa...
dahi bhalle are looking so yummy!!

Anonymous said...

First time here...great blog...great recipes...dahi Wadas look devine....I wanna have some...~grin~...thanks for sharing...

Kajal said...

Hi Richa,
I do not like curd but like your dish forever.
Nice picture with good presentation.
I am not expert as you but try it defiantly.
Thanks for sharing.:)

Richa said...

thanks AV, that is so true adding bundi to dahi makes it so yummy.
enjoy

thanks swapna, enjoy bhalle!

thanks dilip. go ahead savor the dahi bhalle.
enjoy

thanks kajal dear. do try it, you are such an expert yourself. wow how is it that you don't prefer dahi, that is unheard of. anyway do try it.
thanks

Roopa said...

Richa

wow fabulous they look so yummy! i am drooling..........

Suganya said...

Hi,
Ur Dahi Wada looks YUMMY...... Its very colourful.... I love it...

Ayesha Seerin said...

mmmmm ... Yummy lookings vadas

Deepa Hari said...

Hi Richa,
Lovely Dahi vadas...your pics are tempting...will try them and let you know...Thanks.

Cheers,
Deepa.

Richa said...

thanks roopa. do try!

thanks sukanya. you are so right, the chutney makes it so colorful and yummy!

thanks ayesha, glad you enjoyed it.

thanks deepa and welcome to my blog. glad you enjoyed the pics. do try.

Bong Mom said...

Your Dahi Wada looks so perfect, more than the wada I love the spiced up yogurt

Richa said...

thanks sandeepa. yup the curds with chutney & spices goes very well.
enjoy.

John Joseph Immel said...

Dear Richa, Do you have the recipe for Dahi Papdi Chaat? I'm looking to experiment for my ayurvedic recipe website. We visited Pune last month and they were tasty! Let us know if you can recommend cooks for our "creative chef awards" website.

Deepa Kuber said...

i feel like i should keep looking at the pictures :)

Mona said...

thanks for the lovely dish.will try out:)

Anonymous said...

Hi Richa, do the vadas freeze well and how they feel/taste on being defrosted?

Richa said...

shyam, the wadas freeze very well and yes they thaw well too ;)
i keep them in the refrigerator the night before to thaw completely, but i think 4-5hrs should do.
They taste as good as fresh, this is one dish i totally recommend freezing!

Unknown said...

Hi Richa,

Yummy recipe. And the photos are tempting too. Thanks.

Regards,
Minal
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http://foodatarian.com
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lubnakarim06 said...

Adding tamarind chutney is something new to me.They look mouth watering. Will try out this version soon and let u know how it tasted.

Ash said...

Yumm! Dahi Vadas. The best that I've tasted are what my Maa in Law prepares. But I've got to try this recipe now.
Also well organised blog. AWESOME!!!

Joyoti said...

Hi Richa..extraordinary dish.. I made your dahi bhalle and they came out superb. so refreshing.