Dahi vada recipe | Dahi bhalla recipe | Dahi bhalle | How to make dahi vada | Soft dahi vada recipe

What is dahi vada?

The name dahi vada itself explains the complete recipe. Here ‘Dahi’ means yogurt and ‘Vada’ is stands for deep fried fritters or dumplings. Dahi vadas are the combination of tender and juicy vada coated with creamy yogurt and chutneys which melts in the mouth after bite. It is flavoured snack recipe, which has got the perfect balance of sweet, tangy, savoury and spicy taste.

In traditional way, the vadas are always prepared with the urad dal aka ivory coloured skinned black gram, which is also known as urad bean, vigna mungo or matpe bean.

For the dahi vada recipe, urad dal is soaked and pasted to prepare vada batter. Then the deep-fried lentils fritters are prepared, soaked in hot water and drained. These vadas are the base of the dish which are dunked in whipped creamy yogurt and topped with both sweet and spicy chutneys and sprinkles of some spices.

Dahi vada recipe is hugely popular all over the country and in each of the subcontinents, it is known by different names. In most of the northern part of India, its known as dahi vada, in Punjab, it is popular as dahi bhalla, in Maharashtra as dahi vaday, in Bengal as doi bora, in tamil as thayir vadai, in telegu as peregu vada and in odiya as dahi bada and many more.

Dahi vada recipe aka dahi bhalla recipe is an immensely popular Indian street food with an exception. Unlike most of the chaat recipes, dahi vada recipe, is prepared in almost every house as snack for parties and celebrations. Even in north India, during the festive seasons whether its Holi, Dussehra, Diwali or Raksha Bandhan, dahi vadas are always there on the table with myriad Indian sweets and snacks.

On the other hand, dahi bhalle has occupied place in the menu cards of many Indian wedding and restaurants for years. In fact, you will get it in most of the north Indian street vendors stalls as dahi bhalla chaat. In short, dahi vada is a complete winner and equally popular as both street food of india and homemade Indian snacks.

Dahi vada recipe – variation

Soft dahi vada recipe is usually prepared in different ways using different combinations and proportions of lentils or different varieties of toppings.

Many people prefer to add moong dal with urad dal to prepare the dahi vada recipe. Few people use equal proportion of both the lentils, and few add lesser proportion of moong dal compared to urad dal for the vada recipe. Moong dal is easy to digest. So, many people prefer to add it to prepare dahi Bhalla recipe.

For instant dahi vada recipe, bread is often used to prepare the vada which tastes equally good and soft.

Many people used to add different varieties of fruits like apple, pineapple or pomegranate arils etc. The fruity burst flavour complements the dahi vada so nicely.

For an international touch, any sweet salsa recipe and pesto can be replaced for tamarind chutney and green chutney.

Dahi vada recipe aka dahi bhalla recipe is simple and easy to make. All the ingredients required to prepare the dish are easily available in any Indian grocery shop. You just need to do some preparations before planning to prepare dahi bhalle. Other than this, there are many USPs for the recipe which makes it a handy Indian snack recipe.

It can be prepared in big batches without putting any extra effort which makes it a perfect starter for any marriage ceremonies, get togethers, kitty parties and birthday parties.

The best part of preparing dahi vada for a party is that you don’t need to fry the fritters in front of guests. In fact, you can prepare the complete dish before your guests’ arrival and can serve them directly without any clumsiness.

Whenever I plan to prepare dahi vada recipe aka dahi bhalla recipe, first I prepare two different types of chutneys for chaat a day before preparing dahi bhalla chaat and refrigerate them. It makes the recipe handy and saves lot of time. I prepare Green Chutney and most essentially Sweet Tamarind Chutney for the recipe. You can refrigerate Green Chutney for 5-7 days and Sweet Tamarind Chutney can be refrigerated for couple of months. You can check my previous post to know more details about these Chutney recipes.

Dahi vada recipe with step by step photos and instructions have been provided in the ‘Instruction’ section of the recipe. If you follow each step of my recipe precisely then you will get the cottony soft dahi Bhalla recipe which melts in the mouth. But before directly jumping into the recipe, let me share few interesting things about the dahi bhalle.

Frequently asked questions

Is dahi vada and dahi Bhalla same?

Yes, both dahi vada and dahi Bhalla are the same. It’s just known by different names in different parts of the country.

How to make vegan dahi vada?

To prepare vegan dahi vada recipe, you can use any dairy free aka vegan friendly yogurt like soy yogurt instead of regular yogurt.

Why my dahi vada are hard?

After grinding the lentil, it is very important to beat the batter thoroughly to make it airy, light and fluffy or else the texture of the vada will turn dense and the dahi vada will become hard.

How to make south Indian dahi vada?

For south Indian style dahi vada recipe, the method of preparing the recipe is the same till preparing the lentils fritters and soaking the vadas in warm water. The only difference is just the addition of scraped coconut into the vada batter for the recipe. On the other hand, for toppings instead chutneys for chaat the yogurt is tempered with mustard seeds and curry leaves and then added as topping.

How to make the vada aka lentil fritters frozen?

After frying the vada aka lentils dumpling fritters, allow them to cool down completely. Take either an airtight container or a zip lock bag and place a kitchen tissue into it. Place the vadas into the container or zip lock bag and close it very carefully. Then you can freeze them in the freezer for 50-60 days. You just need to take them out of the freezer and dip them in hot water for some time before use.

Tips to prepare perfect dahi vada

How to make dahi vada?

To prepare dahi vada recipe aka dahi bhalla recipe, first I have prepared two different types of chutneys for chaat that is green chutney and sweet tamarind chutney a day before.

Then wash the urad dal aka skinned black gram 2-3 times and then soak it for at least 8 hours or overnight. It is very important to soak the dal properly for perfect dahi bhalle. Next day, drain the excess water from the dal and wash it one more time.

Transfer the urad dal into a jar of a grinder and add green chillies, diced ginger, asafoetida (Hing) and some water. Grind it to a smooth paste. Make sure no grains are there. I have used 100 ml water to grind the dal.

Then transfer the paste into a large bowl and add cumin seeds and salt into it. Beat the batter in circular motion for 5-6 minutes with a fork to make it airy.

Check whether the beating is done or not by dropping small portion of the batter in a water filled bowl. If it floats, then it’s done. If not, then beat for another couple of minutes.

Add some cashew nuts, raisin and fold them gently into the batter. Cover the batter and keep it aside for half an hour.

Now put a pan on the flame and add enough oil to deep fry the bora or fritters. Check the oil by dropping a small portion of the batter into the oil. If it floats, then the oil is ready.

Wet your hand in water and pour small portions of the fritters into the oil. Wetting hand resists the batter to stick to your hand. Don’t overcrowd the pan and fry the fritters over medium to medium-high flame till golden brown in colour. Drain the excess oil and transfer them on a tissue lined plate for some time to absorb excess oil.

On the other hand, take enough warm water into a large mixing bowl and mix some salt into it. Then transfer the fried fritters aka vadas into the hot water. Let them soak for at least 20 minutes and cover the mixing bowl.

When the vadas get soaked completely, they will change the colour to lighter shade and increase in size. Now take out the vadas from the water and press them gently to squeeze out water. But be careful and don’t break the vadas. Repeat the process with each vada and keep them aside.

Then take yogurt into a large bowl and add some sugar into it. Whisk the yogurt thoroughly with a fork or whisker until its smooth and creamy.

To prepare any Chaat recipe, it is very important to assemble all the ingredients before you start plating.

For plating, I arranged the soaked and drained vadas on a plate. Then added dollop of yogurt on the vadas.

Then I drizzled some Imli ki chatni and green chatni on the top and then sprinkled some red chilli powder, chaat masala, black salt and Roasted Cumin Powder on it.

After that, for the final touch, I sprinkled some pomegranate arils and nylon sev on the top of it for garnishing. Now, dahi vada recipe is ready to serve.

Ingredients:

• ½ cup Urad dal or skinned & split black gram
• 1-inch Ginger, peeled and diced
• 1-2 green Chillies
• ¼ teaspoon Hing
• ¾ teaspoon Cumin seeds
• 1 tablespoon Cashew nuts
• 1 tablespoon Raisins
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• Oil to deep fry the vadas

• 1½ litres warm water to soak the vada
• 1 teaspoon Salt to mix in the warm water
• 1¼ cup Yogurt or dahi
• 1 tablespoon Sugar
• ¼ cup Sweet Tamarind chutney
• ¼ cup Green chutney
• 1 teaspoon Chaat masala
• ¾ teaspoon Roasted cumin powder
• ½ teaspoon red Chilli powder
• ½ teaspoon Black Salt
• 1-2 tablespoons Pomegranate arils (Optional), for garnishing
• 2 tablespoons Nylon Sev (Optional), for garnishing

• 100 Grams Tamarind, deseeded or 75 Grams Tamarind Pulp (Readymade)
• 1 cup Water to soak the tamarind
• 1 cup Water for the chutney
• 1 cup grated Jaggery, tightly packed
• 1 teaspoon Ginger paste
• ¼ teaspoon Asafoetida (Hing)
• ¼ teaspoon black Pepper powder
• ½ teaspoon Chaat masala
• 1 teaspoon Roasted Cumin powder
• 1 teaspoon Red Chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon Garam Masala powder
• ½ teaspoon Black Salt
• ½ teaspoon Salt

• 1 cup Coriander leaves (Dhaniya)
• ½ cup Mint leaves (Pudina)
• 1-inch Ginger, diced
• 4 Green Chillies
• 1 tablespoon Lemon juice, freshly squeezed
• ¼ teaspoon Roasted Cumin powder
• ½ teaspoon Chaat masala powder
• ½ teaspoon Salt to taste

1. Soak the Tamarind in 1 cup of water for an hour and then squeeze out the pulp from the Tamarind. Deseed the Tamarind and strain the content with the help of a strainer.
2. Transfer the Tamarind pulp, water, grated jaggery into a pan and stir the content.
3. Put the pan on flame and cook it in medium flame for 5 minutes until the mixture get even.
4. Add ginger paste, salt, black salt, red chilli powder into the mixture one by one and give a nice stir.Cook it in medium flame until the raw smell of ginger goes away.
5. Add the ground asafoetida, black pepper, chaat masala, roasted cumin powder into the pan and give a nice stir. Put the flame in high and cook it until the chutney simmers. Stir in between.
6. Add garam masala powder and give a quick mix. Put the flame in low and cook it for 10-12 minutes until you get the desired consistency and then switch off the flame.

1. Pluck the coriander leaves, mint leaves of their stem and wash them thoroughly in running water. Squeeze out the excess water.
2. Transfer the leaves into the jar of a blender and add green chillies, diced ginger, lemon juice into it.
3. Add Salt, Chaat masala powder and roasted Cumin powder one by one into the jar.
4. Close the lid of the jar and run it for 1-2 minutes to a smooth paste. Add water if required. I have used 1 tablespoon of water.

1. Wash the urad dal aka split black gram 2-3 times and then soak it for at least 8 hours or overnight. Then next day drain the excess water from the dal and wash it one more time.
2. Transfer the urad dal into a jar of a grinder. Add green chilli, ginger cubes, ¼ teaspoon asafoetida (Hing) one by one into the jar.
3. Close the lid and grind it to a smooth paste. Make sure there are no grains. Add water if required. I have used 100 ml water to grind the complete dal.
4. Transfer the paste into a large bowl and add cumin seeds and salt. Add some more water if you feel the batter is too thick. Beat the batter in circular motion for 5-6 minutes with a fork to make it airy.
5. Take water in a bowl and check whether beating is done nor not by dropping small portion of the batter into the water. If it floats, then it’s done. If not, then beat for another couple of minutes.
6. Add cashew nuts, raisins and fold them gently into the batter. Cover the batter and keep it aside for half an hour.
7. Now put a pan on medium flame and add enough oil to deep fry the bora or fritters. Check the oil by dropping a small portion of the batter into the oil. If it floats, then the oil is ready.
8. Wet your hand or a spoon in water and pour small portions of the batter into the oil.
   Note: Wetting hand or spoon resists the batter to stick to your hand.
9. Don’t overcrowd the pan and fry the fritters over medium flame till golden in colour. If you cook the vadas in low flame, they will soak oil and if you cook it on high flame, then the vadas may not get cooked properly from centre.
10. Drain the excess oil and transfer on a tissue lined plate for some time to absorb excess oil.
11. Now take 1½ litre medium hot water into a large mixing bowl and add 1 teaspoon salt into it. Combine both and then transfer the fried fritters aka vadas into the warm water and cover the bowl. Let them soak for at least 20-30 minutes and cover the mixing bowl. Flip the fritters once in between with a spoon.
12. When the vadas get soaked completely they will change the colour to lighter shade and increases in size. Now take out the vadas from the water and press them gently to squeeze out water. But be careful don’t break the vadas. Repeat the process with each vada and keep them aside.

To prepare the dahi vada
13. Take 1¼ cup Yogurt in a mixing bowl. Add 1 tablespoon sugar into the yogurt and whisk it nicely. Keep the yogurt aside.
14. Arrange the soaked and drained vadas on a plate.
15. Pour the yogurt mixture on the vadas.
16. Drizzle ¼ cup Imli ki chutney and ¼ cup Green chutney one by one on the top.
17. Sprinkle ½ teaspoon red chilli powder, 1 teaspoon chaat masala, ¾ teaspoon roasted cumin powder and ½ teaspoon black salt on the dahi vada.
18. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons pomegranate arils and 2 tablespoons of nylon sev on the top for garnishing.
19. Now the dahi vada is ready to serve.

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