2tablespoonsCilantro or coriander leavesfinely chopped
2-3tablespoonsPomegranate arilsoptional
Instructions
Preparations (At least a day before):
Make or buy two chutneys. I recommend you can make it a day or two before and store it in the refrigerator.
Take chilled yogurt in a bowl. Add salt, red chili powder and roasted cumin powder. Whisk everything together until yogurt becomes smooth and runny. If your yogurt is too thick then you may need to add some water to make pourable consistency.
Making Vada Batter:
Wash the urad dal under running cold water until water runs clear. Or rinse them in a bowl 2-3 times until the water is not cloudy anymore.
Soak the dal in enough water for 4-5 hours. Lentils will get bigger in size. Drain the water completely.
Add the dal to the blender along with fresh water. Start with less amount of water and add more gradually as needed. Make a smooth yet thick paste-like batter. Remove the batter to a large bowl.
Add salt, hing and chopped chilies. Mix and beat the batter vigorously for around 5 minutes or until it becomes light and fluffy. This step is important to make soft and fluffy vadas.
Check the consistency: Take water in a bowl or cup. Add a small portion of the batter into the water. It should float on the surface (meaning it is aerated well and it is light and fluffy). If it sinks to the bottom then you may need to beat it for some more time to make it light.
Non-Fry Dahi Vada:
Heath paniyaram pan on medium heat. Add around ½ teaspoon of oil to each section and let it get hot.
Once hot add the batter into the sections. Take some batter onto your four fingers and slide it into the section using your thumb. Each section should be just ¾ full.
Let it fry for few minutes. You’ll notice the tiny air-pockets are forming and vada gets bigger in size.
Once they get golden brown from the bottom, flip them using a fork or skewer and cook another side. Once done remove it to a plate and repeat the same for the rest.
Take room temperature water in a large bowl. And add all the vada into it.
Let it soak for 30-40 minutes and they will get bigger in the size
After the soaking time, take one vada onto your palm and squeeze out the excess water by pressing with the fingers of another hand. Repeat the same for rest. Press very gently (yet remove all the water) and vada will get back to its original shape. Make sure not to press too hard the vada changes its shape and becomes flat.
Traditional Frying Method:
Heat the oil in a pan or kadai for deep frying on medium heat. Once hot drop around 2 tablespoons of batter carefully into the oil using hand or by using two spoons.
Fry them until they are light golden brown from all sides. Remove them to a paper-towel lined plate.
Immediately add the warm vada into the water and soak for 30-40 minutes.
Similarly, they will get bigger in the size. Squeeze out the water by gently pressing.
Assemble Dahi Vada Plate:
Place water-squeezed vada into the plate.
Add yogurt (all the vada should be covered with yogurt plus a ladleful or two extra).
Drizzle the cilantro chutney and tamarind date chutney. Garnish with spices, cilantro & Serve.
Video
Notes
Soak the urad dal for at least 4-5 hours. The soaking step will make the dal softer and will grind into the smooth batter. If soaked for less than 4 hours then the batter may remain grainy. You can continue soaking for more than 5 hours (e.g. overnight) which is completely fine.
The water amount may vary. If using old/stale urad dal then you may need little extra water vs using a fresh batch of lentils.
Always start will a lesser amount of water and add more needed while grinding to avoid getting runny batter. If the batter is runny then vada will turn out flat and will soak up more oil while frying.
Fix the runny batter by adding some semolina or rice flour.
The batter consistency has to be thick paste-like and smooth (not grainy).
Check the smoothness of the batter: rub the batter between your thumb and forefinger, you should feel the smooth texture.
Aerate the batter by beating it vigorously for around 5 minutes and do the water test as shown above. This is the important step to get the soft and fluffy dahi vada.
If using an Indian-style grinder (e.g. preethi brand) then the grinder itself helps to aerate the batter a little bit. So you may need to beat it for less time.
If using a high-power blender (e.g. Vitamix, Ninja, Blendtec) then you’ll need to beat it for more time to achieve fluffy, airy batter.
Deep fry the vada on medium heat. If fried on high heat then the middle stays raw and the outer layer gets darker quickly. If fried on low heat then vada will absorb too much oil.
Soak the hot vada immediately into the water. It helps to absorb the water better and reaches through the center. This makes soft and moist vada.
Storage:
In the refrigerator, the batter can be stored for a day, fried vada can be stored for 4-5 days, soaked/squeezed vada can be stored for 1-2 days, assembled dahi vada can be stored for 2 days.
Freeze the fried (no-fried) vada for up to 3 months. Thaw and bring it to room temperature and soak in lukewarm water for 30-40 minutes, squeeze out the water, assemble and serve.