Dahi Bhalla
The recipe for fail-proof soft Dahi Bhalla with tips and tricks.
Servings: 10 people
Calories: 147kcal
Equipment
- Blender
- Whisk/ stand mixer/ hand-held electric whisk
- Frying Pan
- Colander
- Slotted ladle
- Mixing bowls
Ingredients
For the bhalla
- 1 cup whole white urad dal
- 1/2 cup split yellow moong dal
- 1 tbsp finely chopped ginger
- 3 green chilis serrano chilis work well here.
- 1.5 tsp salt or to taste
- 1/2 cup chilled water approximately
For the yogurt
- 2.75 cups chilled low fat yogurt whisked smoothly
- 2 tsp red chili powder
- 1.75 tsp salt or to taste
For Dahi Bhalla Chaat
- 3/4 cup green chutney
- 3/4 cup Date and tamarind chutney
- 1.5 tsp red chili powder
- 1.5 tsp chaat masala powder
- 1.5 tsp roasted cumin powder
- 1.5 tsp black salt
- 1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro leaves
Instructions
Wash and soak the lentils
- Combine the Urad dal and moong dal in a colander.
- Wash them under running water twice.
- Place the washed dals in a mixing bowl.
- Add about 6 cups water and allow them to soak for 4 to 6 hours.
Grind the Vada batter
- Drain the hydrated lentils in a colander.
- Transfer the soaked lentils along with peeled and chopped ginger, salt and green chilis to a blender jar.
- Add 2 tbsp at a time and grind the dal to a smooth paste.
- Stop every 2 minutes, scrape down the sides, add water by the tablespoon if necessary and continue to grind.
Whisking the batter
- Transfer the batter to the bowl of a stand mixer and add 1 tsp cumin seeds.
- Attach the whisk attachment and whisk the batter on medium speed for 5 to 6 minutes.
- After 6 minutes of whisking, the batter will look white and have doubled in volume.
- To check whether the batter is ready, drop a small blob of batter in a bowl of cold water.
- If it floats without disintegrating, the batter is ready to be fried.
Prep the yogurt
- In a wide mixing bowl, add the yogurt, salt and some red chili powder.
- Whisk well until the yogurt is smooth and has no lumps.
- Keep this chilled until the vadas are ready.
- Frying the Bhalle
- Heat oil in a pan or Kadai. I love my iron Kadai for deep frying.
- Test the temperature of the oil by dropping a small blob of batter into the oil.
- If it rises up immediately, it is the right temperature.
- Now, using a spoon or a small cookie scoop, drop the batter in little portions into the hot oil.
- Reduce the flame to low heat.
- Fry by flipping the vadas every few minutes until they become golden brown.
- A batch of 10 small vadas takes 6 to 8 minutes for frying
- Once done, drain them on a paper towel and allow them to cool for 2 minutes.
Soaking the fried bade in hot water
- While the first batch of vadas are getting fried, heat up 6 cups of water. T
- As soon as the vadas are done frying and are cool enough to handle with your bare hands, dunk them in the hot water. Allow them to stay in the hot water for 5 to 6 minutes.
- After 6 minutes, drain them from the water using a slotted ladle.
- Squeeze them gently between your palms, taking care not to break them.
- Now, drop these into the chilled yogurt.
- Mix gently to make sure that the yogurt coats them evenly.
- Repeat with the remaining vadas.
- Let sit till ready to assemble.
How to make Dahi Bhalla Chaat?
- Combine the chaat masala, red chili powder, roasted cumin powder, black salt in a mixing bowl.
- Place the yogurt-soaked Bhalle in a bowl.
- Sprinkle chili flakes.
- Now, add 1 to 2 tbsp of green chutney and the tamarind date chutney.
- Finish by sprinkling a mix of Chaat masala, roasted cumin powder, black salt and finely chopped cilantro leaves.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- This recipe makes 70 small vadas. I fried 10 in each batch.
- Use chilled water for grinding. This helps in keeping the vadas soft.
- You can also use yogurt that has higher fat content for a creamier and richer version.
- Once the vadas have been assembled with the sauces and the spice powders, I recommend serving them immediately.
- Always keep the yogurt and the vadas dunked in yogurt chilled. This is especially important if you live in a tropical country. When left at room temperature for a long period of time, the yogurt becomes sour.
- Read the blog post for detailed tips and techniques to make perfect and soft dahi bhallas.
For Instant Pot & Air Fryer Recipes
Instant Pot timings may vary based on your geographic location. Air fryer settings and timings may vary based on the capacity and the model of the Air fryer.
Disclaimer
Nutrition values are provided here as a courtesy and are only a rough guide. Please consult a health care provider if you have any concerns.
Nutrition
Calories: 147kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 4mg | Sodium: 1214mg | Potassium: 184mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 321IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 146mg | Iron: 2mg
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