dahi bhalla recipe with step by step photos – dahi bhalle is a popular snack in north india, particularly in delhi and punjab.
the method to make dahi bhalla is same as preparing dahi vada. in dahi bhalle, papdis (fried flour crispies), boiled potato cubes & cooked chickpeas are added which are not added in dahi vada.
i make dahi vada or dahi bhalla usually during festive occasions like diwali or holi or when we have a get together at home. this recipe serves 20 to 22 people, if each person is served two vadas. this recipe can be halved also.
in the recipe i have used both urad dal and moong dal to make the vadas. use fresh thick curd. i used homemade curd. this recipe is also a no onion no garlic version, as in the green chutney, i have not used any onions or garlic.
making dahi bhalle takes time. you can make the sweet imli ki chutney and green chutney a day before. you can also prepare the vadas a day before. soak them in water, squeeze out the water from the vadas and refrigerate. the papdis can be made at home or brought from outside. the chickpeas also can be cooked a day before and refrigerated.
serve dahi bhalla chilled as a snack or a starter with any north indian meal during this diwali festive season.
if you are looking for more snacks recipes then do check dahi aloo tikki, dahi papdi chaat, pani puri, bhel puri, gujiya and samosa chaat recipe.
dahi bhalla recipe card below:
dahi bhalla recipe | dahi bhalle recipe
dahi bhalle chaat recipe - popular north indian snack of dahi bhalla papdi chaat.
ingredients (1 cup = 250 ml)
for vadas:
- ½ cup urad dal or 125 grams urad dal
- 4 tablespoon moong dal
- 1.25 to 1.5 cups water for soaking
- 6 to 7 tablespoon water for grinding or add as required
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
- 1 pinch asafoetida (hing)
- salt as required
- oil for frying
- enough water for soaking the dals
other ingredients for dahi bhalla recipe:
- 2 cups fresh curd (dahi or yogurt) or curd made from 500 ml milk
- 1/3 cup pomegranate arils
- 1/3 cup sweet chutney
- 1/3 cup green chutney
- 20 to 25 papdis
- ½ cup cooked chana or white chickpeas or ¼ cup safed chana - pressure cooked till done
- 1 large potato - boiled, peeled and chopped
- chaat masala as required
- roasted cumin powder (bhuna jeera powder) - as required
- red chili powder (lal mirch powder) - as required
- black salt as required
- 2.5 cups water for soaking vadas
for green chutney:
- 1 cup coriander leaves (dhania patta)
- 1 or 2 green chilies (hari mirch)
- ½ inch ginger (adrak) - chopped
- ½ teaspoon lemon or lime juice
- salt as required
- 1 to 2 teaspoon water for grinding chutney
for sweet tamarind chutney:
- ½ cup seedless tamarind (imli) - tightly packed
- 1.75 cups water
- ½ teaspoon ginger powder (saunth)
- 1 pinch asafoetida (hing)
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
- ¼ teaspoon red chili powder (lal mirch powder)
- 7 to 8 tablespoon jaggery or as required - adjust as per your taste (gud)
- rock salt or black salt or regular salt as required
- 1 teaspoon oil
how to make recipe
making saunth or sweet tamarind chutney:
- soak tamarind in water overnight or for 4-5 hours in a small bowl or pan.
- with your hands, squeeze the pulp from the tamarind in the same bowl or pan.
- strain the pulp and keep aside.
heat oil in a small pan. lower the flame & add cumin seeds and let them crackle.
- add ginger powder, red chili powder, asafoetida.
stir and add the strained tamarind pulp. cook for 2 to 3 mins.
add the jaggery and salt and cook for 4 to 5 minutes more. the mixture would thicken.
- let the saunth chutney mixture cool.
- when cooled, store the saunth chutney in an air-tight dry jar or container.
making green chutney:
- grind all the ingredients mentioned under the green chutney list with little water.
- remove and keep aside in a small bowl.
soaking and preparing batter:
- rinse 1/2 cup urad dal and 4 tbsp moong dal in water a couple of times. then soak both the lentils overnight or for at least 4-5 hours.
- drain them very well. add the lentils to a grinder jar along with 1/2 tsp cumin seeds and a generous pinch of asafoetida. you can also add 1 tsp of roughly chopped ginger if you want.
- add water in parts and grind all the ingredients to a smooth fluffy batter. on touching the batter, it should not feel grainy. i added 6 to 7 tbsp water. depending on the quality of lentils and the capacity-volume of grinder, you can add less or more water. don't add too much water as then the vadas become too crispy and soak a lot of oil.
- take the ground batter in a bowl and add salt.
- stir the batter briskly for a couple of minutes. this brisk stirring makes the batter more light and fluffy.
- the test to a correct consistency of this batter is the floating test. take some water in a small bowl. add 1 tsp of a batter in the water. the batter should float. if it does not float, this means the consistency is thin. add some sooji or rice flour to the batter to thicken it.
frying vadas and soaking them in water:
- heat a kadai or pan with oil for deep frying.
- when the oil becomes medium hot, add a small amount of batter in the oil. it should come steadily and quickly on the surface. this means it is the right temperature to fry. too cold oil will make the vadas soggy with oil and too high will brown them faster from outside, leaving the center uncooked.
- add spoonfuls of the batter in the oil.
- add according to the capacity of the pan or kadai.
- when they become pale golden, then turn them.
- fry the vadas till they become golden and crisp.
- turn them a couple of times for even frying.
- fry till golden and crisp. remove with a slotted spoon.
- drain on paper towels. fry all the vadas in the same way.
- once all the vadas are done with frying, then take 2.5 cups water in a wide bowl or pan.
- and add the vadas to the water.
- soak them for 20 to 25 minutes.
- take each vada and flatten and press between your palms to remove excess water. do this with all the vadas.
assembling and serving dahi bhalla:
- take 2 cups fresh chilled curd in a bowl and beat it till smooth.
- now gently place these vadas in the curd.
- gently mix if you have used medium sized bowl, like how i have used. now you can keep the vadas with the curd in the fridge and assemble when you want to serve. or use them right away as the curd is chilled.
- gather and assemble all your other ingredients like - boiled potato cubes, boiled white chickpeas, green chutney, tamarind chutney, pomegranate arils and the spice powders.
- to make individual portions of dahi bhalla, place 4 to 5 papdis in a plate.
- place 2 to 3 dahi vadas in a plate. add more curd or dahi if required.
- top up with some boiled potatoes and chickpeas.
- now add the green chutney, sweet tamarind chutney as required
- sprinkle red chili powder, roasted cumin powder, chaat masala and black salt as per taste.
- serve dahi bhalla immediately garnished with some chopped coriander leaves. you can also garnish with fine sev.
recipe notes
- to veganize, use cashew curd.
- the recipe can be halved.
- you can add finely chopped onions as a topping, if you want.
how to make dahi bhalle or dahi bhalla recipe:
1. rinse ½ cup urad dal and 4 tbsp moong dal in water a couple of times. then soak both the lentils overnight or for at least 4-5 hours.
2. drain them very well.
3. add the lentils to a grinder jar along with ½ tsp cumin seeds and a generous pinch of asafoetida. you can also add 1 tsp of roughly chopped ginger if you want.
4. add water in parts and grind all the ingredients to a smooth fluffy batter. on touching the batter, it should not feel grainy. i added 6 to 7 tbsp water. depending on the quality of lentils and the capacity-volume of grinder, you can add less or more water. don’t add too much water as then the vadas become too crispy and soak a lot of oil.
5. take the ground batter in a bowl.
6. add salt.
7. stir the batter briskly for a couple of minutes. this brisk stirring makes the batter more light and fluffy.
8. the test to a correct consistency of this batter is the floating test. take some water in a small bowl. add 1 tsp of a batter in the water. the batter should float. if it does not float, this means the consistency is thin. add some sooji or rice flour to the batter to thicken it.
9. heat a kadai or pan with oil for deep frying.
10. when the oil becomes medium hot, add a small amount of batter in the oil. it should come steadily and quickly on the surface. this means it is the right temperature to fry. too cold oil will make the vadas soggy with oil and too high will brown them faster from outside, leaving the center uncooked.
11. add spoonfuls of the batter in the oil.
12. add according to the capacity of the pan or kadai.
13. when they become pale golden, then turn them.
14. fry the vadas till they become golden and crisp. turn them a couple of times for even frying. fry till golden and crisp. remove with a slotted spoon.
15. drain on paper towels. fry all the vadas in the same way.
16. once all the vadas are done with frying, then take 2.5 cups water in a wide bowl or pan. and add the vadas to the water.
17. soak them for 20 to 25 minutes.
18. take each vada and flatten and press between your palms to remove excess water.
19. do this with all the vadas.
20. take 2 cups fresh chilled curd in a bowl.
21. beat the curd till smooth.
22. now gently place these vadas in the curd.
23. gently mix if you have used medium sized bowl, like how i have used. now you can keep the vadas with the curd in the fridge and assemble when you want to serve. or use them right away as the curd is chilled.
24. gather and assemble all your other ingredients like – boiled potato cubes, boiled white chickpeas, green chutney, tamarind chutney, pomegranate arils and the spice powders.
25. to make individual portions of dahi bhalla, place 4 to 5 papdis in a plate.
26. place 2 to 3 dahi vadas in a plate. add more curd or dahi if required.
27. top up with some boiled potatoes and chickpeas.
28. now add the green chutney and tamarind chutney.
29. sprinkle red chili powder, roasted cumin powder, chaat masala and black salt as per taste.
30. serve dahi bhalla immediately garnished with some chopped coriander leaves. you can also garnish bhalle with fine sev.
Priyanka Jaggi says
Dahi Bhalla is one of my favorite,,,, Thanks for sharing…
dassana amit says
Welcome Priyanka
Anu rajput says
vry nice recipe
Tejal says
Yammiii recipe, i am always trying your receipies
dassana amit says
thanks tejal, also do share your views when you try the recipes.
naveen and rachna says
Thanks a lot dassana.we tried ur dahi bhalla recipe first time and it turned out to be awesome.
dassana amit says
pleased to know this thank you naveen 🙂 and you are welcome.
sonam says
i made it but bhallas turned hard
dassana amit says
can you explain a bit more in detail as to what exactly went wrong.
Bhawna says
If I make them in advance, how long can i store them in the freezer?
dassana amit says
bhawna, you can store them in refrigerator and not freezer for one day.
Ila Garg says
Thx for d yummy bhallas recipe..i hv tried ur other recipes …all turned out well.
Can i use..only urad dal for bhallas
dassana amit says
thanks ila. yes you can use only urad dal for bhallas. you can check this dahi vada recipe where the vadas are made only from urad dal – dahi vada
Bipin says
Sorry Miss Amit,
the recipe which you are showing here is called ” Chat Papdi” because you are using Papdi with Pakodi and not Bhalla’s. Bhalla’s are flat and oval shaped almost equal to 4-5 pakodi’s volume.
When you use only the Bhallas ( without Papdi) with Channa, Dahi, Saunth and Hari Chatney etc. then it is called ” Dahi Bhalla “.
dassana amit says
no problem. i have had bhallas in north and they had papdi in them. the ones you get in the north are bigger sized bhallas as they are fried in large kadai. at home we do no have such big kadais. for ease of making and frying, i have made them in small to medium sizes. there are variations to any recipe.
hinaasif says
I will surely try this
Kaur Harsimrat says
I made them today and were awesome. Though it took me a little bit more effort as I didn’t have split dals. I had to soak them and rub them with my hands to remove the covering. As I told earlier dahi bhallas are my favorite snack as they came out very well now I can enjoy them without bothering about adulteration.
Thanks a lot
And
HAPPY DIWALI again.
dassana amit says
thats good to know. husked dals are better. it does take time to remove the skins from the dals. happy diwali again to you too.
Kaur Harsimrat says
I maybe wrong but I think mistakenly in the ingredients list the water in cups for soaking the vadas differs from the one given in the instructions. Do check it please
dassana amit says
thanks harsimrat. i checked and the quantity of 2.5 cups of water for soaking the vadas is same in the ingredient list as well as in the instructions.
Kaur Harsimrat says
Oh sorry. I thought the water for soaking dals as the water for soaking vadas as it was under heading for vadas
dassana amit says
no problem harsimrat. happens. such things happen with me too 🙂
Kaur Harsimrat says
I love these dahi bhallas. My favorite snack . I will make them soon in two days . I made many of your recipes during last days including hyderabadi veg biryani and fruit kesari but didn’t get time to post a comment. Each was liked alot by our family and I salute to your patience while writing the recipes especially that biryani one which was a long one with max number of pics. I loved it and also one thing was that quantity of 100 g curd equal to half cup .
Again thanks will try these bhallas soon
dassana amit says
thanks a lot harsimrat. you know i have to rework on the biryani post and make it more streamlined. thanks for letting me know about the quantity of 100 gram curd in cup measurement. do try these bhallas. they are really good.
Kaur Harsimrat says
Oh really. Such a hard working lady you are. In cup measurement it is almost half cup but not exactly .I will surely try them today. Roasted chanas in green chutney helps it in binding and it doesn’t appear watery. What do you think about it and also a very HAPPY DIWALI in advance.
dassana amit says
thanks. roasted chana thickens the chutney. but if you less water while grinding the chutney, then it won’t be watery. roasted chana will give a different flavor to the green chutney.
Bindu Patel says
OMG I Love the way u teach recipe so well and as being pure vegetarian,I make them and smile ? I learned something more and easy ,quick .Thank u millions of time.By sharing u making our life easy.Thank u again.
dassana amit says
thanks a lot bindu.
riya says
I made potato biryani and shorba to along with biryani it was out of this world it was super delicious it was a huge hit…..thnk u ma’am all ur recipes are easy,delicious,mind blowing, and healthy….thnx once again
dassana amit says
thank you very much riya 🙂
Nupur says
Looks so delicious! And the recipe’s quite easy to follow.. I will be trying it this Diwali.
Thanks Dassana for all these wonderful recipes! I have tried a lot of recipes and they’ve all turned out so well! Many thanks to you!
dassana amit says
thanks a lot nupur. do try. these are really melt in the mouth vadas. you will like the texture and taste.