Dahi Vada Recipe (Authentic)

top shot of assembled dahi vada in a light green rimmed cream shallow plate topped with white curd, reddish tamarind chutney, green coriander chutney, pomegranate arils, chaat masala, cumin powder and coriander leaves

4.96 from 62 votes

Dahi Vada is a popular Indian snack made with soft fried lentil dumplings. The dumplings are soaked in creamy whipped yogurt and topped with sweet and spicy chutneys. It is commonly served as a snack or festive dish.

Prep Time8

Cook Time45

Total Time8 45

Course: Snacks, Starters

Cuisine: North Indian

Diet: Vegetarian

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Servings: Dahi Vada

Calories: 44kcal

Author: Dassana Amit

Ingredients

For vada batter

1 heaped cup or (200 grams) urad dal
½ teaspoon green chili – chopped or serrano or thai chili
1 teaspoon or 1 inch ginger – chopped
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 pinch asafoetida (hing)
¼ to ½ cup water or add as needed
1 tablespoon raisins – chopped
12 to 15 cashews – chopped
salt as required - or add ⅔ teaspoon food grade edible rock salt (sendha namak)

Other ingredients

2.5 cups curd (yogurt), chilled
½ to 1 teaspoon chaat masala or add as required
¼ to ½ teaspoon red chili powder or cayenne, add as needed
1 teaspoon roasted cumin powder
black salt – add as required, optional
¼ cup pomegranate arils – optional
2 tablespoons ≈coriander leaves – chopped (cilantro)

For tamarind chutney

½ cup tamarind – tightly packed (seedless)
1.75 cups water
½ teaspoon ginger powder (saunth powder)
1 pinch asafoetida (hing)
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
¼ teaspoon red chili powder or cayenne
7 to 8 tablespoons jaggery or sugar, add as required, adjust as per your taste
rock salt (edible and food grade) or black salt or regular salt, add as required
1 teaspoon oil

For coriander chutney

2 cups coriander leaves (cilantro)
½ to 1 teaspoon dry mango powder or 1 to 1.5 teaspoons dried pomegranate seeds
½ teaspoon or 1 to 2 small to medium garlic cloves – chopped
1 teaspoon green chillies – chopped, or use serrano pepper
½ teaspoon cumin seeds or cumin powder
salt as needed
2 to 3 tablespoons water or add as required

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Making tamarind chutney

Soak tamarind in water overnight or for 4 to 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 set aside.
Heat oil in a small pan. Lower the heat and 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 simmer for 4 to 5 mins more on low to medium-low heat. The mixture would thicken. Let the tamarind chutney mixture cool.
When cooled, store the tamarind chutney in an air-tight dry jar or container.

Making green coriander chutney

Blend or grind all the ingredients mentioned under the green chutney list with water.
Remove and set aside in a small bowl.

Making batter

First pick and then rinse the lentils for 3 to 4 times in water.
Soak the lentils in enough water overnight or for 4 to 5 hours.
Drain all the water and add the lentils in a blender or mixer-grinder.
Add chopped green chilies, chopped ginger, cumin seeds, asafoetida and salt.
Add water in parts and grind to a smooth thick or medium-thick flowing batter.
Take the ground batter in a bowl. Stir the batter briskly for a couple of minutes. This aerates the batter making it more light and fluffy.
Add the chopped raisins and cashews. Combine well and set aside.

Deep frying vada

Heat a kadai or pan with oil for deep frying.
When the oil becomes medium hot, add spoonfuls of the batter in the oil.
Don't be in a hurry to turn them.
When you see the vada becoming pale golden from the base and sides, you can turn them.
Fry the vada until they become golden and crisp. Place on paper towels.

Making dahi vada

In another bowl take water. Wait for 2 to 3 minutes and while the vada are still hot, place the vada in the water. Soak for 12 to 15 minutes.
The vada will release some of the oil and absorb water increasing a bit in size with a color change.
Take each vada and flatten and press between your palms to remove the water.
Place these vada in a serving bowl or tray.
Whisk curd (yogurt) until smooth. Pour the curd over the vada evenly all over covering them.
Top with the green chutney and tamarind chutney as needed.
Sprinkle a few pinches of red chili powder or cayenne, roasted cumin powder, chaat masala and black salt.
Garnish with pomegranate arils and coriander leaves.

Serving suggestions

Serve dahi vada straightway. Or you can refrigerate for a couple of hours before serving.

Storage

Wrap the dish in plastic cling wrap or transfer to a container with a lid, and keep leftover dahi vada in the refrigerator overnight or for a day only. Any longer and the taste of the yogurt changes.
The lentil dumplings can be made in advance and frozen before assembling the complete dish. Make the fritters per the recipe instructions, soak in water, and thoroughly squeeze out the water.
Then place in an airtight container and keep in the freezer for up to a week. Defrost overnight in the fridge, and then continue making the complete dahi vada recipe.

Notes

Use skinned urad dal for best results. You can also add about ¼ cup moong dal with the urad dal while soaking.
Soak the lentils for 4 to 5 hours or overnight. Grind with water as needed to make a smooth batter.
Whisk the batter for 2 to 3 minutes before frying. This helps make the vadas light and fluffy.
Always use fresh yogurt and not sour curd.
Fry the vadas at 180 to 190°C (350 to 375°F). The batter should rise steadily to the surface when dropped in hot oil.
Do not overcrowd the pan while frying, as this lowers the oil temperature and makes the vadas absorb more oil.
Nutrition information is approximate and calculated for 1 dahi vada.

Nutrition