Dahi Bhalla (Soft lentil balls with Yogurt) is a very popular dish in whole of North India. This style of preparation is generally followed in Punjab. The yogurt used for bhallas should be thick, smooth and sweetened. The sweet and sour tamarind chutney is also very important to enjoy the bhallas. It is also known as dahi vada in many states.
This bhalla is made with urad dal whereas in Rajasthan it is made with moong dal. Dahi Bhalla or dahi vada can be made in many ways with slight variation in ingredients, shape and size. In southern part of India the vadas are made with a hole in the center and are tempered with mustard, red chilli and curry leaves. Known as Thayir Vada in Tamil Nadu and Perugu Galeru in Andhra Pradesh, they also taste great.
It is very important to whisk or whip the dal paste to make it light and fluffy. Whipping makes the vada soft. Please do not add baking powder or soda to the batter as the vada will absorb a lot of oil.
You may also like to try our other similar recipes like Sprout Stuffed Dahi vada, Dahi Ke Kabab and Kachori Chaat.
Yield: 5 to 6 servings
Prep time: 10 minutes + soaking 5 hours
Total time: 6 hours
Ingredients For Dahi Bhalla
1 cup urad dal (split black gram)
500 ml thick Dahi (yogurt)
1 recipe green chutney (coriander chutney)
1 recipe imli chutney (tamarind chutney)
1 tablespoon roasted jeera powder (cumin)
1 teaspoon chilli powder
1 teaspoon kala namak (black salt)
Sugar to taste
Salt to taste
Oil for frying
Directions For Dahi Bhalla
- Wash and soak the dal for 4 to 5 hours.
- Drain the water and grind to a paste by adding very little water just to be able to help grinding.
- Whisk the dal paste by a hand blender or by spoon, so that if becomes light and fluffy. To check if the batter is fluffy enough take a bowl of water and drop a teaspoon of this batter. The batter should float on the water.
- Heat oil in a Kadai on medium heat, drop a tablespoon of the batter with wet fingers or with spoon. Fry to light brown colour by turning a couple of times to get an even colour.
- In the meantime add 1 liter of water in a broad pan, add 1 teaspoon of salt and mix. This is for soaking the bhallas .
- Strain the bhallas and leave on absorbent paper for 2 to 3 minutes and then transfer them in the pan with water. Let the bhallas soak for 20 to 25 minutes.
- Now take out the bhallas one by one. Squeeze them between both the palms to remove the excess water and to flatten them. Arrange in a shallow dish.
- Whip the dahi to just to remove lumps and make it smooth. Add salt and sugar to taste and mix well.
- Pour the dahi on the bhallas so as to cover them completely. Let it rest for 10 minutes in the fridge.
- Before serving sprinkle the black salt, cumin powder, chilli powder and drizzle both the chutneys on top.
- Garnish with chopped coriander and serve.
