Best Dahi Vada Recipe | Dahi Bhalla

This Best Dahi Vada or Dahi Bhalla recipe makes soft, pillowy lentil fritters, which are dunked in spiced, aromatic whisked yogurt and garnished with chutneys, roasted cumin, and other condiments.  This is a very popular Indian appetizer/snack – a chaat item which is extremely easy to make and very popular across all regions of the country.  Here, I am sharing with you the recipe to make the best, quickest and easiest Dahi Vada that will become a staple at your parties and gatherings.  The ease and simplicity of this recipe make it all the more appealing. 

This is a Vegetarian, Gluten-free recipe, that can be made Vegan by using vegan yogurt.  Here are the alternatives for Vegan yogurt: Coconut Yogurt  Almondmilk yogurt. For this recipe, be sure to buy it plain yogurt, without any fruity flavors.

Vada when fried are very crispy, crunchy little balls which can be eaten by itself or with chutney. When dunked in yogurt, it becomes the spongiest, softest Dahi Vada. It is quite a (pleasant) contradiction!

Be sure to check out the 3 Secret tips to make the Best Dahi Vada!

• Different types of Dahi Vada
• How to store leftover Dahi Vada
• What if the Vada batter becomes watery?
• 3 secret tips for making the best Dahi Vada

Dahi Bhalla vs Dahi Vada:

It is called Dahi Bhalle in Punjab and much of northern India, Dahi Vada in the western part of India and a whole bunch of different names all over the country.  This street food is also very popular in Pakistan. 

According to wikipedia, Dahi Vada is also known as “dahi baray” Dani Wade in Marathi, ( دہی بڑے) in Urdu, dahi bhalla in Punjabi, thayir vadai in Tamil, thairu vada in Malayalam, perugu vada in Telugu, mosaru vade in Kannada, dahi bara (ଦହି ବରା) in Odia and doi bora (দই বড়া) in Bengali.

Whatever name you call it, there is no debate that it tastes awesomely divine 🙂

Dahi Vada | Dahi Bhalle

5 from 7 votes

Print Pin Recipe

Course: Appetizer, Snack, Starters

Cuisine: Indian, Pakistani

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Soaking time: 8 hours

Total Time: 30 minutes

Servings (slide to adjust): 6

Calories: 165kcal

Author: Sonal

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 cup Urad daal (skinned and split black lentils)
• ▢ ¼ cup Moong daal (skinned and split moong beans)
• ▢ ¼ cup Water for grinding the lentils
• ▢ Salt to taste
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon Asafoetida
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon Ginger paste optional
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon Green chili paste optional
• ▢ Oil for frying Vada
• ▢ 10-12 oz. Yogurt (use vegan yogurt for vegan version)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Powdered black salt (Sanchar)
• ▢ 1 tablespoon Cumin, roasted & ground
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon Red chili powder
• ▢ ½ teaspoon Chaat Masala optional
• ▢ 2 tablespoons Cilantro, finely chopped
• ▢ ¼ cup Date-Tamarind chutney (optional) Recipe link in the notes section

Instructions

• Soak both the lentils overnight. If you don't have a lot of time, do so at least for 4 hours.
• Coarsely grind the soaked lentils,  along with green chilies, ginger, asafoetida, and salt.  Add little water if needed.  For the above quantity, about ¼ to ½ cup water should be enough.  The batter should not be runny.
• When ready to fry, heat oil for frying. Add 1 tablespoon of warm oil to the batter. Whisk the batter vigorously. See the 3 secret tips to make the best Dahi Vada listed in this post.

  The key to making soft wadas is to whisk the batter in one direction for at least 5-10 minutes.  This would create a fluff in the texture as it would aerate the batter.  
• When the oil is hot, drop tablespoonfuls of batter in oil.  Fry on medium heat until golden brown.  Given that the mixture is made of lentils, it's important for it to fry enough so that the lentils are cooked.

  Vada when fried are very nice crispy, crunchy.
• Keep a container filled with water ready. As soon as you take out the vada from oil after frying, dunk these in the water container. Keep it in water for about 15-20 minutes, and then gently squeeze out the water by pressing the vada between your palms, making sure not to break these. 
• Add black salt (Sanchar) to the yogurt.  Whisk it until the consistency is very smooth.  Add a little bit of water if needed to make it slightly thinner.. When serving,  put Vadas on a plate, add the whisked, chilled yogurt.  Add a teaspoonful of tamarind chutney (optional) and garnish with the roasted cumin powder, chili powder, chaat masala, and finely chopped cilantro. Enjoy!

Notes

Date-Tamarind chutney recipe can be found here.

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Nutrition

Calories: 165kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 6mg | Sodium: 30mg | Potassium: 91mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 110IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 90mg | Iron: 3mg

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What are the different variations of Dahi Vada?

Dahi Vada can be made Plain as mentioned in this recipe or can be Stuffed Dahi Vada with finely chopped ginger, green chilies, and dry fruits like cashews and raisins. You can also make Baked Dahi Vada or Steamed Dahi Vada – all using the same batter and see which one you like better 🙂

1. To make the Stuffed Dahi Vada, follow this recipe until preparation of the batter. Then mix the above stuffing of finely chopped ginger, green chilies, and dry fruits like cashews and raisins. Wet a ladle with water, using another spoon, drop a spoon full of batter on that wet ladle, then add a teaspoon of the above stuffing, drop another spoon full of batter on top of it and then gently slide that Stuffed Vada in oil for frying. This step is a bit tricky as the batter is semi-liquid and so a bit challenging. Make sure the oil is hot so that the Vada does not disintegrate. Fry until golden brown. Repeat until all Vadas are fried.
   
2. Another version is Baked Dahi Vada. The Baked Dahi Vada is a healthier version of the same recipe, as these are not deep-fried.  Once the batter is ready, heat an appam pan, spray or brush it with a tiny bit of oil. Once the pan is hot, drop a tablespoon full of batter in each compartment of the appam pan.  Keep the heat on medium.  Cover the pan. Since these fritters are made of lentil, they need good enough time to cook.  After a few minutes, turn the Vada on the other side, using a spoon.  Let it cook on that side as well. After a few minutes, check to see if these are done and the rawness of the lentils is gone.  The vadas are ready to be served.  Please note that these may not puff up as much as the deep-fried version, but the taste would still be the same.  If you want you can try making a few like these and few fried ones to see which ones suit you better 🙂 
   
3. Yet another version is Steamed Dahi Vada. As the name suggests these are steamed, and again, a healthier version as it’s not deep fried. For this, you can use an Idli Stand. The shape may not come out perfectly round, but that’s ok as anyways the Dahi Vada needs to be dunked in Yogurt. For making Steamed Dahi Vada, Heat a vessel which is deep and can fit the Idli stand, add three cups of water and cover it until it comes to a boil. In the meantime, spray or brush a tiny bit of oil in all compartments of Idli stand, pour a tablespoon full of batter in each, making sure you don’t overfill it. Place the Idli stand inside the vessel with the boiling water, such that the Vada doesn’t touch the water. Cover it, let it cook for about 5 minutes. You can then open then remove the Idli stand, flip the Vadas on the other side and put the stand back, cover it and let it cook for another 3-5 minutes until the Vadas are completely cooked. Remove when done.

How to store leftover Dahi Vada / Bhalle

If you think you have made more quantity of Vada that is not going to be used immediately, don’t soak all of them in water after frying, and don’t dunk them in Yogurt either. You can store the fried/baked vadas in a ziplock bag in the refrigerator and remove it when ready to use again.  You will just have to follow the same steps as in the recipe (dunk in water for a few minutes, remove and gently squeeze out the water, dunk it in yogurt).

If you have Vadas leftover which has already been dunked in water after frying and then removed, water squeezed out and if you need to store these, just store it in a ziplock bag in the refrigerator, and then dunk in yogurt when ready to eat.  These can stay good in the refrigerator for 1-2 days.

If you have Dahi Vada left over, which is already dunked in yogurt, well, refrigerate it in a container and this can easily be stored for 1-2 days. 
The batter can also be stored in the refrigerator for a few days, so you can make the vadas when ready to eat.  This makes it easy to do preparation for a big party or a gathering.  

If you have Dahi Vada left over, which is already dunked in yogurt, well, refrigerate it in a container and this can easily be stored for 1-2 days. 
The batter can also be stored in the refrigerator for a few days, so you can make the vadas when ready to eat.  This makes it easy to do preparation for a big party or a gathering.  

What if the Vada batter becomes watery?

If by mistake you add too much water and the batter becomes watery as a result, you can add some Semolina (sooji) to the batter and leave it aside for 10-15 minutes. It will help make the batter consistency thicker.

3 secret tips for making the Best Dahi Vada:

You will be able to make the softest, spongiest and the best Dahi Vada using these 3 Pro-tips. The recipe does not require any soda or eno.

1. Tip 1: Grind the Dahi Vada batter only using very little water, as needed.  Don’t make the batter runny.
2. Tip 2: Just before you are ready to fry the vadas, add a tablespoon of hot oil to the batter, and vigorously whisk the batter using a spoon for 2-3 minutes, in one direction.  This will aerate the batter (incorporate air into the batter) and make it very fluffy.  This is the most important tip for making softest Dahi Vada.
3. Tip 3: Keep a container filled with water ready. As soon as you take out the vada from oil after frying, dunk these in the water container. Keep it in water for about 15-20 minutes, and then gently squeeze out the water by pressing the vada between your palms, making sure not to break these.   
   
   If you are going to eat the vada the next day or store it for several hours before eating, you can skip this step and later dunk it in the water before eating.  

If you liked the Dahi Vada recipe, you may also like the following:

Dahi Sev Puri | Khasta Kachori Chaat | Raj Kachori | Mumbai Bhelpuri

Hope you enjoy making and savoring this Dahi Vada with all the secret tips & tricks. Do share your feedback and pictures when you recreate this recipe. <3