Dahi bada is the quintessential party snack. It is a popular Indian street food and is available in all restaurants across India. People of all age groups love it. Soft fluffy dahi vada is actually a life saver too. It helps you save time when there are guests coming home.Saves you from making an extra curry for a party. Curd also helps with digestion when we eat all that heavy creamy curries. Thus a win-win for both the guests and the hosts. Dahi bhalla chaat is a mix of tangy mint and sweet tamarind chutney /date chutney. Later, garnished with pomegranate seeds and spices.
The colors remind me of our Indian flag. Nothing is as colorful as our India. Our cuisine reflects life. It is a mish mash of everything spicy sour and sweet and some how, everything fits perfectly, in that chaos.
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Is Dahi Bhalla and Dahi Vada same?
Yes. No one gets bored of this yummy dahi bhalle! It is simple snack to make. Most people love the medu vada or dal vada version for breakfast. We also serve it during Holi parties. Nothing like dahibade to refresh you after all that Holi color fun.It is full of protein as it is only soaked and slightly fermented lentils.
I end up eating so many of them while making them. You can serve a bit as a snack to kids when you make it. Have it later with yogurt and chutneys later. Two snacks in one. Both super tasty and yum! Best part is any shape of the vada will do. It need not be a perfect donut. You can make it a day before and keep it ready for the party. Garnish it with mint and tamarind chutney before you serve.
Ingredients
For batter:
- Urad dal/split black lentils, soaked for 4 hours
- Black peppers crushed coarsely
- Cumin seeds/jeera
- Salt as per taste
- Rice flour optional
- Oil for frying/brushing
- Yogurt beaten with ½ cup water
For assembling: Serve 2-3 pieces in a bowl, sprinkle a pinch of
- Red chili powder
- Roasted cumin powder
- Dry mango powder
- Pomegranate seeds optional
- Chopped coriander leaves
- ¼ teaspoon Mint chutney & tamarind chutney/ date chutney
- Chaat masala optional
How to make dahi bade?
Here are the step by step pictures.
- Soak urad/udad dal for minimum of 4 hours .
2. Grind the dal with salt, jeera, black pepper and minimal water. Mix all ingredients. 
3. Take a spoonful and fry in hot oil over medium heat. 
4. Fry it until golden brown in color. Repeat it for all the batter. 
5. Allow them to cool for 10-15 minutes and transfer to a container with cold water. 
6. Remove excess water from each piece by squeezing in between your palms softly. This keeps them soft. Move them to a bowl with whipped curd and water. 
7. Serve them with sweet and sour tamarind chutney, Pomegranate, spices and coriander.
How to make vada in air fryer?
- Spray the muffin liners with an oil spray. Place the scoop of batter in muffin cups and keep it in the air fryer basket.
2. Air fry the vadas for 10 minutes at 190 degree C.Brush oil and air fry again for 6-7 minutes. 
3. Let it cool. Take the paper wrap out and soak them in warm water. Continue with same steps to make dahi bada.
Scroll below to read the recipe
Dahi vada recipe
Equipment
- kadai/frying pan
- or air fryer for low oil version
- Mixer grinder/blender for grinding batter
Ingredients
- 1 cup urad dal split black lentils,soaked for 4 hours
- 8-10 black peppers crushed coarsely
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds/jeera
- Salt as per taste
- 1 tablespoon rice flour optional
- Oil for frying
- 1 cup yogurt beaten with ½ cup water
- green chutney date chutney,pomegranate seeds
Instructions
- Grind the urad dal in a blender with minimal water to form a smooth batter.
- Add cumin,pepper and salt,mix well
- In case, batter is too watery,add rice flour to it
- Heat oil in a kadai/saucepan
- Take a small portion of dough and lower them slowly in hot oil.
- On a medium flame, fry them until golden brown.
- Let it cool and dip them in a bowl of water.
- Remove the excess water by pressing them out in your palm.
- Dip it in beaten yogurt for 1 hour atleast.
- In a plate place 2-3 dahi bhalle. Garnish it with mint chutney, date or tamarind chutney, chopped coriander leaves, pomegranate seeds. Sprinkle some roasted cumin powder, red chilli powder.
Air fryer method
- In the air fryer basket, line all muffin liners and add a big scoop of the batter in each.
- Air fry the vada for 10 minutes at 190 deg C.
- Brush oil and air fry the pieces for 7-8 minutes or until light brown.
- Let it cool. Take the paper wrap out and soak them in warm water. Follow the remaining steps from the traditional method to make your dahi bhalla chaat.
Travel tip: Making dahi vada is an art too, ask Joshi vade wale at Indori Sarafa bazaar.It can make careers too 🙂 All Indoris will agree! When you are from MP, your heart belongs to good food!
Variations
South Indian style of dahi vada is slightly different. After putting vada in yogurt.They add a curry leave mustard seeds tadka to it. Some people make a stuffing of cashews and almonds and stuff it while making the vada. However, that is strictly optional. Plain vada looks great as it is and you can have it hot even without a dip! I end up eating many vadai before even putting them in yogurt 🙂
Storage
Store dahi vada in a refrigerator. It can stay upto 2-3 days. If you are making them for a party, you may soak them in water a day or two earlier. Squeeze the water and dip them in yogurt 4-5 hours earlier to the party.
Make a big batch of mint and tamarind chutney. Freeze it in small plastic containers for weeks. Thaw it anytime you want to eat chaat. Works like magic.Helps me save time when I want to eat street food anytime of the week. Also helps me avoid buying preservative laden chutneys from the market.
How many types of Vada are there?
There are many types of Vada in India. See our favorites below.
Click here to see top Holi recipes. Click here to see more recipe videos.
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