Dahi vada (With Moong Dal)
Moong Dal vada are soft lentil fritters made with yellow moong dal. These lentil dumplings are deep fried and then dunked in a creamy spiced yogurt and sprinkled with chaat spices.
Ingredients
For The Moong Dal Vada
- ¾ cup yellow moong dal skinned
- 1 green chilli
- ½ inch ginger
- 1 pinch asafoetida hing
- ¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- ¼ cup water or as needed
- 2 cup oil for frying
For The Dahi Vada
- 2 cup whole plain yogurt
- 4 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon black salt kala namak
- 2 teaspoon chaat masala adjust to taste
- 1 teaspoon red chilli powder cayenne, adjust to taste
- ½ teaspoon roasted cumin powder
- Chopped Cilantro to taste
- Chopped ginger to taste
- Tamarind Chutney to taste, recipe here
- pomegranate seeds optional
Instructions
Soak The Lentils
- Wash the yellow moong lentils 2-3 times and soak for 4-5 hours in enough water. After soaking, the grains would be and you should be soft and you would be able to break them with your nail.
Grind The Lentils
- Drain all the water from soaked lentils and rinse them once. Transfer to a high speed blender (I use my Vitamix), add a knob of ginger and green chilli/serrano pepper.I you want to add cumin seeds, add them right now. At this point you can add some black peppercorns as well, however I like to add fresh cracked black pepper later.
- For blending add ¼ cup water to start with. Then as you go, add 1-3 tablespoons more of water as needed for smooth grinding. We need a thickish batter (remember it can always be thinned out later).Also keep in mind that the batter should be thickish yet flowing if dropped from a height. Note:- If you are using high speed blenders like Vitamix or blendtec, they do a wonderful job of aerating the lentils while they grind. Basically the next step starts while grinding itself
Beat the Lentil Batter
- Transfer the lentil batter to a bowl and add hing and little crushed black pepper. Now using a whisk or hand mixer (I simply use a spoon), aerate the batter in one direction. The batter will be fluffy and this will give us spongy vadas. Tip :- To check the aeration of batter, drop a tiny amount in a small bowl of water. It should come floating up instantly.
Deep Fry The Vadas
- Set oil to heat in a heavy bottom pot or use a kadai. To check the temperature of oil, add a tiny drop of batter to the oil, if it stays at the bottom, the oil is cold. If it comes sizzling up, the oil is too hot. We have to fry on low medium heat. Tip :- I find cast iron kadai or iron kadai or dutch oven best for grinding.
- Just when you are about to drop the vadas in hot oil, add salt and mix rigorously 1-2 times. Drop small portions (about 1.5 to 2 tablespoon) of lentil batter in the medium hot oil. Do not overcrowd the pan. If the batter is aerated properly, you will see the vadas puffing up in oil. They will have mushroom tops with holes (just a visualization guide for you :))
- Fry on medium heat until crisp and brown. Dont fry very dark or light in color. Drain on a paper towel. Tip:- Once deep fried, you can store the unsoaked moong dal vadas for a 2-3 days, refrigerated. You can also freeze them for a month.
Soak The Dal Vada
- Add the warm vadas to a large bowl. Add a little salt, pinch of hing and pour boiling water on top. Tip :-Press down the vada using a small dish (smaller than the diameter of the bowl). This makes sure that the vadas are fully submerged in water.
- Let soak for good 10 minutes. Meanwhile you can prepare spiced dahi (yogurt), chutneys etc .Once soaked, pick up the vada out of water one by one and squeeze lightly to discard the water. You will notice that the vadas would be super soft.
Assemble The Dahi Vada
- Cool down the squeezed vadas completely. Add to a serving dish in a single layer and then add the yogurt. I refrigerate them and chill for 3-4 hours. Before serving sprinkle spices like roasted cumin powder, chaat masala, chopped ginger & cilantro and tamarind chutney on top.
- Store the assembled dahi vada in the refigetater. I usually use a large container with lid. You can cover the dish with a cling film as well. They taste good for 3 days.
Notes
Moong Dal Batter
One of the key things in this recipe (or for that matter in any vada recipe) is the consistency of the ground lentils. Here are a few factors to keep in mind
- Soak the lentils for maximum 4-6 hours. No need to soak overnight.
- Grind to a fine paste adding as less water as needed. Don't dump a a lot of water in the beginning, adjust as you go light handedly.
- After aerating, the lentils should feel fluffy, they should not feel pasty (else the vada will be hard). Imagine the consistency as whipped cake batter, thick yet flowing(ribbon like).
- To adjust a thick batter, add a tablespoon of water at a time, mixing rigorously as you go.
- Lentils :- Make sure that the lentils are ground to a smooth consistency.
- Seasonings :- Whenever I make lentil dishes in general, I keep the spicing light because I want to let the taste of lentils shine. You can add extra green chillies, cumin seeds, black pepper or ginger when grinding.
- Yogurt - Do not use sour yogurt. I use plain greek yogurt or malai top indian style dahi available in south asian grocery stores. Homemade curd is perfect to use too make sure its not too watery. You need a creamy thick yogurt for a good taste.
- Gluten Free - Skip the hing in the recipe and make sure that your store bought yogurt is gluten free.
- Frying Oil- I use avocado oil for deep frying. Use any oil that you normally use for deep frying in your home.
- Vegan- I have not tried it myself. However this recipe should work with cashew yogurt.
Nutrition
Calories: 201kcalCarbohydrates: 7gProtein: 2gFat: 19gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 5gMonounsaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 3mgSodium: 111mgPotassium: 34mgFiber: 1gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 56IUVitamin C: 0.3mgCalcium: 27mgIron: 0.3mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!