Dahi vada

The main ingredient in dahi vada is urad daal and yogurt. Whenever I think of urad daal  I think of my visit to Ditu's  (my sister) place last year. I have a funny story to narrate.  She made urad  ki daal  it was absolutely delicious and at first no one noticed me eating the daal - soon when I reached out for a second helping, there was a alarming scream from ditu "Simi this is urad daal" (simi being me) I did not understand the reason for the alarm - I thought it was a delicacy and should not be taken lightly. So I nodded  and said -"it's really nice". Ditu, looking at B-I-L ( her husband) screamed in delighted, shock, amazement all the emotions at once - " Simi loves urad daal".   B-I-L was so happy - well apparently  Urad daal is a delicacy in  B-I-L's home and apart from B-I-L  and his mother no one - I repeat no one will touch it. My sister has been married for long years and she has never made urad daal when I am visiting as - obviously no one is supposed to like it !! lol !! I loved it and imagine after so many years. News of my 'new fond love for urad daal' reached  B-I-L's mother and soon -  B-I-L and his mother bestowed upon me the title of - 'honorary Tyagi'. Since it is a delicacy in every Tyagi household. It's not everyday u get an honorary title ;-)

 Btw it was not the kali daal but split urad ki daal ( the white one ) !! I have not tried making it at my place yet. The youngest ( my daughter) has been warned by the cousins ( Ditu's sons) and the warning extended by the threesome to my other half (my husband). Well not yet but I will definitely try it at home and when I do I promise to share it with you guys - the recipe and the reaction :) For now some dahi vada :)   

1 cup urad daal/ black gram (without skin)  soaked in water for 3-4 hrs
salt to taste
asofetida 1/4 tsp

Grind the urad daal into semi smooth paste. Add some salt and asafetida and whip. Keep aside!!

In a kadai or a pan heat oil. Drop in scoops of the batter into the oil - turn the heat to medium and not high. So we avoid deep dark crust with raw insides. Made bite size vadas - me and my love for bite size :).  Turn it around so it is nice and golden brown. Remove on a tissue and immediately dunk it in a bowl of water @ room temp. Let it soak for about 15-20 min.  Do the same thing for the rest of the batter.

For the yogurt

3-4 cups of thick home made yogurt (click here to learn how)
1 tsp cumin powder
1tsp red chili powder
salt to taste
1 tbsp sugar

In a bowl, whip the yogurt with salt and sugar. Remove the excess water from the water soaked vadas and dunk it in the yogurt. Make sure the vada is completely covered in yogurt and has room to grow, it really soaks in a lot of yogurt. garnish with cumin powder and red chili powder. chill for 2-3 hrs.

Serve with mint-coriander chutney and tamarind chutney. For mint chutney click here. Tamarind chutney coming soon. Enjoy chilled !!


Can't resist to capture the signs of spring ....same way I can't resist walking on the wet grass early up in the morning !! :)

Opps almost forgot -

For roasted cumin/jeera - in a dry pan roast some cumin till you can feel the fragrance fills the room and the color changes to a darker shade. let it cool in a bowl. Don't leave it in the pan as u might burn it with latent heat. Dry grind into fine powder and store in cool dry place. Good for 3 months.