Tips to make soft and fluffy Dahi Vada
Holi , the festival of colors is nearby and we look for some lip smacking snacks on this particular day. Dahi Vada is one of them. It is full of energy; so after playing Holi- a real rejuvenating hard work , you can eat it to boost your energy level. So prepare and enjoy this delicious Indian snack on this Holi.
Ingredients –
For making Vadas :-
Dhuli urad daal – 200gm(it is sufficient for25-30 pieces of vadas)
Salt - According to your taste
Black pepper – According to your taste
Kishmish -15 -20 pieces
Oil for deep frying (ricela oil is best for deep fry)
For garnishing –
Imli ki sweet chutney . Do not worry if you are not perfect to make this. You can use hot and sweet sauce of Maggi brand.
Pomegranate seeds – 2 tbs
Roasted and grinded cumin seeds – 2-3 tbs
Salt
Kaju tukda or any dry fruit
Any type of namkeen like aloo bhujia, plain bhujia , sev etc.
Whipped curd – 1 kg
Method – Clean wash and soak the daal for 5-6 hours or at night. Now make a smooth paste in a mixer-grinder by using very little water . Put it in a large pan. Add salt and pepper according to your taste . Add kishmish. Put the oil in a pan on flame. Fry medium size balls of this semi solid paste on a medium heat.
Keep it aside for 10-15 minutes . Now soak it in the water for ½ an hour. After ½ an hour squeeze all the water from vadas one by one and dip them in whipped curd (1/2 kg, rest ½ kg curd will be used at the time of serving dahi vadas) for 2-3 hours . Put the bowl in refrigerator .
Before serving put 2 vadas in a bowl , pour some whipped curd on it. Pour 2-3 spoons of sauce on it. Sprinkle little bit salt , cumin powder . Garnish with pomegranate seeds , kaju tukda, sev etc. You can also add pieces of mathri or namak pare in it before pouring curd.
Tips –
Daal should be fresh. Never use a stale daal.
Daal should be properly grinded.
For grinded daal use water in which you have soaked daal.
Do not soak vadas in water immediately after frying as the cooking process is still going on. Vadas should be dipped in water minimum for ½ an hour.
After squeezing water dip them for 2-3 hour in whipped curd , vadas will soak the curd and you will get a better taste , softness and fluffiness.
Do not mix another daal with dhuli urad daal to make vadas. Dhuli urad Dal alone will give you a superb taste.
To maintain the crunchiness of mathri, namak pare, namkeen etc put them in bowl just before serving.
Do not fry them on high flame , they will immediately turn golden brown from outside but remain uncooked from inside.
Do not fry them on low flame also then they will absorb more oil. So fry them always on medium flame.
Note – Before frying the Bhallas/Vadas if you want to check that your grinded daal is perfect to make bhallas , just add a small quantity of grinded daal in a glass of water if it floats immediately it means daal is ready for making vadas. If it does not float , then do not worry your grinded daal will not be waste . Just whip the daal for 2 to 5 minutes.
I think these all tips will be very beneficial for you to make soft and delicious dahi vadas.
Health benefits of dahi vadas :-
As the vadas are made by daal so It is rich in protein.
As a lot of curd is used in it, so it has abundance of calcium.
Curd enhances digestion and also strengthens the digestive system.
Curd keeps you away from bacterial oral problems also.
It is a rich source of vitamin B6 and vitamin B12.
Dr. Suman Setia BAMS
DNHE PGDHHM
Also see : 1) Namak Pare Chhat