Description
Make these melt in the mouth Dahi wada/ dahi bhalla easily with my secret tips !!
Ingredients
Raw white Urad dal (without skin) – 110 gms or 1/2cup
Ginger paste – 1 tsp
Green chilly paste – 1 tsp
Curd – 400gms
Sugar – 4 Tbsp
Salt to taste
FOR SPECIAL MASALA
Red chilly powder – 1 tsp
Cumin powder- 1 tsp
Black salt – 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida – 1 pinch
Carrom seeds – 1/8 tsp
Instructions
- Wash and Soak the urad dal in sufficient water for atleast 5 hours or overnight.
- After 5-6 hours, discard the soaking water and crush the urad dal to a fine fluffy paste. Add water in small increments. You want the batter to be crushed finely but not become too runny.
- While crushing you can add the ginger and chilly paste in it.
- Transfer the batter to a clean bowl. Beat it using a hand whisk ( for 10 mins) or machine whisk ( 2mins) till it is light and fluffy and has also become whiter in colour. Add the asafoetida and salt in this batter. You can also add chopped cashew nuts and raisins.
- Heat oil in a wide deep frying pan. You need to fry the wadas on medium heat , so manage the flame accordingly. The oil is ready when the batter begins floating as soon as it is dropped in the oil.
- If the oil is too hot the wadas will get too browned but the insides will remain uncooked.
- To fry the wadas evenly, drop small wadas in the oil. The small size ensures that the insides get cooked as the outside finishes browning.
- Drop the wadas in hot oil by using wet hands or spoon ( as shown in the video). Wetting the spoon ensures that the batter slips off easily in the oil and doesn’t remain stuck to the fingers or spoon.
- As soon as they hit the oil, push some surrounding oil on them using your other hand, so that they expand evenly.
- Keep moving them in the oil, so that all sides are equally cooked.
- Once all of them are fried. Cool them for 10 -20 mins.
- Soak them in water for 10-12 mins till they have absorbed water and become soft and juicy.
- To prepare the curd mixture, beat the curd well to break any lumps. Then season it with sugar and salt. Don’t use very thick curd.
- If the curd is slightly runny, the flavourful whey will be absorbed by the wadas. This way the the taste of the wadas will be enhanced by the curd. Instead of just coating the outsides in a thick layer.
- Squeeze out all excess water from the wadas by pressing them gently. Don’t be too harsh or you may end up with lots of broken wadas.
- Let this mix marinate in the fridge for atleast 2 -3 hours before serving.
- To make my special masala, powder and mix together asafoetida, carrom seeds, red chilly powder, cumin powder and black salt.
- After 2-3 hours carefully spoon the dahi wadas in a plate, top with some tangy mint chutney and imli chutney, dahi wada special masala and serve chilled.
Notes
- Urad dal is my preferred choice to make soft dahi wada. If you like the taste of moong dal you can use half of each dal for the batter.
- Whisk the batter well, till it becomes light in colour. Use machine whisk for ease.
- Fry small sized wadas on low to medium heat so that they are cooked evenly.
- Soak the wadas in room temperature water after cooling them completely. Always soak moong dal wadas in hot water. Cooling them completely before soaking is important. This allows them to cook completely from inside.
- Use fresh, slightly runny curd. Soaking the squeezed wada in the curd mix for 2-3 hours will infuse them with the curd whey and make them soft and melt in the mouth.
