The softest lentil fritters soaked up in creamy and delicious yogurt, mosaru vade or dahi vada is a popular dish that originates from Karnataka. They can be served as a snack or appetizer or even for breakfast and as a side with your meals.
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Why you will love this recipe?
- The vadas are made with urad dal, which is a type of lentil that is known for its ability to produce soft and fluffy fritters.
- The urad dal vada is soaked in a yogurt sauce that is flavored with ginger, green chilies, and spices. The yogurt adds a tangy and creamy flavor to the vadas that perfectly complements the savory fritters.
- Dahi vada can be served as a snack, appetizer, or light meal. It is also a popular dish to serve at parties and gatherings.
Ingredients
Urad dal: They are also called black gram and are used to make the fritters/vada.
Yogurt: Whisked plain yogurt is used to make them.
Spices: I season the yogurt with mustard seeds and cumin seeds.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations
Dahi vada, or yogurt-soaked lentil fritters, differs in North and South India. In the North, it's known as dahi bhalla, served chaat-style with sweet chutney, green chutney, and powdered spices. In the South, it's a simpler dish, with yogurt and a tempering.
The taste of yogurt also varies - the North Indian version has the yogurt sweetened, while in the South Indian version, the yogurt is tangy and is not sweetened. My recipe here is the South Indian dahi vada. It is called mosaru vade in Kannada, thayir vadai in Tamil, and peragu vada in Telugu.
Step-by-step instructions
Step 1: Soak and grind the urad dal with minimal water. Whisk the dal batter well to aerate it. Drop some batter in water to check if it is ready. The batter must float.
Step 2: Add the rest of the ingredients (chopped coconut, green chili, curry leaves, ginger paste, and salt) to the batter and mix well.
Step 3: Take small portions of batter (approximately 2 tbsp) and gently drop it into the oil.
Step 4: Fry the vadas on medium flame until they are golden brown. Drain on a paper towel.
Step 5: Soak the vadas in lukewarm water for 5-6 minutes. Gently squeeze the vada to remove excess water.
Step 6: Add salt to the yogurt and whisk it until it is smooth and there are no lumps. Heat oil in a small fry pan and add mustard seeds. Once it splutters, add cumin seeds, curry leaves, and ginger. Add the tempering to the yogurt and mix well.
Step 7: Add soaked vadas and mix gently. Let it sit for a few minutes before serving.
Expert Tips
Grind the urad dal with as little water as possible. The batter has to be very thick with very little water content.
Aerate the batter well by whisking it for at least 5 minutes. A well-aerated batter gives light and fluffy vadas. To check if the batter is ready, drop a small amount of batter in water. If it floats, the batter is ready.
Always fry the vada on medium heat. Frying them on low heat will make them soak too much oil, and if you fry them on high heat, they will not cook completely.
Pro-tip: Fry a large batch of vadas, portion, and freeze them. They are very handy as a snack or for lunch boxes.
How to store dahi vada?
Store assembled dahi vada in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. If you plan to freeze them, do not add the yogurt to the vada and freeze just the fried vadas.
To freeze, cool the fried vada completely, place it in a freezer-safe bag with minimal air, and freeze for up to three months. To thaw, place in hot water for 15 minutes and then add to the yogurt mixture. Reheat frozen vadas in an
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Recipe card
Dahi Vada
Ingredients
For the vada:
- 1 cup split black gram urad dal
- 3 tablespoon coconut sliced
- 2-3 green chili (or serrano pepper) or as per taste
- 5-6 curry leaves
- 1 teaspoon ginger paste
- Salt to taste
- Oil for deep frying
For the yogurt mix:
- 3 cups yogurt
- 1 teaspoon oil
- ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- 4-5 curry leaves
- 1 inch ginger finely sliced
- Salt to taste
For serving:
- 1 small carrot grated
- 2 tablespoon cilantro
- Boondi or sev
Instructions
Make the batter:
- Soak the urad dal in water overnight (or for a minimum of 4-5 hours).
- Once the urad dal is soaked, rinse it thoroughly and drain all the water.
- Grind into a smooth batter using very little water (the batter needs to be thick and should have as less water as possible).
- Whisk the batter to make it fluffy. To check if your batter is ready, add a small drop of batter into a bowl of water. If it floats, the batter is ready for vadas
- Finely chop coconut slices, green chili, and curry leaves.
- Mix the chopped coconut, green chili, curry leaves, ginger paste, and salt into the batter.
Fry the vadas:
- Heat oil in a frying pan or kadhai. Take small portions of batter (approximately 2 tbsp) and gently drop it into the oil.
- Fry the vadas on medium flame until they are golden brown.
- Drain on a paper towel.
Soak them in yogurt:
- Add salt to the yogurt and whisk it until it is smooth and there are no lumps.
- Heat oil in a small fry pan and add mustard seeds. Once it splutters, add cumin seeds, curry leaves and ginger. Saute for a few seconds.
- Pour the prepared tempering into the yogurt and mix well.
- Soak the vadas in lukewarm water for 5-6 minutes. Gently squeeze the vada to remove excess water.
- Drop them into the yogurt mix and mix gently. Let it sit for a few minutes.
Serve:
- Place the vadas in a serving bowl.
- Top with some yogurt mixture.
- Garnish with grated carrot, cilantro, and boondi.
- Serve immediately.
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