Dahi Vada is an ancient dish. The earliest recipe of the beloved Dahi Vada is mentioned in the Manasollasa–a Sanskrit encyclopaedia that dates the 12th-century!
Dahi Vada is basically bagel-shaped fritters made from seasoned black gram battersoaked in thick curds and garnished with tempered mustard seeds, grated carrots, and other herbs and condiments. Packing this for your lunch or your kid’s lunch? Mack sure you pack them in an insulated lunch kit or in your kid’s lunch box.
Health Benefits
While dahi vada involves deep-frying of the vada,the nutritional value of dahi vada remains immense due to the presence of lentils and curd. Lentils are rich in protein and curd is an excellent source of calcium, vitamin B-12, magnesium, potassium, vitamin B-2, and several other nutrients.
One serving of dahi vada comprises nearly 73 calories, 3.81 g fat, 2.48 g protein, and 7.17 g carbohydrates.
The garnish on dahi vadas(grated carrot, chopped coriander, and tempered mustard seeds) not only adds to taste and nutritional value, but also lends the dish an otherworldly look! No wonder this little snack leaves people asking for more!
Ingredients
cup black gram soaked overnight: 1
green chillies--finely chopped: 2
inch ginger - finely chopped: 1
pieces black pepper--coarsely ground: 12-18
pinch asafoetida (Hing): 1
Finely chopped coriander leaves
sprigs curry leaves—destalked and finely chopped: 4
Gingelly oil—for deep frying
milk: 2½ cups
cups mildly salted curd: 2
salt to taste
red chilli powder: ¼ tsp
grated carrot: ¼ cup
sprigs coriander—chopped: 6
• Black mustard seeds
How To Make Dahi Vada
- Drain pre-soaked black gram and blend to a smooth paste. Add water and salt as required in batches until a pasty consistency is reached.
- Transfer paste to a large vessel,add green chilli,ginger,blackpepper,coriander leaves, asafoetida, and mix well.
- Heat oil in a pan over high flame, lubricate your hands with oil, scoop out some paste, mould into the shape of a bagel, and deep fry until golden.
- Place vadas on paper towels to drain extra oil.
- Once the vadas cool, dunk them in milk until completely soaked and transfer to a plate.
- Add generous quantities of curd to soaked vadas.
- Garnish with carrot, coriander, chili powder, and tempered mustard seeds.
- Refrigerate for 30 minutes to an hour prior to serving.
Trivia
Did you know that the Dahi Vada is extremely popular in western and northern India? It is called Dahi Bhalla in Punjabi, Doi Bora in Bengali, Dahi Bara in Odisha, and DahiBaray in Urdu. Some places in India, include Gujarat and Maharashtra use sweet yoghurt to prepareDahi Vada. On the eve of Holi, people relish DahiVadas after playing with colours.