Dahi Vada doesn’t need an introduction – soft, spongy, fluffy vadas meet whisked curd and sweet and spicy toppings – is there really a better chaat recipe?
I’m convinced dahi vada is the most delicious chaat recipe ever. It’s the perfect marrying of sweet, sour, and spicy flavours with soft textures that just works SO well.
Dahi Vada makes for a fantastic party snack/starter because it can be made ahead for many guests and then served whenever you are ready. Since it’s served chilled, you don’t need to worry about heating/reheating it when serving for guests either. (And it also means that it keeps better in the fridge so leftovers galore!!)
Looking for more Chaat recipes? Try my Bread Chaat, Pani Puri (Golgappa/ Puchka) Recipe, Air Fryer Papdi and Easy Aloo Chaat!
Don’t fret about the vada making – I’ve shared all my tips and tricks to make the spongiest vadas. These vadas are made using urad dal – they’re essentially fried lentil fritters that are coated with yogurt and sauces.
This is one of those recipes that you’ll make once and come back to again and again. It’s what I make every festive season without fail, too!
Ingredients You'll Need for Dahi Vada
- For the Vada:
- Urad Dal - There’s two varieties of dahi vada – one made with urad dal and the other with moong dal, often called ‘dahi pakodi’. The vadas in this recipe are urad dal vadas.
- Hing - works like baking soda to make the vadas light and fluffy
- Water - to blend the dal and form the batter
- Salt - to season
- For the Dahi Vada Chaat:
- Curd - we want to use thick curd for this recipe because it has the best texture once we whip it
- Sugar - just a pinch
- Green Coriander Chutney - this adds a tangy, spicy kick
- Sweet Tamarind Chutney (meethi imli chutney) - for that sweet and sour touch
- Roasted Cumin Powder - always goes so well with curd / in chaat
- Kashmiri Red Chili Powder - adds a great pop of color and spice, of course
- Black Salt - for that extra chatpata taste!
How to make Dahi Vada
Here's a step-by-step tutorial on how to make dahi vada:
1. Wash and soak urad dal overnight. Place the urad dal in a sieve to drain all the water completely.
2. Add it to a mixer grinder, add a tablespoon of water at a time (I used between 4-6 tablespoon water), and grind it to a smooth paste.
3. You may need a little less or a little more water, but try to use as little water as possible. This entire process can take up to 6-8 minutes. It's important to keep mixing it with a spatula and grinding.
4. The texture of the ground paste must be smooth with no lumps. Mix salt and hing in the ground urad dal and set it aside for ten minutes. The hing acts as baking soda and helps make the batter lighter.
5. Place the oil in a kadhai for heating while you whisk the batter. Use a hand whisk or hand blender to whisk the ground urad dal until it's light and fluffy - approximately 5 minutes. You’ll feel the batter becoming airy and fluffier and also getting lighter in colour from a yellow to pale white.
6. To make vadas, wet the back of a flat katori with water. Take a lime-sized amount of batter in your dominant hand (in my case, my right hand) and place it on the wet surface of the katori.
7. Using the fingers of the dominant hand, tap to press it into a flat circle.
8. Gently drop the vada in hot oil by turning the katori over the kadhai (close to the oil so the vada doesn't splash into it) and moving the fingers slightly so the vada slides into the oil.
9. You should see it start to puff up slightly. Cook it on a medium flame for 2-3 minutes till golden brown on both sides. Remove the vadas using a skimmer and keep aside on a tissue lined plate. Repeat till all the vadas are fried.
10. Add 2-3 cups of hot water into a bowl and combine it with 1 teaspoon of salt.
11. Soak the fried vadas in it for 20 minutes.
12. Once soaked, remove each vada one-by-one and squeeze it well enough to remove as much water as possible.
13. Add curd and sugar to a bowl. Whisk to combine.
14. Dip the vadas in the curd mix and transfer to a plate.
15. Top it off with some extra curd.
16. Drizzle imli chutney, coriander chutney, roasted cumin powder, salt and red chilli powder as per your preferences. You can also top it with some sev if you like, serve immediately!
Richa’s Top Tricks to make the Best Dahi Vada
- Soak the urad dal for 6 hours for the best texture – or 4-5 hours if you’re shorter on time. Don’t soak the dal overnight/ for longer than 8 hours as this will result in a batter that absorbs too much oil.
- Add water in parts when grinding – this will make sure that your batter is smooth and fluffy with a thick dropping consistency (this is what we want!). You can grind in two batches based on the size of your blender.
- It’s really important that we aerate the batter – this is done through whipping the ground batter in a bowl using a spatula/whisk/spoon for 4-5 minutes. This is what gives our vadas that bouncy, spongy texture.
- To check if your batter has the right consistency after whisking – do the water drop test. Take a small amount of the batter and drop it into a cup filled with water. If it floats, that means the consistency is perfect.
- When frying, test your oil with a drop of batter. If your batter falls to the bottom of the pan – your oil is too cool, but if it browns immediately, the oil is too hot. We want to fry our vadas on a medium high flame
- Make sure not to overcrowd the pan when frying – this will reduce the oil temperature and cause your vadas to soak more oil which we don’t want!
- Soak the vadas in hot salted water for 15-30 minutes for soft, spongy vadas. The excess water is squeezed out before tossing them in curd.
- Make sure to whip your curd – you can even add some cold water to it – to give it this smooth, pourable consistency that works so great here.
Frequently Asked Questions
- My batter is too thin – what can I do?
- Add some rice flour to your batter and beat it again to aerate it.
- Can I soak the vadas when they are not hot?
- Yes, no problem as the vadas are soaked in hot water to help release any excess oil and make them very soft
- How do I know when my vada batter is ready?
- To check the consistency of your batter, take a small amount of batter and drop it in a bowl of water. A light, fluffy batter will float in the water, whereas a thick batter will not. We want our batter to float.
- Why are my vadas greasy?
- There are two reasons why your vadas are too greasy - the batter is too thin, or your oil is not hot enough. If your oil is not hot enough, the vadas can absorb a lot of oil. Make sure to test your oil temperature before frying. Do this by adding a small drop of the vada in the oil - it should rise to the top immediately without browning.
- Why are my vadas hard and not soft and fluffy?
- The trick is to soak your lentils for the perfect amount of time - 6 to 8 hours - for the ultimate light and fluffy batter.
- Why are my vadas so flat?
- If your batter is too thin, your vadas will turn out flat. I recommend adding 1-2 tablespoon rice flour to the batter and beating well to aerate.
- Can the batter be made ahead of time?
- Yes, up to one day ahead of time – but make sure you keep the batter refrigerated. When you are ready to fry, let the batter come to room temperature first and whip it well to aerate it.
- Which oil should I use for frying the vadas?
- Any neutral oil with a high smoke point will work well for frying vadas. You could use sunflower, groundnut, vegetable, or canola oil here.
- Why is my curd not whipping?
- Make sure to use thick curd or greek yogurt for the best texture when whipping!
If there’s any recipe of mine that you try, make it this one! I remember the first time I made vadas I felt a little intimidated by it – but trust me these are so worth a try and I feel so happy every time I serve this. The best part is all age groups enjoy this so much – dahi vada is the definition of a crowd pleasing dish!
For more delicious chaat recipes, try out my Easy Aloo Chaat and Bread Chaat!
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Dahi Vada
Ingredients
Vada
- 1 Cup Urad Dal
- A pinch Hing
- 3-4 Teaspoons Water
- 3-4 Teaspoons Salt
- Oil for frying
Dahi Vada
- 2 Cups Curd thick
- ¾ Teaspoon Sugar
- Coriander Mint Chutney as required
- Meethi Imli Chutney as required
- 1-2 Teaspoons Roasted Cumin Powder
- 1-2 Teaspoons Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder
- ½ Teaspoon Salt
- A pinch Black salt optional
Instructions
Vada
- Wash and soak urad dal overnight.
- Place the urad dal in a sieve to completely drain all the water
- Add it to a mixer grinder, add a tablespoon of water at a time (I used between 4-6 tablespoon water), and grind it to a smooth paste. You may need a little less or a little more water, but try to use as little water as possible. This entire process can take up to 6-8 minutes. It's important to keep mixing it with a spatula and grinding.
- Mix salt and hing in the ground urad dal and set it aside for ten minutes. The hing acts as baking soda and helps make the batter lighter.
- Place the oil in a kadhai for heating while you whisk the batter
- Use a hand whisk to whisk the ground urad dal until it's light and fluffy - approximately 5 minutes. You’ll feel the batter becoming airy and fluffier and also getting lighter in colour from a yellow to pale white.
- To make vadas, wet the back of a flat katori with water. Take a lime-sized amount of batter in your dominant hand (in my case, my right hand) and place it on the wet surface of the katori.
- Using the fingers of the dominant hand, gently tap to press it into a flat circle. Gently drop the vada in hot oil by turning the katori over the kadhai (close to the oil so the vada doesn't splash into it) and moving the fingers slightly so the vada slides into the oil. Alternatively, the same can be done using the palm of your subservient hand instead of the katori.
- You should see it start to puff up slightly. Cook it on a medium flame for 2-3 minutes till golden brown on both sides. Remove the vadas using a skimmer and keep aside on a tissue lined plate. Repeat with the rest of the batter.
- Add 2-3 cups of hot water into a bowl and combine it with 1 teaspoon of salt.Soak the fried vadas in it for 20 minutes.
- Once soaked, remove each vada one-by-one and squeeze it well enough to remove as much water as possible.
Dahi Vada
- Add curd and sugar to a bowl. Whisk to combine.
- Dip the vadas in the curd mix and transfer to a plate. Top it off with some extra curd.
- Drizzle imli chutney, coriander chutney, roasted cumin powder, salt, black salt and red chilli powder as per your preferences. You can also top it with some sev if you like, serve immediately!
Notes
- Soak the urad dal for 6 hours for the best texture – or 4-5 hours if you’re shorter on time. Don’t soak the dal overnight/ for longer than 8 hours as this will result in a batter that absorbs too much oil.
- Add water in parts when grinding – this will make sure that your batter is smooth and fluffy with a thick dropping consistency (this is what we want!). You can grind in two batches based on the size of your blender.
- It’s really important that we aerate the batter – this is done through whipping the ground batter in a bowl using a spatula/whisk/spoon for 4-5 minutes. This is what gives our vadas that bouncy, spongy texture.
- To check if your batter has the right consistency after whisking – do the water drop test. Take a small amount of the batter and drop it into a cup filled with water. If it floats, that means the consistency is perfect.
- When frying, test your oil with a drop of batter. If your batter falls to the bottom of the pan – your oil is too cool, but if it browns immediately, the oil is too hot. We want to fry our vadas on a medium high flame
- Make sure not to overcrowd the pan when frying – this will reduce the oil temperature and cause your vadas to soak more oil which we don’t want!
- Soak the vadas in hot salted water for 15-30 minutes for soft, spongy vadas. The excess water is squeezed out before tossing them in curd.
- Make sure to whip your curd – you can even add some cold water to it – to give it this smooth, pourable consistency that works so great here.
- Coriander Mint Chutney Recipe - https://myfoodstory.com/green-coriander-chutney-recipe/
- Tamarind or Imli Chutney Recipe - https://myfoodstory.com/tamarind-chutney/
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