Dahi Bhalla Chaat (Dahi Vada)

Of all the Chaat dishes this one surely tops my list and has always been my favorite. Its the best thing to relish during summers. The entire combination of sweet, tangy, spice makes it a perfect dish to enjoy during summer especially with the addition of cold dahi (curd). Preparation of Chaat takes much longer than eating it, which is true in case of most of the dishes. For those who are not aware of what Chaat means then here's to little bit of a background. Chaat merely means savoury snack which is usually prepared form multiple ingredients either cooked or raw. The word Chaat is derived from Hindi which means "you lick your fingers while eating". Chaat is one of the dishes that is famous with the Food Scene in India available on every street corner. There are many famous Street vendors in every state who are famous for their Chaat dishes. Its one of the most affordable and filing dishes served by our famous street food vendors.

Let's have a look at the recipe:

Method:

Ingredients for Vada:

2 cups Urad Dal

1/2 cup Moong Dal

2 cups of Hot Water

Pinch of Asafoetida (Hing)

Salt

Oil to fry

Ingredients for Green Chutney:

8-10 Mint Leaves (Pudina)

1  cup washed and cleaned Cilantro (Coriander)

1 Garlic

1 inch Ginger

1 Green Chili

Ingredients for assembling the dish: (All of these ingredients should be added in measurement of a "Pinch" except for Curd. If any ingredient you like more you can add accordingly.)

Himalayan Salt

Chaat Masala

Kashmiri Red Chili Powder

Cumin Powder (Jeera Powder)

Green Chutney

Tamarind Chutney ( I used the one store bought which is a combination of tamarind and dates)

Beaten Curd ( 4 cups)

Method:

Wash and soak Urad Dal and Moong Dal separately for 4 hours.

Wash and strain the water again after 4 hours and grind them to a fine paste with very little use of water. Do not add too much of water while grinding as we want the batter to hold the shape.

NOTE: Both urad dal and moong dal can be grinded together.

Grind all of Urad Dal and Moong Dal and keep it aside. Using a whisk or a spatula, continue whisking the batter for roughly 5 mins. This process helps lighten the batter and helps making the vadas more fluffy and soft.

In a bowl add 2 cups of hot water, add Hing and salt to it and give it a good mix. Keep it aside for later use.

In a kadai heat up oil for frying and with the help of your hand or a spoon, whichever way is comfortable for you start adding small portions of batter in round shape into the oil.

Fry them until they golden brown. Remove them on a paper towel and continue frying second batch and so on.

Once the vada's have cooled down a bit, add the first them to the hot water that we have mixed and kept aside. While frying the second batch, the first batch can be added to the water.

Let them rest in hot water mixture for roughly 5 mins. Once the texture of Vada's appear to be soft, remove them from the water and carefully smash each one in between of your palms and start plating them on a dish.

Follow the video for the assembling process.