India’s celebratory summer street snack – Dahi Vada
A street food made of fried fritters and spiced yoghurt
India has street food for every season. Just like samosas are perfect for a rainy day, there is something for summers too – dahi vada. Creamy yoghurt poured over a lentil fritter or dahi vada – what better way to enjoy chaat or Indian street snacks during summers.
Polishing off a plate of dahi vada only takes a few minutes before you are ready for a second helping, ask any dahi vada fan. To understand the love of dahi vadas, we spoke to two Dubai-based Indian expatriates and a chef who reckon this to be their absolute favourite snack.
Thirty-three-year-old Bharti Verma, an Indian expatriate from the western state of Rajasthan, and her family in Dubai love dahi vadas. She said: "It's street food, something authentic and traditional to my state, especially during festivals like Holi, our regional festival Basoda (a deity worship festival) and especially during the summer season. It's the best snack, something you can eat in the evenings or late at night." Reasons to love this snack are plenty. Verma added: "I like the soothing taste of dahi (yoghurt), the tangy and spicy chutneys that get soaked into the spongy vadas, with every bite. As I say this, I am already salivating." To give this summery snack a personal touch, she adds pieces of ginger, for a bit of zing.
Preparing it may seem like an uphill task for many, but dahi vada purists disagree. Thirty-year-old Indian expatriate Fatema Yusuf Dhanerwala, an event planner who was raised in Dubai, said: "The thing I like about dahi vadas is that it is one of the easiest dishes we can make for snacks, just soak the dals or lentils in the morning or a few hours prior, blend it, fry, add chilled yoghurt with tamarind chutney, and you can have it for your evening snack." A snack that is not only delicious but also filling.
Of childhood memories and dahi vada
Verma and Dhanerwala's love for this street food is homegrown and etched in their childhood memories. Verma fondly remembers the effort her mother put into making them. She said: "I remember my mum soaking the dal for hours, taking it to the local mill (there are dedicated mini-mills that blend lentils and legumes, colloquially called chakkiwaalas) to get the right texture and taste. I miss the taste of my mother's handmade dahi vadas. No taste comes close." For Dhanerwala, this snack was a pretty filling meal during her childhood.
I remember my mum soaking the dal for hours, taking it to the local mill (there are dedicated mini-mills that blend lentils and legumes, colloquially called chakkiwaalas) to get the right texture and taste. I miss the taste of my mother's handmade dahi vadas. No taste comes close.
She said: "During summers, I usually took dahi vadas as lunch to schools because yoghurt relieved the heat and filled my stomach. Now, I love dahi vadas so much that during summers, I make it at home every second day."
I usually took dahi vadas as lunch to school because yoghurt relieved the heat and filled my stomach. Now, I love dahi vadas so much that during summers, I make it at home every second day
For Chef Munish Rana of Laung by Peppermill, Abu Dhabi, dahi vadas or dahi bhalla is one of the most cherished snacks. This dish's many Indian regional names are Thayir vadai in Tamilnadu, Doi Bora in West Bengal, Dahi Vade in Maharashtra and Dahi Bhalla in Punjab and the Indian capital New Delhi. The recipes differ slightly, just like their many names, but the essence remains the same.
If you struggle with getting the consistency right for the batter, there are ways to ensure it's made perfect. Read the recipe below and do the batter consistency test. The chutneys, a spiced blend of herbs, make or break this dish. Chef Rana said: "I think the chutneys that we add, create the magic." He also suggested steaming vadas instead of frying them for a healthier option.
I think the chutneys that we add, create the magic
There is a quick alternative too. If you have leftover bread, simply place the slices on top of each other, cut them into cubes, pour whisked yoghurt, sprinkle spices and coriander, and keep it in the fridge for an hour. Just a simple way to replace the deep-fried vadas.
What history says…
Food historian KT Achaya, in his book, A Historical Dictionary of Indian Food, records one of the earliest mentions of dahi vada. He wrote that the dish was mentioned in a book called the Mânasollasa, an early 12th-century Sanskrit text composed by the Kalyani Chalukya king Someshvara III. The latter ruled in the present-day southern Indian state of Karnataka.
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking times: 20 minutes
Serves 2
Here is a recipe to try:
Ingredients:
1 cup urad dal
10 gms green chillies
10 gms ginger
15 gms onion
5 gms black pepper, whole
1 gm baking soda or a pinch
Salt to taste
20 gms fresh coriander, chopped
2 cups yoghurt, whisked
2 tbsp coriander chutney
2 tbsp tamarind chutney
1 tsp roasted cumin powder
Chaat masala, to spinkle
Method:
Wash and soak the urad dal for at least four hours, preferably a whole night in water. Then, strain it and put it in a blender with green chillies, ginger, and onion to make a thick paste. Once you have the batter ready, add baking soda and whole black pepper, mix them well. Keep it aside for 15 minutes.
Note: Use as little water as possible - add one tablespoon of water at a time. You do not want to get a thin consistency. To check the consistency, drop a few pellets of the batter in a bowl of water. If it floats, it's perfect. If the pellets sink, the batter has turned out too thin, and you may need to blend in more lentils to make it thick.
Next, heat oil in a wok on medium heat. Then, using or spoon or your hands, begin dropping dollops of batter into the oil. Make sure you do not add too many and leave enough gap between each vadas. If you are using your hands to drop the batter, be careful. A tip: Use your thumb to gently slide the batter into the oil.
Once they turn crispy and golden brown, scoop them out of the oil and keep aside. After the vadas are fried, soak them in water for about 10 to 15 minutes. After which, squeeze them out gently to drain the water.
Place the vadas on a serving plate. Then, whip the yoghurt and pour on the vadas followed by the chutneys, chopped coriander, black salt, and roasted cumin powder. Some people like to add the vadas to the whipped yoghurt and then garnish it. Serve chilled.
Recipe courtesy: Chef Munish Rana at Laung By Peppermill, Abu Dhabi
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