How to Make Dahi Bhalla Chaat with soft failproof Bhalla
This Dahi Bhalla Recipe yields soft, fluffy, and perfect Bhalla every time. These absolutely delicious and addictive Indian snacks are also known as Dahi Vada. They are super easy to make at home. For failproof results, read the complete blog.
Ingredients
For Making Bhallas
- ¾ cup White lentils (Split Urad Dal )
- ¼ cup Split Green lentils (Moong Dal)
- 1 teaspoon Ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Black pepper
- 1 Green chili (optional)
- 1 inch Fresh Ginger root (optional)
- Oil for frying
For serving
- 2 cups Dahi
- ½ cup Green chutney (optional)
- ½ cup Tamarind chutney
- ¼ teaspoon Chili powder
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Cumin powder
Instructions
Instructions for making Dahi Bhallas
- Start by soaking White lentils and green lentils for at least 4 hours.
- Drain and add to a blender jar with all the other ingredients for making the Bhalla batter.
- Blend well to form a smooth paste. Do not add too much water. Add 1 tablespoon of water at a time if needed at all. The batter should not be runny.
- Now transfer the batter to a bowl of your stand mixer. Using a flat edge beater start beating the batter to make it airy. Beat at medium speed (3 or 4 )for 3-4 minutes or till the batter looks fluffy and glossy. Alternately beat with a uniform motion of hands for 7-8 minutes to make the batter airy.
- Take cold water in a small bowl put a drop of batter into it. If the batter floats, the batter is ready to fry.
- In a heavy bottom pan, heat oil.
- Drop a tablespoon of batter into the oil to form a vada. Make 6-7 vada at a time. Fry them at medium heat.
- Turn using a perforated ladle and fry well from all sides until they turn golden brown.
- Remove from the oil using a perforated ladle and transfer them on to a paper towel.
- Now, fry another batch and keep repeating till all the batter is finished.
- When done, take a big bowl with cold water. Transfer all the vadas into the bowl.
- Cover and place the bowl in the refrigerator for about 3 hours.
Serving instructions
- When ready to serve, remove the vadas from the bowl and press gently between both hands to squeeze to remove water.
- Whisk the vegan yogurt of your choice. Add a little cumin powder, salt, and chili powder. Mix well.
- Dip the Bhallas in the yogurt. Top with green and tamarind chutney. Garnish with sev, cilantro, and toasted nuts of your choice.
Notes
Storage
- Store the water-soaked Bhallas well in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.
- If considering prolonged storage, do not soak the Bhallas. Let the fried Bhallas cool completely before packing in a freezer-safe ziplock bag. They freeze well for weeks. I have successfully frozen them for 2 weeks.
- To use frozen Bhallas, remove them from the freezer and place them in a bowl of hot water. This will thaw and hydrate them.
Recipe Notes
- If you add more than the required water while blending and after blending, you end up with a runny paste. You have technically messed your batter.
But I have a quick fix trick that you can use here. Just add a spoon of semolina, moong dal flour, urad dal flour, thick Poha, or rice flour to fix the consistency of the batter. ( Read the blog post) - If you want to make them instantly, you can make them, but there are some modifications from the basic recipe that I am sharing today. I have made the instant Dahi Bhallas. By instant I mean, having time just enough to soak the lentils for 1 -2 hours. In such situations, I use warm water to soak the lentil. While beating such lentil paste if you feel that it is not becoming much airy and shiny, just add a pinch of baking powder to the paste and mix well. This is not the organic way of doing it, and it might cause your Bhallas to soak more oil while frying, but when you rinse the Vadas in water, all the oil is going to be washed away in any case.
- Check the temperature of the oil by putting a bit of batter into it. If it comes up slowly or rests on the surface, you are good to go. If it goes to the bottom and comes up immediately, your oil is probably too hot. Reduce the flame and wait for a minute before putting the batter balls for frying.
- You can make it vegan by adding some plant-based yogurt instead of Dahi. Use any plain vegan yogurt. There are endless options for you. Use cashew yogurt or coconut milk yogurt ( made it last week, came out great, still testing, will share the recipe soon).
- If the Bhalla crack while frying, it is an indication that the batter has more than the required quantity of water. Try to fix the consistency of the lentil batter.
- The batter should be smooth, shiny, and fluffy.
Nutrition facts
Nutrition
Calories: 88kcal
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!