Dahi Vada: Holi Snacks Recipe

Wednesday, February 29, 2012, 13:48

Dahi vada is one of the simplest recipes to try for Holi but you always overlook it because you consider it to typically street food. Now open your eyes to this amazing Indian snacks recipe so that you can surprise your family with a treat this summer. This recipe for Holi is ideal because it contains curd (dahi) which has a cooling effect on the body. When you come home all heated up from the colour fights, you will devour the Dahi Vadas and it will cool you down.

It takes less than 20 minutes to try this dahi vada recipe if you have soaked the dal overnight. You can also make the paste used in this Indian snacks recipe, a day in advance. In that way you will just need about ten minutes to fry the vadas and serve it with a yogurt topping. Being a Holi recipe it cannot be expected to have low calories. It is deep fried, yes but unhealthy, no.

Ingredients For Dahi Vada:

1. Curd 100 grams
2. Urad dal or black gram 1 cup
3. Moong dal or green gram 1 cup
4. Green chillies 3-4
5. Asfoetida or hing 1 pinch
6. Garam Masala (pepper, cinnamon, cardamon, cloves and star anise) 1 teaspoon
7. Red chilli powder 1 teaspoon
8. Tamarind slush 4 tablespoons
9. Cumin seeds 1 teaspoon
10. Ghee 1 tablespoons
11. Oil for deep frying (half a pan)
12. Salt as per taste

Procedure For Dahi Vada:

Soak the two dals (pulses) in water overnight. The tamarind too needs to be soaked in just a cup full of water overnight if possible.
When you are making the dish, grind the two dals with green chillies, salt and pinch of asfoetida into a thick paste.
Heat oil in a deep bottomed pan and then the oil starts steaming put blotches of the paste in the oils for deep frying.
When the vadas start turning golden brown, strain them from the oil and dab with tissue papers to absorb extra oil.
Soak the hot vadas is water to release the heat for about 5 minutes.
Grind the tamarind with the water you have soaked it in to make a thick slush of tamarind.
Beat the curd nice and sprinkle garam masala, salt and red chilli powder on it. Pour it over the vadas on a dish. Pour the tamarind slush over this.
Now heat ghee in a pan and fry cumin seeds in it; you can also add a pinch of hing to it. Pour the steaming fried cumin seeds as the top most layer of the dish.

Serve spicy tangy Dahi Vadas on the festive occasion of Holi.