Tripta's Food Tunnel: Dahi Bhalla, Soft and Spongy

Dahi Bhalla Recipe

Dahi Bhalla Chaat is a popular North Indian street food. Deep fried Lentil dumplings served with dahi (yoghurt )and tangy chutneys is mouth watering. Delhi is famous for its soft and spongy Dahi Bhallas. At some places it is known as Dahi vadas. But the recipe everywhere is almost identical . The Dal or lentils are soaked overnight and ground to a smooth batter the next morning. I prefer to soak Dal with salt in it. It has two benefits. Firstly if you add salt to the dal after grinding it releases water and batter becomes loose and watery. Therefore you don't get the desired shape of Bhallas. Secondly salt helps the batter to fluff and incorporate air. To check whether the batter is light and fluffy, put a spoonful in water, if it floats it is ready to be fried. I remember when I first made Dahi Bhallas it was a disaster. But with experience I learned how to make soft and spongy Bhallas and today . The more air you incorporate while beating the batter, the more soft and spongy dahi bhallas you get. I am sharing my same recipe with you.

We Need:

1 Cup Urad dal

1 tsp Salt

Oil for frying

2 Cups fresh Curd

¼ Tsp Hing

1Tsp Jeera

1 Tsp Black Salt

2 Tbsp Powdered Sugar

1 Tbsp Ajwain ( Carom Seeds)

1 Tbsp Red Chillies

1 Tsp Black Pepper Powder.

1 Tsp White Salt

1 Tbsp Dhania Powder.

1 Tbsp Chaat Masala

Here We Go:

1 Soak Overnight Urad dal in water with 1 tsp salt.

2. Drain the water next morning.

3. Add the drained dal to the Mixer jar along with green chillies and ginger. Grind to a fine paste adding very little not more than 2 to 3 tsp as the ground dal should be of thick consistency.

4. Transfer ground dal to a bowl. Whisk the dal till light and fluffy, adding a small amount of water .The process is similar as that of making espresso coffee at home. To check the batter, add one spoon of batter in a glass full of water. If it floats on the water that means your batter is perfect. The softeness of bhalla depends on how much we incorporate air by beating the batter

5. Heat the oil in a kadhai on medium flame. Wet your fingers and add a small amount of batter in medium hot oil. Deep fry the bhallas to golden brown. Fry them on medium fire otherwise bhalla will not cook from inside.

6. Add Hing and salt to a bowl of Hot water and Soak Bhallas in it. Let them remain in hing water for at least half an hour or until they are double in size.

7. Press Bhalla in between your palms and squeeze out water. Set aside.

How to make Bhalla Masala :

Heat a pan. Dry roast jeera . When half done add Ajwain. Dry roast both of them. But don't burn. Switch off the gas and add Black salt, red chilli powder, black pepper powder, coriander powder, salt and chat masala. Roast them a bit. Take this masala on a chopping board and With the help of a rolling pin make a smooth powder. Your Bhalla masala is ready. Keep aside.

Curd Preparation :

1.Seive Curd through a strainer. The procedure will give a smooth texture to the

2.Add 2 Tbsp of powdered sugar to the curd. Curd is ready. Dahi bhall is ready to be served.

Take a dish of your choice. Arrange Bhallas on it. Pour Dahi over it. Now sprinkle the Bhalla Masala generously on it. Pour Tamarind Chutney and Green Chutney over it. Link is given below for the recipe of both the Chutneys.

Dahi Bhallas are now ready to serve. Enjoy it with your family and friends. Do share your experience with me about this recipe.