Sunday, January 16, 2011

Lentil dumplings in Yoghurt (Dahi vada)

Cricket has become a religion for India- There is a buzz in the air when you gotta match on weekends. Especially, when your home country is performing badly (the atmosphere is tense)- players are criticized for their techniques, captain takes the blame, there is disappointment written all over the faces of viewers...and then things start turning in your favor. Last few overs are thrilling when the match is evenly paced and you are not sure if your team is going to win... Food becomes critical for such crucial matches- I threw in some bruschetta and a south Indian lentil dumplings to go for the occasion. Of course, things turned out great with a win for India and my lentil dumplings in yoghurt was a hit! Simple to make, the dumplings taste awesome when soaked in yoghurt seasoned with mustard and coriander- a true match winner :)

Ingredients- (for dumplings)

Urad dal ( 1 cup)- white gram/lentils
2 tsp rice
chopped curry leaves
salt according to taste
black peppercorns (1/2 tsp)
1 green chilli

For yoghurt base-

Thick yoghurt
corriander leaves finely chopped
green chilli pieces (finely chopped)
salt according to taste
mustard (1/2 tsp)
broken red chilli pieces
oil to saute

Preparation-

Batter preparation is the tricky part. Soak urad dal (lentils) with rice in water for an hour. Drain the water completely after an hour and blend it in a mixer to a smooth dough by adding green chillies, pepper, salt. The batter should be firm and not watery. Avoid using water when blending in the mixer. Once batter is ready, add chopped curry leaves and blend it well. Heat oil in a wok. When the oil is hot, shape batter like a doughnut with hole in middle and fry it to golden brown on both sides.

Yoghurt base preparation-

Blend chopped coriander and green chilli pieces in yoghurt. Add a bit of water and whisk it to a smooth texture. Adjust salt according to your taste. 

Final preparation-

Soak the lentil dumplings in hot water for few minutes till it becomes soft. Squeeze water gently from the dumplings and drop them in yoghurt. Allow the dumplings to absorb the yoghurt. In a small frying pan, heat oil and add mustard seeds, broken red chilli pieces with asafoetida powder. As the mustard begin to sputter, remove from fire and add them to yoghurt. Chill it for half an hour and serve!





11 comments:

  1. your dahi vada looks very delicious...a all time fav in my home too

    Super Yummy Recipes

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  2. Omg, drooling here, my all time fav..

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  3. I soooooooooo want to grab that platter right now and gobble it up :)

    US Masala

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  4. looks super yummy ! please pass the whole bowl!

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  5. hi! Your dahi vada is so nice.After seeing ur vada separately i got better impression about puffiness of ur vada.GR8 going. Mom

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  6. These look awesome - These look delicious. I used to try making this batter with the food processor and it never worked. Now I have a really strong blender. I will give it a try! Thanks for sharing the recipe and the excitement about cricket! I just adore food from India.... north or south - mmmm Be well! megan

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  7. I once sat through a cricket match in Barbados, completely bewildered at what was going on. But you have to forgive me, I from Canada! I would have preferred to watch it with a serving of your Lentil dumplings, that would have made it worth it!

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  8. looks absolutely delicious and flavorful!

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  9. These lentil "donuts" look like so much fun! Thanks for sharing!! These are definitely new to me, but I'd love to try them :)

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