Dahi vada


Dahi vada is a type of chaat originating from the Indian subcontinent and popular throughout South Asia. It is prepared by soaking vadas in thick dahi.

Names

Dahi vada is also known as "dahi vade" in Marathi, dahi vada in Hindi, "dahi bhalla" in Punjabi, thayir vadai in Tamil, thairu vada in Malayalam, perugu vada in Telugu, mosaru vade in Kannada, dahi bara in Odia and doi bora in Bengali. It is referred as dahi bade in Urdu.

History

A recipe for dahi wada is mentioned in Manasollasa, a 12th-century Sanskrit encyclopedia compiled by Someshvara III, who ruled from present-day Karnataka.

Preparation

Washed urad lentils are soaked overnight and ground into a batter for the vada, then cooked in hot oil. The hot deep-fried vadas are first put in water and then transferred to thick beaten yogurt. The vadas are soaked for a period of time before serving. Additions to the batter may include golden raisins. Vadas may be topped with coriander or mint leaves, chili powder, crushed black pepper, chaat masala, cumin, shredded coconut, green chilis, boondi, thinly sliced fresh ginger or pomegranate. Sweeter curd is preferred in some places in India, especially in Maharashtra and Gujarat, although the garnishing remains the same. A combination of coriander and tamarind chutneys is often used as garnish. The batter can be made using chick pea flour too.