Dahi Bhalla Chaat
The most loved street snack of India, particularly North India. It can be served as an appetizer/snack, as a Dahi Bhalla Chaat, or as a side dish with dinner. This dish is naturally vegetarian and gluten free. It can be made vegan, by using vegan yogurt.In southern parts of the country they r also known by the name Dahi Vada.Dahi Bhalla can also be served as a chilled snack or a starter during festive season like Diwali or Navratri. This quintessential street food from the by lanes of Delhi will get you hooked.These lentil fritters are dunked in yogurt and topped with spicy and sweet chutneys. No celebration in my house was complete without them.
Ingredients
For the bhallas:
- 400 gms moong dal
- 1 cup urad dal
- 2 tsp zeera
- 1 tsp chironji optional
- Oil for deep frying
For the khatti chutney:
- 1 cup coriander leaves
- 1/4 cup pudina leaves
- 1 Green chilli
- 20 Ginger cloves
- 1/2 tsp black rock salt
- to taste salt
- 1/2 tsp garam masala With black cardamom, mace, nutmeg, zeera, laung
- 1 Lemon juiced
For the meethi chutney:
- 250 gms tamarind pulp soaked in 1 1/2 cup water
- 800 gms sugar
- 1/2 tsp saunth powder
- 1 tsp degi mirch
- to taste salt
- 1/2 tsp black rock salt
- 1/2 tsp garam masala With black cardamom, mace, nutmeg, zeera, laung
For dahi:
- 3 cups yogurt
- 2 tbsp sugar powdered
For garnishing:
- Pomegranate
- Sev
- 1 tsp chaat masala
Instructions
Prepare bhallas:
- Soak moong dal and urad dal for 2 hours.
- In a food processor grind them nicely.
- Whisk the dal together till it becomes light and fluffy. Add zeera and chironji. The batter is ready.
- With wet palms add small portions of batter into hot oil. Deep fry the bhallas till golden brown.
Prepare khatti chutney:
- In a blender mix together coriander, mint, green chilli, ginger, black salt and salt.
- Add garam masala and lemon juice. Mix.
- Your khatti chutney is ready.
Prepare meethi chutney:
- Soak the tamarind pulp in water for 25-30 minutes. Squeeze it with your hand to extract all the pulp. Strain and thrown away the residue in the strainer.
- Add the tamarind water in a saucepan and add sugar. Cook on low heat till the sugar dissolves. Let it cool.
- Once it cools down add kachri powder, saunth powder, degi mirch, salt, black salt and garam masala.
- Your meethi chutney is ready.
Prepare dahi:
- Whisk yogurt with some powdered sugar. Keep it in the fridge to cool.
- Mix all the ingredients together.
Plating up:
- In a plate place bhallas. Break them a little from the middle.
- Add sweetened curd, khatti chutney, meethi chutney.
- Garnish with pomegrante and sev.
- Sprinkle some chaat masala and serve.
Notes
You can use equal qty of moong nad urad daal as per your taste preferences.
Heat oil at correct temperature: for the bhalla, the oil should be on medium heat. If too hot, the bhalle will become brown quickly but will be under-cooked from inside. If the oil is cold, it will soak a lot of oil. So medium heat is what it needs to be.
Soak fried bhalle in warm water water for 15 to 20 minutes: once the bhallas are fried let them cool a bit and then dip them in warm (not lukewarm) water for 15 to 20 minutes. The bhallas will increase in size and become really soft. Then you squeeze water from each bhalla carefully by pressing between your palm and transfer to a container and add yogurt.
