Steamed Dahi Vada : Lentil Dumplings in spiced yogurt sauce

This recipe has been into my drafts for long , I prepared it for our Get together Party this month and its now that I have got chance to post… “Phew ! Girl you really need to works seriously on your Time Management skills” Anyways, Dahi Vada has never been so frequent in my kitchen. Me and S both  not being so great lover for this one. But since I wanted to keep all the traditional dishes for welcome, I tried to relive the memories with low fat version of the Vada, and guess what ! We fell in love all over again with these small yogurt dipped balls. So much so, that I have made them twice since then,  with this method and enjoyed each time.

Usually we fry the Urad daal dumplings and get that crispy texture. This time I steamed them and although the texture was not the same ( off course! ) but the taste was similar and the fact that there was no oil involved, made them even more tempting for us. I made another batch, with shallow frying them in my Paniyaram Pan and that also was as tasty as the usual fried version.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup Urad dal
• 1 cup Moong Daal
• 1 tsp asafoetida
• 1 tbsp ginger, grated
• 1 tsp Salt
• 2 tbsp semolina
• 2 tbsp curd
• 1 tsp Baking Soda

For Yogurt pouring

• 2 cups Yogurt, blended finely
• 2 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Sugar , fine variety
• 2 tsp Black pepper
• 1 tsp  black salt
• 2 tsp Cumin seeds
• A pinch of Carom seeds, ajwain
• 1 tbsp grated coconut (optional)
• 1 tbsp Kasuri Methi
• Water as per required

Method:

• Soak Moong Daal and Urad Daal together after proper washing for atleast 4 hours. 
• Drain and blend it fine adding ginger, salt and asafoetida. Mix with yogurt and semolina. Keep aside for 20 minutes. 
• Keep the steamer ready ( I used Idli maker), add Baking Soda to the mixture and steam it for 10 minutes. 
• Meanwhile, warm some water and as soon as you stop steaming these dumplings, soak them in this warm water for next 20-30 minutes or till the time you are ready to serve. 
• When you are serving, squeeze water lightly out of vadas and spread thin yogurt (blended with salt) over it till its immersed completely. 
• Sprinkle spices over it and garnish with fresh coriander before serving. 

Notes:

• It is very important to soak Vadas in warm water, not luke warm, not hot. I have tried all three and warm water (ok to touch ) gives best results. 
• Soak them immediately once they are steamed, else they will get colder and denser. 
• Mix Salt as per taste in yogurt before spreading it over the Vadas and keep them immersed for atleast 10 minutes before serving. 
• Serve it with Green chutney and Jaggery Chutney for best results. 
• You can sprinkle Bhujiya, Chana daal etc for garnishing on top. 

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