Soft and Fluffy Dahi Bhalla – A Step by Step Guide

Posted by CinnamonNChillies on September 28, 2011 · 13 Comments 

Helllooooo friends!!!! Festival season is setting in. Scorching summer is gone leaving way for beautiful pleasant days. The sunlight is soothingly golden, the trees and plants are dancing to cool winds and there is joy in the atmosphere thats hard to miss. Children seem to be smiling as they are looking forward to their 10 days Dussehra holidays. Women seem to be happy as the occasions to wear colorful dresses and accessories and celebrate Navratri, karva chauth and Diwali seems to becoming. Men seem to be happy because…because? women and children are happy?? 😉 Hee hee..dunno. But for me the sense of Deja vu doesn’t seem to leave me at all. There’s something in the air during this time of the year that I have been feeling since childhood. Earlier I used to associate this feeling to the joy of holidays. But even after all these years the feeling is just the same 🙂

So here I am sharing my joy with you with a plate full of Dahi bhallas. Its been one of the “taken for granted” dishes that my mom-in-law used to make and I would just eat. This time when we were to have relatives over at our place, I took her expert tips and made these lovely deep fried lentil dumplings. You can enjoy it independently as a chaat or as part of a full meal. We normally make it in bulk and freeze them in a zip lock bag. Whenever we need to use them we just put them in hot water for 5 minutes, squeeze and put in the prepared yoghurt. Sometime back I also did a post on singhara flour bhalle, for all those who want to have this yummy stuff even when they are fasting 😉

Serves: 35 bhallas

Cooking Time: 30 Mins

Ingredients:

1/2 kg Split Black Gram, husked (Urad daal)
1 tsp Cumin seeds
A pinch of Asafoetida

For Yoghurt and garnishing:
6-7 cups yoghurt
6-7 tbsp powdered sugar
2 tsp Raita masala (optional) or chaat masala
Salt to taste
Rock salt to taste
A pinch of Red chill powder
Mint and Coriander chutney
Tamarind and jaggery chutney
1 tbsp julienned ginger

Oil for deep frying

Method:

Wash and soak the black gram with enough water overnight.

Strain all the water and grind the gram to a smooth paste, adding as little water as possible, teaspoon by teaspoon. Take a little batter between your fingers and feel it. It should be smooth and not too grainy. (There could be one or two stubborn grams which may not have softened even after soaking. Don’t fret. This is normal)

Transfer this mixture to a bowl. Add about 4 tbsp ice cold water and beat well. (I used electronic beater). Keep adding cold water gradually, very little by little and keep beating for about 15 minutes. The batter should not be of pouring consistency, else there would not be enough aeration. It would be thicker than a idli batter. After beating for a good 15-20 minutes the batter looks like a well whipped cake icing. Take it in a spoon and drop it back. If its too thick that it keeps sticking to the spoon and you have to shake the spoon to drop the batter, then add some water. It should be able to fall from the spoon as a lump.

Test the batter. Take a spoonful and drop it in water. If it floats then it is aerated enough. Add cumin and asafoetida and mix. Heat Oil in a wok for deep frying. Pour a spoonful of batter in the oil and deep fry at medium heat till golden brown. If the oil is too hot then the bhalla may remain undercooked from the inside.

To make it a little round in shape I have scooped out a spoonful batter and dropped it back which makes the top a little rounded (Not sure if its properly visible but try to notice the lump in the pic below). Then I have again scooped out the same lump of batter and dropped it in oil. I keep some water in a small bowl and dip the back of the spoon in water once in a while. This prevents the batter from sticking to the spoon and makes it easier to pour the batter.

Before serving drop the bhallas in hot water for 5 min. They leave out oil in the water and become soft.

Meanwhile beat the yoghurt. Add powdered sugar and rest of the ingredients except red chill and ginger. Take the bhallas out of water and squeeze the water out gently by pressing them between the palms without breaking them. Drop them in yoghurt. Put some mint and coriander chutney and tamarind and jaggery chutney on top (I did it latter on but couldn’t take a snap then). Sprinkle red chilli powder and chaat masala on top. Garnish with julienned ginger.

You can also add boiled and cut potatoes or taro root (kachalu) and savory boondi (soaked in water for a few minutes) to the bhalla platter.

Sending this to event Lets Cook Series #8 – Hibernative Foods hosted by Radhika at Tickling Palates.

Soft and Fluffy Dahi Bhalla – A Step by Step Guide

Recipe Type: Chaat

Cuisine: Indian

Author: CinnamonNChillies

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 30 mins

Serves: 35pcs

So here I am sharing my joy with you with a plate full of Dahi bhallas. Its been one of the “taken for granted” dishes that my mom-in-law used to make and I would just eat. This time when we were to have relatives over at our place, I took her expert tips and made these lovely deep fried lentil dumplings. You can enjoy it independently as a chaat or as part of a full meal. We normally make it in bulk and freeze them in a zip lock bag. Whenever we need to use them we just put them in hot water for 5 minutes, squeeze and put in the prepared yoghurt.

Ingredients

• 1/2 kg Split Black Gram, husked (Urad daal)
• 1 tsp Cumin seeds
• A pinch of Asafoetida
• For Yoghurt and Garnishing:
• 6-7 cups yoghurt
• 6-7 tbsp powdered sugar
• 2 tsp Raita masala (optional) or chaat masala
• Salt to taste
• Rock salt to taste
• A pinch of Red chill powder
• Mint and Coriander chutney
• Tamarind and jaggery chutney
• 1 tbsp julienned ginger
• Oil for deep frying

Instructions

1. Wash and soak the black gram with enough water overnight.
2. Strain all the water and grind the gram to a smooth paste, adding as little water as possible, teaspoon by teaspoon. Take a little batter between your fingers and feel it. It should be smooth and not too grainy. (There could be one or two stubborn grams which may not have softened even after soaking. Don’t fret. This is normal)
3. Transfer this mixture to a bowl. Add about 4 tbsp ice cold water and beat well. (I used electronic beater). Keep adding cold water gradually, very little by little and keep beating for about 15 minutes. The batter should not be of pouring consistency, else there would not be enough aeration. It would be thicker than a idli batter. After beating for a good 15-20 minutes the batter looks like a well whipped cake icing. Take it in a spoon and drop it back. If its too thick that it keeps sticking to the spoon and you have to shake the spoon to drop the batter, then add some water. It should be able to fall from the spoon as a lump.
4. Test the batter. Take a spoonful and drop it in water. If it floats then it is aerated enough. Add cumin and asafoetida and mix. Heat Oil in a wok for deep frying. Pour a spoonful of batter in the oil and deep fry at medium heat till golden brown. If the oil is too hot then the bhalla may remain undercooked from the inside.
5. To make it a little round in shape I have scooped out a spoonful batter and dropped it back which makes the top a little rounded (Not sure if its properly visible but try to notice the lump in the pic below). Then I have again scooped out the same lump of batter and dropped it in oil. I keep some water in a small bowl and dip the back of the spoon in water once in a while. This prevents the batter from sticking to the spoon and makes it easier to pour the batter.
6. Before serving drop the bhallas in hot water for 5 min. They leave out oil in the water and become soft.
7. Meanwhile beat the yoghurt. Add powdered sugar and rest of the ingredients except red chill and ginger. Take the bhallas out of water and squeeze the water out gently by pressing them between the palms without breaking them. Drop them in yoghurt. Put some mint and coriander chutney and tamarind and jaggery chutney on top (I did it latter on but couldn’t take a snap then). Sprinkle red chilli powder and chaat masala on top. Garnish with julienned ginger.
8. You can also add boiled and cut potatoes or taro root (kachalu) and savory boondi (soaked in water for a few minutes) to the bhalla platter.

3.1.09

Filed under Chaat, Side Dish, Snacks · Tagged with colorful dresses, Dahi Bhalle, diwali, karva chauth, Lentils, Navratri, sense of deja vu, Yoghurt