MOONG DAL DAHI BHALLAS (North Indian Style)

Moong Dal Dahi Bhallas or Dahi Vadas are deep fried lentil dumplings in a creamy yogurt sauce, best enjoyed with tamarind and green coriander chutneys!

With the festival of Holi (popularly known as festival of colors) coming up this month, some of my foodie friends at Desi Bloggers Connect on Facebook, are sharing their mouthwatering dishes that anyone can make and enjoy during this Holi 2019.

I will be churning out my favorite yogurt and lentil delight – tangy, sweet, salty and lip smackingly delightful street food of India, the ever popular  north Indian style Dahi Bhallas.

WHAT ARE DAHI BHALLAS?

As mentioned above, dahi bhallas (Dahi is yogurt and bhallas are deep fried lentil dumplings) are fried lentil dumplings soaked in a creamy yogurt sauce, flavored with some aromatic Indian spices like roasted cumin powder, red chili powder/cayenne, black salt and chaat masala powder.

Traditionally, we use split urad dal or black gram lentils. But this time, I decided to go with a combination of lentils – mung bean dal and urad dal.

Basically, lentils are soaked and blended to a fine paste, flavored up with some chopped green chilies/jalapenos (for a kick of heat in every bite!), freshly grated ginger and my favorite, grated coconut or coconut slivers which is not so common, but our family loves this!

Then, small spoonfuls of this fluffy batter are deep fried until crispy and golden brown on the outside, yet soft, oh-so-fluffy and pillowy on the inside.

At this stage, you can even enjoy these lentil fritters with some coconut chutney, ketchup, green coriander chutney etc. or use them to make dahi bhallas.

FOR THE DAHI/YOGURT SAUCE:

Use only fresh, creamy yogurt that is not sour. Whip it until smooth and then flavor with cumin powder that has been roasted until aromatic and a dash of red chili powder. I like my yogurt sauce a tad sweet, so stir in salt to taste (or even black salt/kala namak; my preference) with some powdered sugar.

TO ASSEMBLE MOONG DAL DAHI BHALLAS:

The key step to soft, melt-in-your-mouth bhallas is to soak fried bhallas in some hot water for a minimum of 15 minutes to half an hour. Remove it before that and you will end up with hard bhallas in the sauce!

After soaking, gently squeeze out all the water and then dunk them in the prepared yogurt sauce. Make sure they are fully submerged, dilute the sauce if needed. As they sit, the bhallas will soak up the moisture and become fluffy and pillowy!

If they tend to dry up after soaking for a few hours, then feel free to dilute the yogurt with some water. To avoid this step later on, dilute the yogurt sauce before soaking the bhallas.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS:

This is a perfect make-ahead dish as the more these dumplings soak, the softer they get. The best way to enjoy them even more is to serve them drizzled with tangy tamarind-jaggery chutney and spicy green coriander chutney!

For added crunch, texture and of course flavor and color, top with either fresh pomegranate pearls (don’t they look pretty?) or crispy boondis (deep fried chickpea flour balls).

Now that you know how I made them, I am sure you can make them too!

Do enjoy this super delicious, chatpata, tangy, lip-smacking north Indian style dahi bhallas with your family and friends this Holi or make these for any party, get together, gatherings, potlucks etc. or just like that as an accompaniment to your daily evening chai break!

Happy Cooking and Happy Holi!

For more similar chatpata, street food like snacks, check out these lip-smacking delights:

Chatpata Misal Pav 

Masala Puri Chaat

Schezwan Pav Bhaji

Lets make it!

STEP-WISE METHOD TO MAKE MOONG DAL DAHI BHALLAS:

TO MAKE THE BHALLAS:

Wash and soak moong dal and urad dal for at least 2 hours.

After 2 hours, drain and blend fine to a smooth paste (without using any water or sprinkle a bit to make the blender run).

Remove the batter to a bowl. Beat this mixture either by hand or using a hand blender for a few minutes until the batter is light and fluffy.

You can test it by dropping a small portion in a bowl of water. If it floats, then your batter is ready to be fried.

Add in the rest of the ingredients: water, green chilies, cilantro, grated/slivered coconut, salt, sugar, roasted cumin powder and red chili powder. Stir to combine.

TO FRY THE BHALLAS:

Heat oil for deep frying.

Once the oil is hot, drop small portions of the batter into the hot oil and fry on medium heat until brown and crispy. Make sure the oil is not too hot as then the outside may turn brown but the inside will still be uncooked.

Fry all the batter and drain on oil-absorbent paper lined plates.

Soak them in some hot water for at least 15 to 20 minutes minimum; make sure they are all submerged.

Meanwhile, prepare the curd or yogurt mixture.

TO MAKE THE YOGURT SAUCE:

Beat yogurt with a whisk or spoon to make it smooth.

Add in the rest of the ingredients: water, salt, sugar, roasted cumin powder and red chili powder. Stir to combine.

Do a taste test and adjust the seasonings. Keep aside.

TO ASSEMBLE DAHI BHALLAS:

After the bhallas have soaked well, remove and squeeze well to remove all the water. Be gentle so as not to break the vadas.

Dunk these in the prepared yogurt sauce and give it a good mix.

Dilute with a little water if needed as the bhallas will tend to soak up the liquid.

Chill in the fridge until serving time.

Just before serving, garnish with the spice powders, cilantro, pomegranate pearls, boondi and chutneys. Serve with more chutneys on the side.

ENJOY!

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I am sharing this with our gourmet foodie group "Desi Bloggers Connect" on Facebook for the #holikerang theme.

Do check out these other mouth-watering delights that my foodie friends from Desi Bloggers Connect have shared this Holi2019:

• Moong Dal Laddo by Jagruti
• Thandai Gujiya by Lata Lala
• Methi Matri by Amrita
• Thandai by Geetanjali
• Gujiya by Avin
• Rose Lassi by Geetha
• Mawa Kachori by Swati
• Papaya Halwa by Jayashree
• Thandai Chia Pudding by Mayuri
• Kesar Phirni by Priya
• Thandai and Dry Fruits Barfi by Sapana
• Thandai Powder by Ruchi
• Instant Malpua by Pavani

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