Simple Gluten Free Kitchen

Dahi Bhallay / Lentil Balls in Yogurt {FRY Or NO FRY}

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Nothing is more divine than to dig in some homemade dahi bhallay. Dahi Bhallay is a popular snack/chaat item in South Asia which is loved by people of all age groups. It is a dish consisting of lentil dumplings immersed in whipped yogurt and topped with various chutneys and spices. Due to the cultural diversity in India, several have their own rendition of this delicious delicacy and is also known by different names such as dahi bharay, dahi baday or dahi vada. In Punjab the dish is called dahi bhalla or dahi bhallay in plural.

I uploaded Video on YouTube for the traditional frying method of dahi bhallas in 2021. Now I thought to show you how I make them without frying for my family. Its a 1 Minute Video for making Low sodium Dahi Bhallas in paniyaram pan.

 

 

The lentil dumplings in this dish are very soft and flavorful that even the toothless people can enjoy. The trick to make them soft lies in making the perfect lentil batter and then frying them. It comes with a bit of practice but not too difficult. To start off, you need to soak urad or a combination of urad and mung daal in water for at least 8 hours or overnight. Discard the water and grind the lentils to a smooth batter.  When ground, the daal has the tendency to fluff up, this tendency must be encouraged by adding only a little water at a time while stirring and continuing to grind. Transfer the ground lentil to a big bowl. Now whip by hand until light and fluffy. To check, take a bowl filled with water and drop a small ball of the batter in it. If the drop immediately starts to float on top keeping its shape, the batter is ready to fry. While frying the vadas , fry them on medium heat and as soon as you drop them in oil, keep pouring oil over them to seal the air inside (avoid touching them too much, sometimes they pop)

 

 

After that the fried vadas should be soaked in hot water until they double in size, they become really soft after this. Remove the vada from water. Press each vada lightly between two palms, to squeeze out water and dip it in prepared yogurt. Chill for some time and serve with different toppings and spices.

These vadas can be made in advance and frozen up to 3 months. I entertain quite often and the frozen vadas always come in handy. I usually assemble dahi bhalla hours or a night before it is to be served. The soaked dahi vadas in yogurt can be refrigerated  for 2 days.  The toppings include, roasted cumin powder, rock salt, cilantro, red chili powder, sweet tamarind sauce, green chutney, chopped onions, pomegranate seeds, green chilies, sev (thin fried noodles made with besan). The dish is just so addictive and no Punjabi party is complete without this.

 

 

When I make dahi Bhallas for my family I usually make them without frying and No salt. I only add salt in Chutneys. So for No frying I use paniyaram pan. It is a non stick pan with small cavities. You add very little oil in the cavities and then fill the cavities with small spoonfuls of batter and cook them on both sides. Dahi bhallas made in paniyaram pan are soft but not as fluffy as the one made with frying method. When I need to make dahi bhallas in bulk I rely on frying method as they are good for freezing as well.

 

Made in Paniyaram pan

 

 

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Dahi Bhallay / Lentil Balls in Yogurt

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup dhuli urad (split, skinned black lentil)
  • 1/2 cup dhuli moong (split, skinned green moong)
  • 1/2 tsp methi seeds ( fenugreek seeds,optional)
  • salt,to taste
  • 2 tbsp ginger juice (optional but recommended)
  • canola oil for frying
    • To serve
  • seasoned yogurt
  • green chutney
  • date and tamarind chutney/sauce
  • various spices and cilantro to garnish
    • Ingredients to prepare seasoned yogurt
  • 1 cup unflavored (preferably homemade) yogurt
  • 1/4 cup milk or water or buttermilk
  • salt and black pepper to taste
  • 1/2 tsp kala namak (Himalayan rock salt)
  • 1/2 tsp roasted cumin powder
  • 1/2 tsp red chili powder
    • For NO FRY Dahi bhallas don't add salt in batter and dahi

Instructions

    Method to make bhallas:
  1. Wash and soak both lentils and methi seeds in separate bowls for 6-8 hours or overnight.
  2. Drain all the water, grind lentils and methi seeds in a blender by adding just about 1 tbsp of water as and when required. The amount of water that you will need will vary on how long your daal actually soaked. Start with 2 tbsp and then work your way up. You want to whip the daal in a blender and not food processor, so it aerates and become smooth and fluffy (read second paragraph in the post).
  3. Remove ground lentil mixture in a bowl. Add salt, ginger juice, and black pepper. (To make ginger juice, grate 2" ginger add 1 tbsp water, squeeze through a strainer).
  4. Whip up the lentil mixture for 5 minutes. To check whether your mixture is perfect or not, drop a pea size mixture in a cup of water, if it floats the mixture is perfect and ready to make vadas.
  5. Heat oil in a frying pan. Reduce the heat to medium for even cooking. Dip your spoon in water and drop spoonfuls of lentil mixture in medium hot oil. Keep rolling the skimmer in oil to make the bhallas roll over and turn golden. Delicately lift lentil balls with a wok skimmer, draining as much oil as possible, and transfer them onto paper towel. Fry all bhallas until you use up the lentil mixture. At this point, depending on when you want to serve dahi bhallay, you can either freeze or refrigerate them for later or go to the next step for soaking in yogurt.
  6. Soak 8 bhallas in lukewarm water for 5-7 minutes. Gently squeeze excess water from bhallas by pressing it between your palms and lay them in a flat serving bowl.
    7. To make seasoned yogurt:
  7. In a bowl, whisk yogurt with water or milk or butter milk until smooth (the yogurt has to be the consistency of cream). Season with salt, black salt and ground black pepper. Some people also add some sugar but I don't. Pour yogurt on the squeezed bhallas. Refrigerate for couple of hours or overnight. Before serving, spoon some sweet tamarind and green chutney. To finish, sprinkle red chili powder, cumin powder, chaat masala, black pepper, kala namak, sev (optional) and cilantro leaves.
  8. Enjoy cool, filling and enticing dahi bhallas. It's a wonderful appetizer for parties!
    9. To Make LOW SODIUM NO FRY Dahi Bhallas
  9. Follow the process till step 4 but do not add salt. Heat a paniyaram pan on low heat. Add a little oil in each cavity.
  10. Then drop small spoonfuls of batter in each cavity. Cover the pan and cook until it lets golden on the bottom, about 2 minutes.Put a little oil on each dahi bhalla and then slip to cook from other side. Remove when both sides golden.
  11. Soak NO FRY dahi bhallas for 10 minutes. Squeeze if there is any excess water.
  12. Add them to the seasoned yogurt but DO NOT add any salt.
https://www.simpleglutenfreekitchen.com/2024/03/dahi-bhallay-fry-no-fry.html

 

 

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  5. I love the sound of making your own yoghurt. I don’t make yoghurt but I believe it would be a good thing to try. These fried dumplings are gorgeous and I’m sure they would be very delicious xx

    Reply

  7. Save some of that yumminess for me ! Will pass by later !… I wish ! lol By the look of that dish , it must tastes fantastic !

    Reply

  14. If it has a yogurt sauce – I am in. Love the use of the lentils. I will need to try and make my own yogurt – we consume buckets. Your dish is perfect for our steamy weather – so refreshing.

    Reply

  16. Hey Balvinder, it’s so interesting to learn that making yogurt is a ritual in Indian households. I’ve never tasted home-made yogurt, dear. I must go chk out on my Indian friends. Hahaha!

    Reply

  17. I’ve never made yogurt, but now I have the urge 🙂 And your lentil balls look so tasty and tempting!! Have a great week, my friend~

    Reply

  19. We love dahi wadas and I make them at least once a week. Your wadas look perfect! Love the green and tamarind chutney poured on top of the dish. How yummy!

    Reply

  23. Hi Balvinder, lovely presentation, the first picture took outside your garden look very nice.
    This snack sound delicious. Thanks for sharing the recipe.

    Have a nice week ahead, regards.

    Reply

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