Steamed Dahi Wada ( Lentil Dumplings With Plain Yogurt& Tamarind Chutney)

Steamed Dahi Wada (Lentil Dumplings With Plain Yogurt &Tamarind Chutney)

 

We all love Dahi Wadas don’t we, well I do. As most of us Indians know that Dahi Wadas are basically deep fried lentil dumplings in fresh yogurt, but since I have made this “no fried stuff at home “rule, I couldn’t possibly break it myself. 

 The best healthy alternative to frying could be steaming, so I ended up steaming my Wadas and after many trials and errors I got my steamed Dahi Wadas. You want to know how they turned out, well I don’t miss the fried ones anymore.

Whenever my mom used to make Dahi Wada at home she would always make Imli (tamarind) Wada along with it, which is actually a smart way

of making two dishes with hard work of one.

So I would do the smart thing and explain to you method for two kinds of Wada here. The only point of difference is that you dip Dahi Wada in yogurt and Imli Wada in tamarind chutney.

MY NOTES:

1. In this recipe I have used Urad Dal (Split Black gram) and Moong Dal (Split Green gram) in 1:1/4 ratio. I have tried making Wada with 1:1 ratio, and using only one dal also and all these proportions work well too.

2. With this dal batter you can make Dahi Gujhia (stuffed lentil dumplings) also.  When I tried Gujhia they weren’t as soft as the Wadas, but were still good.

3. Here I have used those cocktail Idli molds because when I tried in normal idli moulds I felt that because of the bigger size the difference between steamed and fried Wada became more enhanced. So I would suggest cocktail Idli moulds only. But if you want to try the Gujhia (stuffed) version of Wadas then maybe the bigger size Idli moulds would make more sense, because you can get more stuffing in it.

I hope I haven’t confused you guys with all this additional information. But I felt that as I have made many errors during my trials before arriving at this recipe, my various experiences will make your trials easier. You can always share your experiences with me here or on my Facebook page.

MAKES : 50 cocktail size Wada. My Idli mould has 5 plates and each plate has 5 cavities which means that in one go you can make 25 Wadas but as I was making Imli Wada also, so I had to do the whole process twice  and I got 50 Wadas. This much should suffice 6-8 people.

INGREDIENTS :

1. Urad Dal Dhuli (Split Black Gram and without skin) ---- 1 cup

2. Moong Dal Dhuli (Split Green Gram and without skin) ---- 1/4 cup

3. Dahi (plain yogurt, homemade or store bought) - 2 cups 

3. Salt --1 and ¼ tsp or to taste

4. Eno Sachet (regular, not flavoured)

5. Tamarind Chutney for drizzling on top ---- 2 tbsp. or more if you like

6 Seasoning for sprinkling on top: Black Salt ½ tsp, ½ tsp Roasted cumin powder, Red chilli powder.

Additional Ingredients for Imli Wada:

1. Tamarind Chutney 1 cup (this quantity could vary depending on consistency of chutney)

Note:  For people who don't have Tamarind Chutney lying around in their refrigerators like me ,they can use store bought Tamarind Chutney/Sauce.

METHOD

1. Take 1 cup of Urad dhuli dal (Split Black gram - without skin) and ¼ cup of Moong dal (Split Green gram - without skin) and soak it for 1-2 hours. (If in a hurry you can soak in hot water for about 30 min)

2. Drain the water from both dal, add 1/4 tsp of Hing (asafoetida) to the dal .

3.  Put in your blender and grind into a fine paste. You might need some water to grind it easily. We need thick pouring consistency.

4.  Add salt to taste. (Not too much as later we would be adding salt in yogurt also)

5. Prepare a small Idli (cocktail Idli) mould. For this take out the mould and grease or spray every cavity with oil of your choice.

6. When your moulds are ready then add a single sachet of Eno fruit salt to Dal batter (regular, no flavors).

7.  Put a tsp of water on top of eno powder so that it starts activating quickly.

8. Fill the vessel which comes with Idli moulds with 2-3 glasses of water, put it on your burner and switch it on.

9. Mix the batter properly.

10. Take a spoon and start pouring the batter in the moulds one by one. Keep filling all available idli trays and stack them on each other.

11. Meanwhile check your vessel on the burner when water is hot you can put your idli mould in it.

12. Keep steaming for 20 minutes.

13.  Switch off the gas.

14. Open the steamer's lid and take out the idli mould carefully as it would be very hot.

15. Let it sit for 5 minutes and then using a blunt knife take out idlis from the molds.

16. Keep a broad vessel full of warm water close by and keep adding idlis to it.( I like to add a pinch of salt and a tsp of oil/ghee to this water for better flavouring but if you want to make it a zero oil dish you can just skip this and it would taste just great.)

17. Leave idlis in warm water for about half an hour then lightly press the water out from the idlis one by one and keep them aside.

18. Take some plain yogurt in a bowl and whip it to a smooth consistency with a balloon whisk or simply strain it through a sieve. We want yogurt thick enough to coat the Wada, but sometimes if you are using store bought yogurt and it seems too thick you can add 1-2 tbsp. of water to it.

19. Add some salt to whipped yogurt.

20. Start dipping idlis one by one in this yogurt and put them on a platter you want to serve it on.

21. Sprinkle a pinch of black salt, roasted cumin powder, red chilli powder and finally drizzle some tamarind chutney on top as per your liking.

For Imli Wada

1. Follow same procedure as Dahi Wada till step no. 17.

Now dip your Wada in tamarind chutney and place it on serving platter, then just spread a little extra chutney so that it properly covers all Wadas. Sprinkle all seasonings just like Dahi Wada.