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    Home » Air fryer Recipes » Air Fryer Indian Recipes

    Dahi Vada Recipe | How to Make Dahi Vada

    Published: Feb 27, 2018 · Modified: Sep 28, 2022 by Rachna ·

    Jump to Recipe
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    Dahi vada also known as dahi bhalla is a delightful street food. It is also regularly made in my home especially around festivals. I have shared both deep fried and air fryer dahi vada recipes.

    It is my favourite Holi recipe as well as Diwali recipe. It does not require much time to make but does need prior preparation.

    I generally make a large batch of vada as we eat some vadas as snacks.

    Then the others are made as dahi bada in batches so that we can relish them over 1-2 days.

    Dahi vadas served on a white plate.

    You may also like: medu vada in air fryer, air fryer namak paare, air fryer kachori, air fryer vada pav, Aloo tikki chaat.

    Step-by-step Pictures

    Drained urad dal with ginger and chillies in a blender jar

    Soak 1 cup urad dal in 3 cups water for 4-6 hours.

    Drain the husked black gram lentils. Keep aside.

    Grind it with ginger, green chillies and asafetida in a blender till you get a smooth paste.

    Preferably use just about 1-2 tablespoon water. The batter must be smooth but not runny.

    Urad dal thick batter with 1 tsp. oil and salt

    The mix is smooth and thick.

    Add salt and 1 tsp. oil (if Air frying) and beat it well till the mix becomes nice and fluffy.

    I beat for about 3 minutes.

    This step is important so that your vadas are fluffy, light and soft.

    If deep frying, no need to add oil to the batter.

    For Deep Frying

    Deep fried vada balls

    Heat oil and using a spoon, make roundish vadas that you slowly tip in the medium hot oil.

    Fry in medium hot vegetable oil. About 2-3 minutes each side till they are done.

    Vadas drained and kept aside

    Now drain them and keep on a paper towel.

    For Air frying

    urad dal vada balls on parchment paper in Air fryer

    Preheat Air fryer to 150 C or 300 F for 4 minutes.

    On a parchment paper, using a spoon make flat roundish balls leaving some distance in between as these grow in size when cooked.

    Air fried and cooked vada in air fryer

    Air fry at 150 C or 300 F for 8 minutes.

    The vadas will become larger in size and look half cooked.

    Apply oil on both sides and flip.

    Then increase the temperature to 180 C or 360 F and air fry for 6- 8 minutes so that they get browned and well cooked.

    Air fried vadas in a platter

    Your air fried fluffy and soft vadas are ready. You can have them as it is with chutney which is what we do sometimes. 🙂

    These are lighter and flatter than deep fried ones but they taste really good, light and fluffy.

    To assemble dahi vadas

    Soak vadas in lukewarm water for 10 minutes.

    The vadas turn lighter when soaked in warm water.

    vadas soaked in warm water

    Now take them out and drain each vada in between your palms to take out all the water.

    Arrange the vadas in a shallow dish.

    Now take the yogurt and beat it well.

    Add salt, black salt, sugar, chat masala, red chilli powder and cumin powder.

    Mix well and taste. Adjust seasoning as per taste.

    To serve, pour the sweetened yoghurt all over the vadas so that they are completely covered.

    Sprinkle green chutney and tamarind chutney on top as per taste. I also sprinkle a little cumin powder and red chilli powder on top.

    Dahi vadas served on a white plate.

    Dahi vadas are ready to serve. Enjoy.

    Close up of dahi vadas served on a plate.

    Dahi Vada Recipe | How to Make Dahi Bhalla

    Rachna Parmar
    Dahi vada or dahi bhalla is a popular street food from North India which is also made during Holi and Diwali. Try my deep fried or Air fryer recipe.
    5 from 7 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save Recipe Saved Recipe
    Prep Time 10 mins
    Cook Time 11 mins
    Soaking time 4 hrs
    Total Time 4 hrs 21 mins
    Course Accompaniment | Appetizer, Side Dish/Accompaniment
    Cuisine North Indian
    Servings 16
    Calories 70 kcal

    Ingredients
     

    • For vadas
    • 1 cup urad dal or husked black gram soaked for 4-5 hours
    • 1 pinch asafetida or hing
    • 2 green chillies
    • 1 tsp. ginger
    • salt to taste
    • 2 tsp. oil for Air frying
    • For Dahi
    • 2 cup yogurt
    • 1 tbsp. sugar
    • 1 tsp. black salt
    • 1 tsp. chat masala
    • 1 tsp. red chilli powder or cayenne
    • 1 tsp. roasted cumin powder
    • salt to taste
    • For garnish
    • Green chutney
    • Tamarind chutney
    • Cumin powder
    • cayenne

    Instructions
     

    • Drain the husked black gram lentils.
    • Grind it with ginger, green chillies and asafetida in a blender till you get a smooth paste.
    • Preferably use just about 1-2 tablespoon water.
    • The mix should not be runny just smooth.
    • Add salt and mix well with a spoon about 3 minutes till the lentil mix becomes fluffy. This is important so that the vadas are soft and fluffy.

    For deep frying

    • Heat oil in a kadhai/pan. Deep fry the vadas till golden brown. I just use a spoon to make roundish vadas. Drain them and keep them aside.

    For Air Frying

    • Add 1 tsp. oil in the lentil batter and mix well to aerate. Preheat Air fryer to 150 C or 300 F for 4 minutes.
    • On a parchment paper, using a spoon make flat roundish balls leaving some distance in between as these grow in size when cooked. Air fry at 150 C or 300 F for 8 minutes.
    • Vadas will be half cooked by now. Brush oil on both sides and flip vadas.
    • Then air fry at 180 C or 360 F for 6-8 minutes so that they get browned and well cooked. Your air fried fluffy and soft vadas are ready. what we do sometimes. 🙂 Or keep them aside and proceed further.
    • You can have them as it is with chutney which is

    To assemble dahi vada

    • Take some lukewarm water in a bowl and dip the vadas in them. They will absorb water, swell up and become lighter in colour.
    • Soak them for about 10 minutes.
    • Now take them out and drain each vada in between your palms to take out all the water.
    • Arrange the vadas in a shallow dish.
    • Now take the yogurt and beat it well. Add salt, black salt, sugar, chat masala, red chilli powder and cumin powder. Mix well and taste. Adjust seasoning as per taste.
    • To serve, pour the sweetened yoghurt all over the vadas so that they are completely covered.
    • Pour green chutney and tamarind chutney on top as per taste.
    • I also sprinkle a little cumin powder and red chilli powder on top.
    • Serve cold.

    Tamarind chutney recipe

    • To make tamarind chutney, take 1 tsp. oil in a pan. Heat it and add 1 tsp. of cumin. Let it sputter. Now add 1 bowl tamarind juice extract. Add ½ tsp. dry ginger powder, 1 tsp. chilli powder and one pinch asafetida. Add some salt as well. Cook for some time and add 5 tbsp. of jaggery to this. Let it cook till this dissolves and the chutney bubbles. Take it off the stove and cool down. Serve cold.

    Notes

    1.I don’t put sweet chutney when I serve my dahi vadas. Since the dahi is already slightly sweetened, it works well.
    2. If you wish to serve small quantities, then keep the lentil batter in the fridge and only fry as many vadas as you need. Once they are soaked, you can’t store them for long.
    3. You can buy tamarind chutney from store if you don’t want to make it. Otherwise I have shared the recipe above.
    4. You can air fry or bake the vadas. I felt no difference in the taste. They were super fluffy and soft and air frying really cuts down the calories. 

    Nutrition

    Calories: 70kcalCarbohydrates: 9gProtein: 4gFat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 4mgSodium: 154mgPotassium: 59mgFiber: 3gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 162IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 47mgIron: 1mg
    Tried this recipe?Let me know on Instagram @rachna.parmar or tag #rachnacooks
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    If you liked this recipe, I request you to leave a * star rating for it. Thanks.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. writershilpa says

      February 27, 2018 at 7:15 pm

      Each time I read your food posts, I end up with a rumbling tummy!
      I love dahi vadas .Much more than dahi puri . Will try this recipe someday for sure! ❤❤
      Thank you Rachna!

      Reply
    2. writershilpa says

      February 27, 2018 at 7:15 pm

      Each time I read your food posts, I end up with a rumbling tummy!
      I love dahi vadas .Much more than dahi puri . Will try this recipe someday for sure! ❤❤
      Thank you Rachna!

      Reply
    3. Megala says

      February 27, 2018 at 10:49 pm

      Looks so delicious & tempting ! Like to grab one !! ?

      Reply
    4. Megala says

      February 27, 2018 at 10:49 pm

      Looks so delicious & tempting ! Like to grab one !! ?

      Reply
    5. Soumya Prasad says

      February 28, 2018 at 2:09 pm

      I love dahi vada topped with a handful of crunchy spicy boondhi! I haven't made it for a while at home and now I'm putting this down for the weekend 🙂

      Thank you!

      Reply
    6. Soumya Prasad says

      February 28, 2018 at 2:09 pm

      I love dahi vada topped with a handful of crunchy spicy boondhi! I haven't made it for a while at home and now I'm putting this down for the weekend 🙂

      Thank you!

      Reply
    7. Bikramjit says

      February 28, 2018 at 2:48 pm

      Right looking for flights to come over and have themmmmm I have a long list of eatables that I need when i gate crash 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Reply
    8. Bikramjit says

      February 28, 2018 at 2:48 pm

      Right looking for flights to come over and have themmmmm I have a long list of eatables that I need when i gate crash 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Reply
    9. Shailaja V says

      March 01, 2018 at 12:23 pm

      My mom makes this SO well. I am very bad at making vadas so i content myself with eating them when someone else makes ? I shall come over to your place when I crave Dahi vadas. These look tempting! Happy Holi Rachna!

      Reply
    10. Shailaja V says

      March 01, 2018 at 12:23 pm

      My mom makes this SO well. I am very bad at making vadas so i content myself with eating them when someone else makes ? I shall come over to your place when I crave Dahi vadas. These look tempting! Happy Holi Rachna!

      Reply
    11. Shilpa Garg says

      March 02, 2018 at 1:37 pm

      I love dahi vadas and I make them this way too, though I love it with imli chutney. I make them in bulk and store in freezer for later use.

      Reply
    12. Shilpa Garg says

      March 02, 2018 at 1:37 pm

      I love dahi vadas and I make them this way too, though I love it with imli chutney. I make them in bulk and store in freezer for later use.

      Reply
    13. Nargis says

      November 11, 2020 at 10:58 am

      5 stars
      Going to try air frying on friday n will let you know the results. Thank you
      Will try other receipes along the way too!

      Reply
      • Rachna says

        November 12, 2020 at 11:28 am

        Good to know, Nargis!

        Reply

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