Advanced raita
Dahi means fermented milk and vada or wada is a bowl of ground lentils that are fried, see falafel which is made from mung beans. Vada is made in both South and North India, the difference is that in the South they are made with a hole in the middle like a doughnut, with more spices and are often eaten with coconut chutney for breakfast or lunch.
While in Punjab they are eaten in a different way and are called bhalla. Once the balls are fried and cooled, they are soaked in water for ½ -1 hour! The water is squeezed out and they are soaked in spicy kefir. Before serving, they are drizzled with date chutney and eaten as a snack or an advanced raita. 3-4 pieces can be calculated per person as a snack. It is a bit difficult to explain the taste, but they become soft and soak up the spicy kefir and taste amazing.
You can use many types of lentils, but primarily black lentils are used where the shell has been washed away. They do not have a Norwegian name, I call them white lentils. In my cookbook you will find pictures and good information about, among other things, the names of the lentils in Norwegian, Hindi and English as well as cooking times in a pressure cooker and a regular kettle. You can also read a little in the post HERE .
DAHI VADA/ DAHI BHALLA
150 g lentils
1 tablespoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
4-5 dl rapeseed oil for frying about 25 pieces
For 10 vadas
1 liter of kefir/ plant-based yogurt/ sour milk
1 teaspoon salt
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp chaat masala
fresh coriander as desired
Procedure:
- Soak the lentils in water overnight or for 5-6 hours.
- Crush in a food processor to a puree-like consistency with a little water. Just a couple of tablespoons.
- Mix everything together and let stand for ½ hour. Use two tablespoons and drop one tablespoon at a time into the hot oil. It should fizz nicely when dropped into the oil.
- Fry them evenly brown on medium heat, so that they are not raw inside. Use a fish strainer to turn them over and fish them out.
- Soak the vadas in hot water and mix the kefir and spices in a bowl.
- Carefully squeeze the water from the vada by pressing them lightly between your palms and place them in the bowl with kefir.
- Before serving: drizzle well with date chutney, a sprinkle of chaat masala, fresh coriander and chili rings if desired.