Dahi Bhalle (fried lentil dumplings in yogurt)

Dahi Bhalle is one of the most famous snacks in Northern India, served cold it makes an excellent starter. There are some tricks to it, and once you know it you can never get them wrong :)

Here is what you would need (it would make approximately 50 bhallas)

Oil for deep frying 

For dahi bhalla

• 1 cup split urad dal without skin washed, soaked overnight with 8-10 methi seeds and grind this to a fine paste adding very little water 
• 2″ piece of ginger and 2-3 green chilies ground to paste
• Salt to taste
• 1 teaspoon baking powder

For yogurt

• 3 cups thick fresh yogurt
• 1 cups water
• 2 tbsps roasted cumin  powder
• 1-2 tbsps ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon of dahi bhalla masala

For garnish

• Mint coriander chutney
• Tamarind chutney

Mix all the dahi bhalla ingredients in a bowl and deep fry small dumplings (a little smaller than the size of a ping-pong ball) of this paste until golden brown. Check the first batch to see if dumplings are cooked from inside, fry them little longer if not so. As soon as you take them out from oil, put them in cold water in a large bowl. You will notice that bhallas (dumplings) in water start to lighten in color after 10-15 minutes. Keep these in water for another 15-20 minutes, and meanwhile mix in ingredients of yogurt. Squeeze out water from bhallas gently and place them in a flat tray adjacent to one another and pour the yogurt mixture over them evenly. Refrigerate 2-3 hours before serving. For serving put 3-4 bhallas in a bowl and garnish with mint and tamarind chutnies and serve.