Dahi vadas cuttacki style

I would be homebound soon and yes I am happy…very happy and super happy. Cuttack is known for its variety of street foods. Being a true “Cuttacki” at heart, I am an ardent fan of all that is served on the streets of Cuttack…be it Chaat, Dahi vada alu dum, Gup chup….well anything and everything under the sky of Cuttack. Interestingly, I know people who would happily survive for days just on Dahi vada alu dum. Coming to the recipe, I would be sharing just the “Dahi vadas cuttacki style”. Hopefully, soon I will share the recipe for both “Ghuguni” and “Alu dum”- So that together we all can enjoy the bliss of home-made Dahi vada alu dum. So here goes the recipe for "Dahi vadas cuttacki style" you all.

Dahi vadas cuttacki style

Serves: 8 to 10 persons

Ingredients:

For Vadas :

Urad dal (split) - 1.5 cup

Ginger- 1’’ inch

Cumin seeds- 2 tsp.

Green chilies (long) - 2 (finely chopped)

Curry leaves- 1 (spring)

Black pepper- ½ tsp.

Water- ¼ cup (approx.)

For Dahi masala :

Curd- 500 gms

Black salt-2 tsp.

Roasted cumin-chili powder- 1 tbsp.

Sugar- ½ tsp.

Coriander leaves- 4 tbsp. (finely chopped)

Water- ½ to 1 cup (approx.)

Salt to taste

Procedure:

For Vadas: Take Urad dal and soak it in water for 4-5 hours. Now grind it into a smooth paste by adding very little water. Now roughly pound cumin and pepper. Then using hands roughly chop the curry leaves and grate the ginger. Now add salt, green chilies, cumin, pepper, ginger and curry leaves to the Urad dal batter. Using a spatula beat the batter well as it would ensure that the added ingredients have mixed well and the batter holds on air. Now heat oil over medium heat to deep fry the vadas. After that in a bowl take some water and every time before you fry the vadas dip your hand in water, bring some batter shape it into flattened balls and slowly leave it into oil. Let it fry in one side and once that side is done it would rise up and then you may turn on the other side to be fired. Fry the all the Vadas this way.

Take a big bowl with water at room temperature. Now after straining the fried vadas leave them in the bowl of water. Let it remain in water for ½-1 hour. Then drain out the excess water by gently pressing the Vadas in between your palms.  While the Vadas are soaking in water prepare the masla dahi.

For Masala Dahi and final Dahi vadas –Take curd in a big bowl and beat it well along with water. After that add salt, sugar, black salt and roasted cumin-chili powder. Now take the water soaked Vadas and dip it in the curd masala mix. Let the vadas stand immersed in curd for 30 minutes. Garnish with coriander leaves, sev and serve.

Notes: 

For another authentic version you may add a tadka of cumin seeds and curry leaves.

This is “Cuttacki” version of Dahi Vadas where we use curd that is of very thin in consistency.

I ran out of sev, so couldn’t garnish with the same in this picture. But, yes if you have it add lot of it to the Dahi vadas.

Finally, I have created the dish from my own understanding of what I have grown eating up all these years.