Low Cal Dahi Vada Recipe!

Next time when you feel like having the sumptuous dahi vadas, you need not think about the fats and calories that goes while making the deep fried vadas for it! There is a better way of making dahi vadas than deep frying them in oil. I tried making low cal dahi vada today and was rather successful in my venture. I will share this low cal dahi vada recipe here and in the end would also tell you what not to do so that you get soft fluffy vadas to dip in the curd. This I learnt after making my first batch of vadas and instantly corrected myself while making the second batch of vadas. So, here goes my recipe for making low calorie, low oil dahi vada!

How to Prepare Batter for Low Cal Dahi Vada?

You need to soak dals (pulses) for at least eight hours. I did not plan earlier for making dahi vada today so was able to keep the dals soaked for only 6 hours. However, this wasn't a very big mistake as the davi vads came out quite good. Here are the ingredients you would need for making this low cal dahi vada.

• Urad dal- (split gram -white and not black)- ¾ cup
• Moon gal- (yellow split lentil)- ¼ cup

Soak the above two dals in water overnight or for at least 8-9 hours. This quantity will give you about 8-10 vadas of medium size.

• Dahi or curd (mix some water or milk to make it into smooth thick mix)
• Ginger (roughly chopped)- 1.5 inch piece
• Oil- 1 tsp
• Salt
• Roasted cumin powder (roast the cumin seeds without oil in a pan and grind them with the help of hamam dasta. If in large quantity, you can grind it in mixer too)
• Red chilli powder
• Black salt
• Tamarind chutney

How to Make Low Cal Dahi Vada?

There is nothing too tough in making dahi vada without frying. It will take only 30-40 minutes for making dahi vada. However, you have to be careful while roasting/ shallow frying the vadas in a non stick pan.

• Drain the water and take out the soaked dals. Add the ginger to it and grind it in the mixer. Make a coarse paste, don't make the batter of dahi vada very fine. If needed, you can use 1-2 tsp of water and not more than that.
• Take a non stick pan. Pour few drops of oil and spread it to grease the pan surface.
• With the help of a tablespoon, pour some dahi vada batter into the pan. You can make 3-4 vadas at a time depending upon the size of your non stick pan.
• Keep the gas flame low. After 2-3 minutes, you will be able to turn over the vada. Roast them on the other side for 2-3 minutes.
• Take out the vadas from the pan and soak them in normal temperature water. This is needed to make them soft and also for preventing them from breaking into pieces.

Your low cal dahi vadas are ready to be served. Place vadas on a plate or bowl and pour the curd on them. Sprinkle some salt, roasted cumin powder, black salt and red chili powder on it. Pour a little tamarind chutney on the top and your low cal dahi vada is ready to be served! Now I will tell you what mistakes to avoid while making the low cal vadas as I promised in the beginning of this post.

Tips for Making Soft Low Cal Dahi Vada

• When roasting the vadas in non stick pan, do not over do it. As I told earlier, I over roasted the vadas of my first batch because I thought they would not cook properly if I take them out earlier. However, this made them hard and they did not get softer even after soaking in water. When I roasted the second batch of vadas, I spent only about 2 minutes for roasting each side. This made them soft when soaked in water.
• You can use a little fruit salt (eno) in the batter for low cal dahi vada. This will also make them fluffy. I could not use eno as it was not available at that time (I told it, I did not plan for making dahi vada!)

Now you don't need to avoid  this Indian street food. Enjoy the ultimate homemade Indian chaat- your low cal dahi vada- without any guilt!