Dahi Vada (With Yellow Moong Dal)

Moong Dal vada are deep-fried lentil fritters made with yellow moong dal. These lentil dumplings are deep fried to golden perfection and then dunked in a creamy spiced yogurt and sprinkled with hot & tangy chaat spices, green chutney or tamarind chutney to make dahi vada. This recipe is similar to traditional urad dal dahi vada, we just use yellow moong lentils instead. 

This moong dal dahi vada is a perfect addition to your Holi or Diwali menus, for chaat parties or for potlucks. It can be served as an appetizer or a side dish.

About Recipe 

Dal = Lentils, Dahi = Yogurt, Vada = Dumplings. 

Indian chaat is love and simply, these are yellow moong lentil dumplings dunked in spiced yogurt. We also call them Moong Dal Ki Pakodi. The word pakodi derives from pakora and in our home, is used for small sized fritters(like these). 

It is a popular regional recipe in Uttar Pradesh and my grandmother used to make these moong dal fried vadas on indian festivals like sankranti and holi. These fluffy vadas are melt in the mouth and combined with creamy spiced yogurt & sweet tamarind chutney they are an absolute treat every time!

To serve these pakodi, you need the usual chaat sides like different kind of chutneys, sev, and powdered spices. I mostly add sweet tamarind chutney and fresh herbs and (sometimes)green chillies on top, however you could add spicy green chutney as well. 

How are these different from Urad Dal Dahi Vada

Traditional dahi bada recipe uses skinned urad dal, here for these, the difference is only in the kind of lentil. The method for both the vada is exactly same. 

Secondly these vadas are smaller in size (thats how I grew up seeing them). 

I grew up hearing that these mung dal vada are lighter than the traditional urad dal version because yellow moong dal is a lighter, easy to digest lentil variety.

Lastly, of course the taste is different because the lentil is different!

You could check another festival favorite recipe of stuffed dahi bada gujiya.

Moong Dal Batter

One of the key things in this recipe (or for that matter in any vada recipe) is the consistency of the ground lentils. Here are a few factors to keep in mind

• Soak the lentils for maximum 4-6 hours. No need to soak overnight.
• Grind to a fine paste adding as less water as needed. Dont dump a a lot of water in the beginning, adjust as you go light handedly.
• After aerating, the lentils should feel fluffy, they should not feel pasty (else the vada will be hard). Imagine the consistency as whipped cake batter, thick & flowing(ribbon like).
• To adjust a thick batter, add water very slowly, mixing rigorously as you go.

What If I made a thin batter by mistake

If by mistake the moong dal batter becomes too thin, add 1-2 tablespoons of besan (bengal gram flour) and mix well. Don't add too much besan else the vada will start tasting of besan. Aerate the batter as usual after adding besan.

How To Make Moong Dal Dahi Vada (Step-by-Step photos)

Soak The Lentils

Wash the yellow moong lentils 2-3 times and soak for 4-5 hours in enough water. After soaking, the grains would be soft and you would be able to break them with your nail. 

Drain all the water from soaked lentils and rinse them once. 

Grind & Aerate The Lentils 

Transfer to a high speed blender jar (I use my Vitamix), add a knob of ginger and green chilli/serrano pepper. At this point you can add some black peppercorns & cumin seeds as well, however I like to only add fresh crushed black pepper later. 

For blending add little water (about ¼ cup) to start with. Then as you go, add 1-2 tablespoon more of water as needed for smooth grinding. Grind to a fine paste.

Do not add too much water at the beginning. We need a thick batter (remember it can always be thinned out later).Also keep in mind that the batter should be of dropping consistency. 

Note:- If you are using high speed blenders like Vitamix or blendtec, they do a wonderful job of aerating the lentils while they grind. Basically the next step starts while grinding itself. 

Transfer the lentil batter to a bowl and add hing and little crushed black pepper. Now using a whisk or hand mixer (I simply use a spoon), aerate the batter in one direction. The batter will be fluffy, flowing and this will give us spongy vada. 

Tip :- To check the aeration of batter, do the water test. Drop a small ball of the batter in a small bowl of water. It should come floating up instantly. 

Deep Fry The Lentil Dumplings

Set oil to heat in a heavy bottom pot or use a kadai.

Tip :- To check the oil temperature, add a tiny drop of batter to the oil, if it stays at the bottom, the oil is cold. If it comes sizzling up, the oil is too hot. 

You could use a spoon or a ziplock bag to drop the batter into the oil (I use my hands). Just when you are about to drop the vadas in hot oil, add salt to the vada batter and mix rigorously. Drop small portions (about 1.5 to 2 tablespoon) of lentil batter in the medium hot oil. Do not overcrowd the pan. 

If the batter is aerated properly, you will see the vadas fluffing up in oil. They will have mushroom tops with holes (just a visualization guide for you :))

Fry on medium high heat until crisp and brown. Dont fry very dark or too light in color. Drain on a paper towel. 

Tip:- Once deep fried, you can store the unsoaked moong dal vadas for a 2-3 days, refrigerated. You can also freeze them for a month. 

Soak The Vadas

Add the vadas to a large bowl. Add a little salt, pinch of hing and pour boiling water on top. 

Tip :-Press down the vada using a small dish (smaller than the diameter of the bowl in which you rare soaking). This makes sure that the vadas are fully submerged in water. 

Let soak for good 10 minutes. Meanwhile you can prepare spiced dahi (yogurt), chutneys etc .

Assemble The Soft Dahi Vada

Pick out the soaked vadas out of lukewarm water one by one and squeeze lightly to discard the water. You will notice that the vadas would be super spongy. 

Cool down the squeezed vadas completely. Add to a serving dish in a single layer and then add the creamy yogurt. I refrigerate them like this and chill for 3-4 hours. Before serving, add a fw vadas to a bowl and sprinkle spices like roasted cumin powder, chaat masala, red chilli powder etc , fresh coriander leaves, chopped ginger and spicy chutneys on top. 

How To Store Moong Dal Dahi Vada

Store the assembled dahi vada in the refrigerator. I usually use a large container with lid. You can cover the dish with a cling film as well. They taste good for 3 days. 

I don't recommend freezing the layered dahi vada. After thawing, the yogurt tastes very bad. 

However, as mentioned before, you can store the fried dal vadas for a month. 

More Tips for success

• Lentils :- Make sure that the lentils are ground to a smooth consistency. You can use a combination of ½ cup split skinned urad lentils and ¼ cup yellow moong lentils to make traditional dahi vada. The rest of the recipe remains the same.
• Seasonings :- Whenever I make lentil dishes in general, I keep the spicing light because I want to let the taste of lentils shine. You can add extra green chillies, cumin seeds, black pepper or ginger when grinding.
• Yogurt - Do not use sour yogurt. I use plain greek yogurt or malai top indian style dahi available in south asian grocery stores. Homemade curd is perfect to use too make sure its not too watery. You need a creamy thick yogurt for a good taste. 
• Gluten Free - Skip the hing in the recipe and make sure that your store bought yogurt is gluten free. 
• For soft vada - Aerate the lentil batter. If the lentil batter isn't aerated properly, the vadas dont turn out fluffy. Secondly, the oil temperature should be right. If the vada isn't cooked properly, it isn't soft. Make sure to deep fry the vadas on medium flame so that the insides are cooked properly while the outside are golden brown but not too crisp.
• Frying Oil- I use avocado oil for deep frying. Use any oil that you normally use for deep frying in your home. 
• Vegan- I have not tried it myself. However this recipe should work with cashew yogurt.