Fat Free Microwave Dahi Vada

Dahi Vada is a lentil dumpling (vada) immersed in yogurt seasoned with spices and sweet and savoury chutneys. It is traditionally made with urad dal, where the dal is soaked for a couple of hours and ground to a paste along with green chillies and ginger. This batter is then deep fried. These deep fried vadas are soaked in some water to soften them. Excess water is squeezed out and the vadas are immersed in seasoned yogurt. We all love these dahi vadas but I rarely make them as I avoid deep frying.

Today I saw these Tarla Dalal inspired fat free microwave dahi vadas on one of my Facebook food groups and decided to try them out. Non deep fried dahi vadas sounded too good to be true. You can check out the original recipe here. This recipe is very simple and easy to follow, takes very little time and effort and the end result is quite delicious. I will not say it is close to the original version but it is pretty good.  I thought the vadas came out more like idlis. Maybe the recipe should be called microwave dahi idlis instead but like they say what's in a name any ways? This recipe uses moong dal instead of the traditional urad dal. I have not made any changes in the method of making the vadas but have made some changes in flavouring the yogurt. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients

For the vadas

• 1/2 cup yellow moong dal
• 1 to 2 green chillies
• 1/2 tsp unflavoured fruit salt ( I used Eno regular)
• Water for soaking the vadas
• salt to taste
• oil for greasing

For the yogurt

• 2 cups yogurt 
• 2 tbsp milk
• Salt to taste
• 1-2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp rock salt
• 1 tsp cumin powder

For the garnish

• Red chilli powder, tamarind date chutney, cumin powder and chopped cilantro.

Method

1. Soak the dal in warm water for at least 1 hour. I soaked for about 4 hours.
2. Drain out most of the water and grind it to a smooth paste in a blender along with the chillies and salt.
3. Add the fruit salt and mix well. Add the fruit salt just before you start making the vadas.
4. Pour 2 tablespoons of the batter into 8 small greased microwave safe bowls. 
5. Microwave 4 at a time each batch for 1 minute and 15 seconds.
6. Remove and allow it to cool completely and unmould.
7. Soak them in water for few minutes, till they are soft.
8. Drain and squeeze out any excess water.
9. In a serving plate mix the yogurt, milk, sugar, salt, rock salt and cumin powder. Mix well. You can adjust the spices to suit your taste buds.
10. Drop in the vadas in the yogurt mixture. Garnish with red chilli powder, cumin powder, tamarind date chutney and chopped cilantro. Serve chilled.

Notes

• You can also add some green chutney as a garnish.
• I did not have cilantro on hand hence it is missing in the picture.
• This is how the vadas looked when they came out of the microwave. More like idlis right? But whatever you call them they were very soft and delicious.