Thayir vadai is a very delicious south Indian snack. I love to make this dish very often and even i would always order this when i go for any hotels. Many people think that preparing Dhahi vada in house is not delicious as we eat in hotels. But i bet, if we follow the below method, we can get the same taste and i could say that ours is too tasty compared to the hotels.
Ulundhu(Urdhal) vadai/Medhu vadai is a great and tasty appetizer. Also, we make this vadai for most of the festivals for neyvedhyam (offering to the god). Medhu vadai with idli, pongal, sambar & Chutney is a famous breakfast combo in Southern Part of India. Almost all restaurants serve this vada for breakfast and also during evening snacks time. Making a perfect batter is the secret of this recipe. The batter should be thick and also fluffy then only the vadas will be crispier outside and soft inside. For Dahi vada (Thayir Vadai), we need to first prepare ulundhu vadai (medhu vadai) and then soak them in diluted buttermilk+spice mixture and then serve with thick buttermilk +spice mixture along with garnishing.
In the similar way, we can dip the ulundhu vada in diluted sambar and then serve the soaked vadas with fresh hotel style sambar and that would make lovely Sambar Vada.
Tips for making Thayir Vadai:
- We should always grind the urad dal with very little water at a time. We really need a fluffy batter but at the same time not runny
- If you are grinding the batter in mixer, then the batter will not be aerated naturally, so take out the smoothly ground batter and beat the batter with a ladle or whisk for atleast 5 mins to manually incorporate air in the batter. This will make the batter to be light and the vadas will be soft inside
- We need to make the size of the vada smaller than we do for usual vada as we are going to dip in diluted curd-milk mixture and because of which the vada tend to become fluffy
- Some of us usually do this by dipping the vadas in hot water before topping up with curd, but i personally feel that hot water is making the vadas more softer and reduces the taste. So try to take smaller quantity of curd topping in a bowl along with milk and water and stir it well with a pinch of salt and then dip the fried vadas in this
- We can keep the dipped vadas and the curd mixture separately in fridge for atleast 2 days and we can take them whenever we want to serve. This way we can plan for a wonderful starter/dessert for our guests
Recipe Card for Thayir Vadai | Dahi Vada
Thayir Vadai | South Indian Dahi Vada
Equipments Needed
- Heavy Bottomed Pan
- Mixing Bowl
- Mixer Grinder
Servings: 15 people
Calories: 131kcal
Thayir vadai is a very delicious south Indian snack. Vadai soaked in the spicy curd mixture garnished with green coriander leaves and crispy boondis'. A perfect evening snack to treat your family and friends.
Print Recipe
Ingredients
Ingredients for Vada
- 1 cup Whole Urad Dal 1 Cup - 250ml
- 1 tablespoon Raw Rice
- 2 finely Green Chilli Chopped
- 1 inch Ginger Finely Chopped
- Few Curry Leaves
- ¼ cup Coriander Leaves
- 3 Cups Oil For Deep Frying
Ingredients for Curd Mixture
- 2 tablespoon Grated Coconut
- 2 Green Chilli
- 1 tablespoon Cashew
- 1 inch Ginger
- 1½ cups Curd (Yogurt)
- 1 teaspoon Salt Adjust As Needed
- ½ cup Milk
For Garnishing
- 1 teaspoon Cumin Powder
- 1 teaspoon Red Chili Powder
- ¼ cup KaraBoondhi
- Coriander Leaves For Garnishing
- ¼ cup Carrot Grated
Instructions
Soaking Urad Dal
- Soak the Ulundu(Urad Dal) and rice in water for 2 hours. After 2 hours strain the water.
Grinding Vada Batter
- Strain it and grind it in a grinder by adding 3 tablespoon of water along with green chili and ginger. Grind it till the urdhal is smooth without any lumps. If we grind it in mixer, just add water little by little at a time and grind it till the batter is smooth. Do not add more water. Take it from grinder after the Urad Dal is ground properly. If you take the flour in your wet hands, it should roll like a ball. If we drop a pinch of batter in water, it should float it in water. If the batter gets sunk, then we need to grind it more. This is the right stage to remove from the grinder. If we are grinding in mixer, then take out the smooth vada batter and beat it nicely for 3-5 minutes using a whisk or ladle. This will aerate the batter. This step is very important and not to be skipped, we if are grinding batter in mixer, otherwise, the vada will be harder.
Garnish the Batter
- Take out the batter from grinder in a mixing bowl. Add Salt, Curry Leaves and Coriander Leaves and mix the batter and keep it ready.
Grinding Process for Curd Mixture
- In a mixer jar, add grated coconut, green chili, ginger and cashews and grind everything to a smooth paste and keep it aside.
Prepare Curd Mixture
- In a mixing bowl, take the curd and beat nicely. Add Ground Coconut-spice paste and mix well. Also add salt, and stir well. This semi-thick Curd Mixture is used for serving the vada.
Prepare Diluted Curd Mixture
- Now take ¼th of the curd mixture which we prepared in the last step and dilute it with 1 cup of water and ½ cup of milk. Adjust the salt. This diluted buttermilk is used for dipping the fried vadas. Some of us usually do this by dipping the vadas in hot water before topping up with curd, but i personally feel that hot water is making the vadas more softer and reduces the taste. Refrigerate the thick curd mixture till serving.
Deep Frying Vada
- Heat oil in a pan. Check the hotness of the oil. If you drop a pinch of batter, it should raise immediately in the oil. Then the oil is ready. Wet your fingers and palm with water and take a dollop of batter, roll it like a ball, pat it in center and make a home and then gently drop in oil. In each batch add 3-4 pieces and deep fry the vada till they are crispy and golden brown. Flip the vada so that they get evenly fried up and make sure the flame is low while frying the vada. Take out the fried vada and keep it on a paper towel to drain excess oil. Instead of using a palm, we can use wet banana leaf or we a zipper cover and keep a lemon sized batter and then make a hole in the middle and gently flip the vada into the oil.
Dipping Fried Vada
- After each batch of deep frying, dip the vadas in the diluted buttermilk mixture for 5 mins or till the next batch is ready. Flip and dip the other side of the vada too. Take out the dipped vadas and place it in a plate. Repeat this step for rest of the fried vadas. We can refrigerate the soaked vadas till serving.
Serving Process
- Just before serving, In a serving bowl, add 2-3 ladle of thick buttermilk. Place 2 vada in the serving bowl. Sprinkle cumin powder, red chili powder, Karaboondhi, Grated Carrot and garnish with coriander leaves.
Slurp!!!
- Ready to devour the delicious Curd Vada.
Nutritional Info
Nutrition Facts
Thayir Vadai | South Indian Dahi Vada
Amount Per Serving (1 Vada)
Calories 131
Calories from Fat 72
% Daily Value*
Fat 8g12%
Carbohydrates 22g7%
Sugar 2g2%
Protein 5g10%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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INSTRUCTIONS WITH STEP BY STEP PICTURES:
SOAKING URAD DAL
- Soak the Ulundu(Urad Dal) and rice in water for 2 hours. After 2 hours strain the water.
GRINDING VADA BATTER
- Strain it and grind it in a grinder by adding 3 tablespoon of water along with green chili and ginger. Grind it till the urdhal is smooth without any lumps. If we grind it in mixer, just add water little by little at a time and grind it till the batter is smooth. Do not add more water.
- Take it from grinder after the Urad Dal is ground properly. If you take the flour in your wet hands, it should roll like a ball. If we drop a pinch of batter in water, it should float it in water. If the batter gets sunk, then we need to grind it more. This is the right stage to remove from the grinder. If we are grinding in mixer, then take out the smooth vada batter and beat it nicely for 3-5 minutes using a whisk or ladle. This will aerate the batter. This step is very important and not to be skipped, we if are grinding batter in mixer, otherwise, the vada will be harder.
GARNISH THE BATTER
- Take out the batter from grinder in a mixing bowl. Add Salt, Curry Leaves and Coriander Leaves
- Mix the batter and keep it ready.
GRINDING PROCESS FOR CURD MIXTURE
- In a mixer jar, add grated coconut, green chili, ginger and cashews
- Grind everything to a smooth paste and keep it aside.
PREPARE CURD MIXTURE
- In a mixing bowl, take the curd and beat nicely.
- Add Ground Coconut-spice paste and mix well. Also add salt, and stir well. This semi-thick Curd Mixture is used for serving the vada.
PREPARE DILUTED CURD MIXTURE
- Now take ¼th of the curd mixture which we prepared in the last step and dilute it with 1 cup of water and ½ cup of milk. Adjust the salt. This diluted buttermilk is used for dipping the fried vadas. Some of us usually do this by dipping the vadas in hot water before topping up with curd, but i personally feel that hot water is making the vadas more softer and reduces the taste. Refrigerate the thick curd mixture till serving.
DEEP FRYING VADA
- Heat oil in a pan. Check the hotness of the oil. If you drop a pinch of batter, it should raise immediately in the oil. Then the oil is ready. Wet your fingers and palm with water and take a dollop of batter, roll it like a ball, pat it in center and make a home and then gently drop in oil. In each batch add 3-4 pieces and deep fry the vada till they are crispy and golden brown.
- Flip the vada so that they get evenly fried up and make sure the flame is low while frying the vada. Take out the fried vada and keep it on a paper towel to drain excess oil. Instead of using a palm, we can use wet banana leaf or we a zipper cover and keep a lemon sized batter and then make a hole in the middle and gently flip the vada into the oil.
DIPPING FRIED VADA
- After each batch of deep frying, dip the vadas in the diluted buttermilk mixture for 5 mins or till the next batch is ready. Flip and dip the other side of the vada too. Take out the dipped vadas and place it in a plate. Repeat this step for rest of the fried vadas. We can refrigerate the soaked vadas till serving.
SERVING PROCESS
- Just before serving, In a serving bowl, add 2-3 ladle of thick buttermilk. Place 2 vada in the serving bowl. Sprinkle cumin powder, red chili powder, Karaboondhi, Grated Carrot and garnish with coriander leaves.
SLURP!!!
- Ready to devour the delicious Curd Vada.
