Dahivadas-with a twist :)

The twist in the recipe is---'There is no frying involved!!'  For someone like me, who is not very fond of frying, this is a great option. 

We have new Indian neighbors in our apartment (We haven't met them yet) and every evening when Nisarg returns from the office, the whole lobby area smells of some delicious Indian food :). Last week or so, he informed me that the neighbors were having dahivadas, and I suddenly remembered that my bhabhi used to make this dish without frying the vadas!! So, I got on the phone with bhabhi and made these the very next day. 

Ingredients:

For Vadas:

1 cup green moong daal (husk makes the vadas softer)

1 tbsp ginger-chili paste

15-17 raisins

oil spray, salt as needed

For Garnishing:

2 cups yogurt

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1/3 cup tamarind chutney

1 tsp sugar

chili powder, roasted cumin powder to sprinkle

salt as needed

Method:

• Wash and soak moong daal for about 4 hours. Grind in the mixie along with ginger-garlic paste and salt. Use minimum amount of water to make the vada batter.
• Heat up the sandwich maker and once it is hot enough, coat with oil spray and pour batter. Top with raisins and let it cook.
• Place the cooked vadas in lukewarm water and soak for 30-40 minutes. 
• Mix yogurt, salt, sugar with a hand-mixie and add some amount of water to make smooth consistency. 
• Squeeze the vadas gently to remove water and place in a large bowl. Pour yogurt mixture over it and let it soak for 15-20 minutes.
• Drizzle tamarind chutney over the mixture and sprinkle with cilantro, chili powder and cumin powder. 

Enjoy!!!