Blogging Marathon - Day Two - Instant Dahi Vada

Today is Raksha Bandhan and my cousins are coming over to my place for the celebrations. Being just 2 sisters we never really had much of Raksha Bandhan Celebrations as a kid. But as we grew up we started sharing a special bond with the cousins and they filled in that space. They are all so special and I have such great memories of this day.Choosing the right kind of Rakhis for them(it better be those decent ones or else friends would make fun at school) or buying little gifts for them and of course the festival food...mostly sweets. But that one dish that we really enjoyed used to be Dahi Vadas. Maa would very diligently remember to soak the dals,make the imli /pudina chutneys and make the most delicious fluffy soft melt in your mouth dahi vadas. And there is nothing better than home made stuff. I always seem to have a problem with the store bought ones...either the dahi mix is too sour or too spicy..that little sweetness would always be missing. I however wish that I could be half as diligent and dedicated as my Maa is! 
Nevertheless I decided to make them at home and because I forgot to soak in the dals I fell back on my trick of making Instant Dahi Vadas. All you need is a packet of the instant Vada mix , some yoghurt and a dry roasted spice mix that I always keep handy(sharing the recipe of same along with this post)! I had bought some dhania and tomato flavoured bhujiyas the other day and added them to my Dahi Vadas for that perfect crunch!

Ingredients:

Instant Vada Mix - 1 packet ( I used MTR's)

Refined oil - for frying the vadas

Curd /Dahi - 500 gms

Salt - to taste

Sugar - 5 tsp

Bhujiya - a handful to add some crunch to the dish

Tamarind sauce / Imli sauce - 3-4 tbsp ( easily available in the markets now)

For the dahi vada masala:

Cumin seeds - 2 tbsp
Coriander Seeds - 2 tbsp
Dry red chillies - 4-5 nos

Dry roast the above spices in a pan lightly and grind into a smooth powder. Keep this spice mix in an air tight jar and use as needed. This goes very well into the raitas too.

Method: 

Make the instant vada mix as per instruction on the packet. Make sure that the mix is not too runny and has a little thick consistency.

In a non stick pan , heat some refined oil. Keep on low flame.
Pour a spoonful of the vada batter into hot oil. 
Fry till slightly brown in colour. Fry all the vadas in similar manner.

 Take it out and drop into a bowl of cold water. 

This step is very important as it will remove all oil from the vadas. After 5 mins, gently squeeze the vadas between your palm and take out the excess water. Do this gently so that the vadas don't break.Keep aside on a plate will we make the curd mix.

For the curd mix. Take the 500 gms dahi and add a little water to adjust the consistency.
Now add the sugar , salt to taste , 3-4 tbsp of the spice mix and mix well.

Arrange the vadas on a serving dish and slowly add the curd/dahi mix on top.It is best served cold.So refrigerate for half and hour.
Garnish with tamarind/imli sauce and bhujia before serving.

#Also sharing below the original vada recipe for your use.
Soak a cup each of urad dal and moong dal overnight. Next morning grind them into a smooth paste. Mix well , add salt to taste and follow the rest of the steps as above.