It is only a couple of weeks before the festival of lights arrives! The days before the arrival of any festival are always filled with excitement and also insane amount of work and the same goes for Diwali. The house needs to be thoroughly deep cleaned (as is a practice in most Hindu households), there is shopping to be done, gifts to be bought and packed, menu to be decided for pre-Diwali parties. If your dinner party theme is Indian food, then Dahi Bhalla are bound to be served almost without fail; either as a starter in form of chaat or as an accompaniment to the main course. When you have so much on your platter already, you need a recipe that will take only a few minutes of your precious time and deliver the same result, which is – soft, melt in the mouth bhalle (fritters). This instant dahi bhalle recipe comes handy when you are facing time crunch. The batter needs soaking time of approximately ten minutes, four to five minutes of frying (even less in this recipe since I did not deep fry the bhalle) and then fifteen to twenty minutes of soaking the fritters and your bhalle are ready in just half an hour (well, approximately). Keep the chutneys ready a day or two before you intend to serve them and you are good to go 😊 A delicious, tangy, spicy treat is ready!
For Bhalle / Fritters
1 C Suji (Semolina)
1 C Yogurt
3 – 4 tbsp Water
1 tsp finely chopped Ginger
1 – 2 tsp finely chopped Green Chili (adjust amount to taste)
½ tsp Salt
¼ tsp Baking Soda
½ tsp Salt (for soaking)
A few tbsp Oil for frying
Whisk everything together except the last three ingredients of the list. Make a smooth batter and cover the batter for ten minutes.
Meanwhile, place a pot with litre of water on heat. Stir in half a teaspoon of salt and asafoetida and heat till it is a little more than warm. Switch off heat, cover the pot and set aside.
Add baking soda to the batter and mix it into the batter. The batter should not be too thick nor thin. (not of pouring consistency)
Heat an appe/ paniyaram pan, also called aebleskiver pan. Add half a teaspoon oil in each cavity. Fill each cavity with the batter and cook covered for a minute or till the batter begins to set.
Flip the batter, using a spoon or the wooden small stick, and cook the other side for another minute or more. All the cooking needs to take place on low medium heat.
Once the fritters are done, put them in the salted water and keep the first batch soaked for fifteen to twenty minutes. Remove each fritter and gently squeeze out the water (be gentle so as not to break the bhalla) Keep them in a plate.
Proceed with the next batch in the same manner.
Yield – Approximately 12 Bhalle (+/-) depending on the size
Note – Do not use fine semolina for this recipe.
Note – Adding green chilies and ginger is optional since not many people appreciate these two in the bhalla chaat.
Note – The soaking time of the bhalla will depend on the temperature of the water.
Note – In case you do not have a paniyaram pan, go ahead a deep fry the batter to make bhalle.
For Yogurt
1 kg Yogurt, strained to remove excess water
Salt to taste
1 tsp roasted & powdered Cumin Seeds
½ tsp Garam Masala
2 tsp Chaat Masala
¼ tsp Red Chili Powder
¼ tsp Blak Pepper
½ tsp Caster Sugar (optional)
½ tsp powdered Dry Mint Leaves
1/2 tsp Black Salt (i do not use regular salt for the chaat)
Whisk everything together, gently, using a hand whisk (do not do this in a blender)
Mix all the ingredients together and adjust spices and sugar to taste.
Add a little milk if the yogurt is too thick. The consistency of the yogurt should be creamy.
Add the bhalle to the yogurt and gently cover them with yogurt.
Note – strain the yogurt for approximately half an hour depending on the yogurt you have used. Store brought ones are usually somewhat thick in comparison to home made one.
FOR MAKING PARFAIT
1½ cup boiled Chickpeas
Arils of 1 large Pomegranate
250 gm Green Chutney (thin it down if required)
250 gm Tamarind Chutney (thin it down if required)
A few tablespoons thin Sev (also called Nylon Sev),
A few tablespoons of Boondi (tiny round chickpea fritters), optional
Some extra roasted Cumin seeds and Chaat Masala for sprinkling over the top
Glasses for serving
Begin by adding chickpeas to the glass, followed by drizzle of yogurt (I did not do this here and it was purely for optics. Actually I forgot to strain the yogurt. Which meant that the thin consistency of yogurt would spoil the layers) Drizzling yogurt over the chickpeas is mandatory else the parfait will be dry once you hit the bottom layers.
Top it with some pomegranate arils and then a bhalla. Top the rest of the space in the glass with yogurt, leaving some space for chutney and other toppings.
Drizzle generously with both the chutneys, a little boondi, some sev, a few arils of pomegranate and a sprinkle of roasted cumin powder and chaat masala.
And done! Serve and enjoy!
Serves – 12 (approx no.)
thanks for your visit and see you soon again with another exciting recipe!
Beautiful, exotic and so yummy…I wish I could enjoy one with you :-))
Aww…would love to have you over Angie and treat you to this chaat 🙂
So beautiful, and combination of flavors I’ve never had together! I love this interesting treat!
It is very popular and much loved dish in India 🙂
What a gorgeous recipe! I’m mostly familiar with parfaits in a sweeter form with fruit, granola, etc…but I’m loving this savory version! So colorful, too!
Thanks David. 🙂
Taruna, this is the most fascinating chaat I’ve seen! Love all the flavors!
Thank you so much Kelly. Chaat is all about a riot of flavors in a plate! 😀
My mouth waters just from looking at this fancy dessert!
Your photos are so beautiful, Taruna. This looks so delicious and the presentation is lovely.
Thank you so much Susan 🙂
What gorgeous parfaits! Such an unique, flavorful dish…perfect for the holidays!
Thank you Liz 🙂
This is another interesting recipe…sounds and looks so delicious…thanks for sharing it…I would love the opportunity to try it.
Have a great rest of the week!
Thank you Juliana. I hope you enjoy it 🙂
This is such a fun recipe. Quick, healthy, easy and so tasty! I just love the presentation too.
It is indeed all that 🙂 Thank you so much Natasha.