Appe pan dahi vadas

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Delicious lentil fritters – not fried – dunked in flavoured yoghurt and topped off with lip smacking spicy and sweet chutneys. An absolute dreamy snack!

Dahi vadas, undoubtedly feature in my top five favourite Indian snacks. Dahi is Hindi for yoghurt, while vadas mean fritters. So, dahi vadas are lentil fritters dunked in whisked yoghurt and topped with a sweet and tangy chutney and a spicy green chutney. And finally, finished off with a drizzle of chaat masala and pink salt! And that, my friends, is a serious flavour bomb. The amalgam of sweet, tangy, spicy flavours, blanketing spongy lentil fritters, makes this an irresistible snack. At least, I can’t stop myself at one or two of these, once I start having them. Therefore, to make this a guilt-free indulgence, here is my recipe of appe pan dahi vadas.

Appe pans, very similar to aebleskiver pans, are a very useful kitchen equipment. These cast iron pans with hemispherical grooves, are especially a blessing when you want to shallow fry fritters. That is because, you will barely need about a teaspoon (even lesser) of oil/fat per fritter. And that is what I have used I make my lentil fritters for my dahi vadas. This also means that, you won’t really need to keep a tab on how many of these deliciousness you are having!

Perfecting the vadas

There are two versions of the dahi vadas. One is the south Indian one and second is the north Indian one. My appe pan dahi vadas are the latter one. The difference between the two, broadly, is the addition of the chutneys. So, you could say this recipe does involve a few steps. Namely, soaking the lentils to eventually make the fritters, making the chutneys and finally assembling the dish. But don’t be disheartened. Even though a four step method, none of these will take up a lot of time. However, one bit that will need some time is letting the urad dal soak. The lentils will need to be soaked in water for about 6-8 hours or overnight. This will allow the lentils to boom, resulting in a much smoother grind, which in turn will mean fluffy, airy fritters. And that is a must for the perfect dahi vada.

Second very important point to remember is that, while running the dal to a fine paste, use as little water as possible. It might take a few iterations with your mixer, but the lentils will eventually come together to form a smooth paste. And when it does, you will need to incorporate air into it, by whisking it vigorously. This is another small bit that will ensure airy, fluffy fritters, meaning perfect dahi vadas.

Once you have “appe pan-fried” the vadas, immediately transfer them to a bowl of hing flavoured lukewarm water. The warm fritters will soak the water and soften up. And the asafetida renders a lovely fragrance and also aids with digestion. Don’t worry, we will squeeze the water out before we serve them! 🙂

The chutneys

The two chutneys – the sweet tangy one and the spicy green one – are very easy to put together. While, the first one is made using a combination of dates, tamarind and jaggery, the latter with fresh coriander and mint leaves. However, the way they are made a pretty different. On one hand where the green chutney is simply ground to a smooth paste, the dates one is cooked and then blended. A pro tip here, you can make the dates chutney the previous day and stock it up up. It actually tastes much better a day old. This will also save you time on the day you are planning to serve the appe pan dahi vadas. The green chutney, tastes best fresh. Moreover, it is not very time consuming to make it as well.

You can, in fact, bookmark these recipes as they form an integral part of Indian snacks.

The dahi

Coming to the yoghurt, I use Greek yoghurt for this recipe. But if you have some that you set at home, by all means use it. So, even before I start grinding the urid dal for the vadas, I prep the yoghurt. By that I mean, whisking it until it is lump free and then letting it sit in the fridge, until needed. Whisking the yoghurt gives it a smooth, creamy texture, which is so desirable for this recipe. I also flavour it with some salt and sugar. This step keeps the dahi from tasting bland. And chilled yoghurt simply makes the dish more enjoyable.

Assembling the dish

Once you have all the components ready for your dahi vadas, putting the dish together is easy. Simply place the appe pan fried vadas on a bed of yoghurt, douse it with some more of it, top it with the chutneys and the masalas. And that is it!  Easy peasy.

I bet this build-up about the delicious Indian snack, must have been tempting. And the fact that they are not deep fried, make them even more appealing. So, do make some soon for yourself and your loved ones. You can serve these dahi vadas as appetisers, as a tea time snack and even for brunch. In particular, this is a served during Holi, the festival of colours, in a lot of Indian homes. So, you could as well make these among other Holi delicacies. Moreover, it is also a super delicious summer recipe.

And if you do ry this recipe or any other of mine, do send me your pictures or tag me on Instagram. I’d be thrilled to see they they turned out for you. You can also drop your feedback in the comments section below.

Also see,

Appe pan sabudana vada

Chole chaat (Indian chickpea salad)

Eat hearty!