SPICY DAHI BHALLA(lentil dumplings in yogurt)

Whenever you think of Indian street food, the first thing that comes up is chaat papdi, dahi bhalle, samose, jalebi’s and so on…,coming to think of it, the scene is actually totally dominated with “chaat” and it’s variants, the sweet,sour,salty taste of chaat is loved by all, 99% of us find it irresistible and most of us salivate at the mere thought of it…

I think the combination of the freshest and best ingredients is the recipe for superb dahi bhalle, In fact I like it more than “papdi chaat”, the soft melting bhalla’s are mind blowing!Here I am taking it a notch higher and stuffing them with dry fruit, bhallas that are stuffed like this and shaped into semi circ'les are known as “gujiya”,not to be confused with the sweet version of it, this is salty, live, robust and bursting with energy….a definite kick to the tastebuds and a must try!!!

• Ingredients-
• Urad dhuli dal(white lentils)-1/4 cup
• Mung dhuli dal(yellow lentils)-3/4 cup
• Cool, whipped fresh yogurt-1/2 kg
• Fresh ginger juliennes
• Roasted cumin seeds powdered-2 tbsp
• Garam masala-1 tsp
• Fresh ground red chilli powder-acc. to taste
• Tamarind paste-1/2 cup
• Sugar-1/2 cup
• Boiled kabuli chana- 1/2 cup
• Fresh chopped coriander-1/2 cup
• Asafetida-1/4 tsp
• Almonds/cashews and raisins-a few
• Black pepper powder-acc.to taste
• Refined oil for deep frying

Method-

Soak both the dals overnight, next morning grind to a smooth paste with the help of little water.add asafetida, coriander and some chopped green chillies if desired, salt and black pepper, shape into semi circles as shown in picture and stuff with sliced almonds/cashews and raisins, shape with wet hands as it will be sticky-

Keep oil hot in a kadhai ready, drop two at a time into the oil, fry till golden, meanwhile put the tamarind paste and sugar to a boil, stirring frequently to make the imli chutney, add some garam masala and boil rapidl till thick, season and keep aside.

Drop the gujiyas into a pan of hot water and soak for 5 minutes.

To serve, squeeze water out of gujiyas by pressing down lightly with hands, place on serving plate, drizzle cooled whipped yogurt, then imli chutney, garam masala, chilli flakes, chana, ginger juliennes, salt, roasted cumin seed powder, pepper and green coriander as shown in picture…indulge in a piece of heaven!!!

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