In my experience, all humans love food. Some of us live in denial, while others go overboard. At least, these are the only two kinds of people I meet in my practise. And then there are people like me, who constantly find healthful ways to modulate fat and sugar loaded recipes into fat and sugar free ones.

Don’t get me wrong, you should eat cake once in a while or enjoy that fried snack you have been craving since forever. But it shouldn’t be a daily routine. Try alternatives and you will be surprised how recipes turn out so well. My maid is surprised at how I make my biryani with zero oil. Yes, you heard it right. And trust me when I say, whoever has tasted it, loooooved it!

In my pursuit of churning out healthful recipes, I have finally managed to make Dahi vada without frying. Personally, I found it way softer and tastier than the fried version. Don’t go by my words, try it out yourself so I can proudly say, ‘I TOLD YOU SO!’.

NON-FRIED DAHI VADA

Makes approx. 10 – 14 vadas.

Ingredients:

• Urad dal – ¼ cup
• Moong dal – ¼ cup
• Besan – 2 tbsp
• Eno – 1 packet
• Curd – Sweetened with honey (Yay! Sugar free!)
• Hing – a pinch (optional)
• Salt – as per taste
• Coriander leaves – handful

Instructions:

1. Wash both the dals thoroughly and soak them together in water, overnight for 7-8 hours. The morning result should be: swollen and soft, should break if squished hard between fingers.
2. Grind the dals into a fine thick paste. Make sure not to use water. In case it just does not blend, you can use 1-2 tbsp only for grinding.
3. Empty the paste into a mixing bowl. Add 2 tbsp of besan to it and stir well.
4. Heat water in your idli making pot/cooker. In case of non-stick idli moulds, do not Brush the normal steel/aluminium ones with very little oil, just enough for greasing purpose.
5. Once the idli pot/ cooker is prepped up, add 1 packet of Eno into the batter and stir. The batter will swell up. I use my hands and keep mixing in one direction till the fluffiness settles a little.
6. With your hands, scoop little batter (approximately one tablespoon) and place it in the centre of the mould. Don’t spread it. It should only cover the centre as it will spread and swell.
7. Steam the vada for 20 minutes on a slow flame. Check with a toothpick or a knife. If it comes out clean, you are good to go. I have squeezed the vada to show how soft and airy it is.
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8. Remove the idli stand and scoop out the steamed vadas and put them in a lukewarm water bath.

Things to remember about the water bath:

• Add salt and hing to it. Gives a nice flavour.
• Quantity of the water should be enough to steep the vada in them.
• Make sure the water is not too hot.

9. Let the vadas soak in water for 10 mins. Once done, squeeze out only a little of the water.
10. Layer it in a dish. Add the honey sweetened curd. Top it with green coriander chutney and tamarind chutney.
11. Sprinkle some red chili powder and garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Let it set in the fridge for 30- 60 mins.
12. Serve it chilled.

Make it this weekend and let me know how it goes! Share your pictures and feedbacks, makes me hustle harder to meet your expectations!

Lots of love,

Fatema Valikarimwala.