A classic recipe passed down by my grandmother, these Dahi Baray or Dahi Bhallay are made entirely with Maash or Urad Daal and are tender, fulsome, and satisfying. Tips for making and freezing them in post!
Are they the same as Dahi Phulki?
While both are fried and submerged in yoghurt that's where the commonalities stop.
The key difference between a bhalla and a phulki is the ingredients: bhallay are made entirely with maash/urad daal and phulki with besan or gram flour.
In other words a bara is a lentil fritter whereas a phulki is a pakora. You will sometimes see a mix of besan and daal in dahi bhallay, but that is not how they are traditionally made. Now you will also see "phulki" made with moong daal flour, especially the sweet kind!
My grandmother, whose recipe this is, was quite adamant that while besan can be added in to correct the texture it's best you get it right the first time.
Dahi Baray Tips and Tricks
Dahi Bhalla are easy enough, but here are four must knows tips for the softest dahi ones.
1.) Soak your Maash ki daal in advance - overnight is best, but six hours works too. The daal has to be able to break down to grind
2.) Don't add too much water with your Maash ki Daal - you'll end up with watery dahi baray.
3.) If you do end up with watery dahi baray then just add a little besan to the batter and it will fix them! Start with a tbsp or two and do a test batch.
How do I know if my batter is just right?
Now you know I always recommend a test fry, but if you want to be sure that you're in business before frying then here is a must know tip.
Drop a dollop of dahi baray batter in a bowl of water: if it floats you're good
How to Freeze them
Once you fry the fritters for the dahi baray then let them cool completely and put in a ziploc bag, making sure to squeeze all the air out that you can. Then you can freeze them and pull them out as needed. Just defrost at room temperature and give them a warm salted water bath and proceed.
Dahi Baray Always Remind Me Of...
Tried these Dahi Bhallay? Rate the recipe below! I'd love to see yours so do tag me in your recreations on Instagram!
Soft Dahi Baray
Ingredients
Yogurt Mix
- Yogurt 2 pounds or about 1 ½ times a 750g yogurt carton
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 ½ tsp red chilli powder
- 1 to 1 ½ tsp cumin powder
Baras or Fried Lentil Dumplings
- 1 cup ma'ash/urad daal - the white kind covered with water and soaked overnight (150g)
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon cumin powder
- ½ teaspoon red chilli powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ inch piece ginger (peeled, roughly chopped)
Garnish
- Chaat Masala Powder
- Red Chilli Powder
- Tamarind Chutney
- Finely Chopped Cilantro
- Coriander/Mint Chutney
Instructions
For the yogurt mix
- Combine the yogurt, sugar and spices along with ½ cup of water and whisk. I suggest starting with half the amount of chilli powder and cumin powder unless like me you are a fan.
- Taste and check seasoning. Put it in the fridge while you work on the dumplings.
For the dumplings
- Drain the maash ki Daal making sure to reserve about ⅓ cup of soaking liquid.
- Grind all the baray ingredients in a blender along with ¼ cup of the daal water. Only add more if absolutely necessary. You want a very thick paste.
- Transfer the mixture to a bowl
- For softer Dahi Baray: Whisk energetically to create volume in the batter, about 4-5 minutes with a large whisk. 2 minutes with an electric mixer works.
- Heat a skillet and add 2 inches of oil and put on medium-high heat for the oil to heat through.
- Meanwhile get another pan or bowl - at least 10 inches in diameter and fill it ⅔ of the way with water. Add a pinch of salt in the water
- Now get a tray or platter and line it with paper towels to help drain the grease from the dumplings.
- Once the oil heats up then gently place a dollop of the batter into the hot oil.
- After a minute and a half the dumpling will turn a lovely golden color at which point you should turn them over and cook for another minute and a half.
- Remove from the oil and drain on paper towels.
- Put the dumplings in the water bath for a few minutes
To Assemble
- Pour a layer of yogurt mix into your dish of choice.
- Remove the dumplings from the water one by one, gently squeezing them beneath your palms to drain the excess water and then lay them out in rows on top of the yogurt until your dish is filled.
- Top with enough of the yogurt to adequately cover the dumplings and refrigerate.
- Leave it for atleast an hour so the flavours soak through the dumplings.
- Top with your garnishes of choice
Tasneem Rao says
Hi ! I make similar types but how do u squeeze water out from the warm water bath n retain shape of wada’s too .. I struggle it ends up flat .. pls guide
Sarah Mir says
Hi Tasneem! So the trick is to keep your hand slightly cupped while you squeeze out the water, that way they don't break!
Farwah says
Last night's iftar was the first time ever in my life that I made dahi baray and thanks to this easy step by step recipe, it seemed like a fun task. We all had as much fun eating these as I had preparing them; so tasty and delish!
Farwah says
can we store/freeze them for later use? just the baray after we give them water bath? thinking of making a big batch for all of ramzan. thanks
Sarah Mir says
Hi Farwah! I think it's in the recipe post, but you can freeze them after frying and before the water bath. Then when you reuse them just thaw and immerse in a warm water bath! enjoy
Namrta Bangia says
I made these! And they were excellent. Thank you for such a yummy and simple recipe!
Wajiha says
How many people does this recipe serve?
Sarah Mir says
sorry I am just seeing this come up now - I want to say it serves a small army (lol) but I think 8+ easy
Ambreen (Simply Sweet 'n Savory) says
This looks absolutely delicious, my favorite!
sarahjmir says
Thanks Ambreen!
Lemon Cake Break says
This looks so delicious... like SO delicious. I want to eat one right now!
myninjanaan says
These look amazing! I make them similarly too, but I use Urud flour instead of the actual daal... with a toddler, I take as many shortcuts as I can lol 🙂
sarahjmir says
A.) I absolutely LOVE the name of your blog B.) I didn't even know that Urud flour existed until someone told me about it a few days ago - would make the whole process much quicker and C.) Thanks for stopping by!
Gigi says
I'm definitely making this for our next dinner party!
sarahjmir says
Ooh please let me know how they turn out!
Sumreen says
If I want to double the recipe, do I just double all the ingredients?
Sarah Mir says
Yup! This one doubles well!
Move Eat Create says
Oooh, this sounds amazing.
sarahjmir says
They are! Like I said I am SO grateful that I am pregnany - don't have to hold back on these babies anymore!