Thayir vadai / Dahi vada

Dahi vadas are everybodys favorite in my house. I am so hooked up to its taste that I can never ever resist it in any restaurant. If I see it on the menu then I am sure to try it. But the best ones are the ones made at home. I love the juiciness, softness, sourness and little spiciness that it has to offer. You can eat a lot of them at the same time as they are not the heavy-kind food being non-greasy.

Vadas are made at all almost all south-indian festivals and at our home it is a must. I make in big batches so that we sure have left-overs to make this leftover special recipe.

Making this is so simple that you will also want to make more than required vadas the next time you make them.

Serves... 2-3 ppl

Serve option... Chilled

This is what u'll need....

Vadas - 5-6 nos
Curd - 1 cup
Cumin powder - 1 tspn
Red chilli powder - 1 tspn
Coriander leaves / boondi / sev for garnish
Salt to taste

Here is the stir....

• Vada recipe is already up for your refernce

• Heat water in a pan. When it comes to a  boil turn off the flame. Drop in the leftover vadas in the hot water and let it sit for about 5 mins till they become very soft but not soggy

• Meanwhile transfer curd to a working bowl and whisk it to remove any lumps. Sprinkle in salt, cumin powder, red chilli powder and whisk it again to blend well. For this I use fresh cumin powder - dry roast few cumin seeds and grind them with your mortar and pestle

• Take out the vadas from the water and squeeze a little to take out excess water. Drop them into the curd. Do the same with all the vadas. Turn them around and flip them to evenly coat the curd on all sides

• Keep this in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours. Let it sit and soak all the juiciness from the curd

• When serving, transfer one or 2 vadas to a small bowl and garnish with a pinch of red cilli powder and cumin powder. Top it with coriander leaves

Note:

• Let it rest for 3-4 hours to get a juicy and soft texture
• Some people dont soak the vadas in water. I learnt this from my mom and have been loving this version from then
• Garnish with fresh boondis or sev for a more crunchy garnish
• Fresh cumin powder tastes better than store bought. I have added this in response to a friends query