"Chaat" and Chat

I have been enjoying this warm sunny Saturday...and I just finished a wonderful lunch with my BFF. She comes into the city every Saturday to train for a marathon, and after several weeks of not being able to meet up, we finally had a chat-fest over lunch.

I wanted to make a cool summer appetizer and settled on one of my favorite chaats or Indian street foods- Dahi Vada or lentil balls in yogurt.

Dahi Vada

(makes about 20 balls and serves 3)

For the Vadas:

• Soak 1 cup urad dal in warm water for 4-8 hours. Drain and process the dal in a food processor or blender to make a thick smooth batter. 
• Add 1/2 tsp of salt and 2 finely chopped chillies to the batter and mix. 
• Drop teaspoonfuls of batter into hot oil and deep fry to make golden-brown vadas.
• After frying, drop the vadas gently into a bowl of warm water.
• After soaking for a few minutes, remove each vada, press it between your palms to squeeze out excess water and then refrigerate them to chill.

For the Yogurt Sauce, whip together:

• 2-3 cups yogurt
• milk if needed to thin the yogurt
• salt to taste
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp cumin-coriander powder
• 1 tbsp minced cilantro
• dash of red chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp chaat masala

To serve: Simply place the vadas in a bowl and pour yogurt sauce on top. Add a spoonful of sweet chutney (such as tamarind or date chutney) and enjoy a tangy chaat.

In many ways it is a perfect appetizer- it can be made in advance, chilled and needs no re-heating. It is not much to look at, but it tastes great.