Healthy version of classic Dahi balla, Steamed lentil balls aka bhalla drenched into creamy greek yogurt sauce, topped with sweet and spicy chutney and crunchy goodies like sev, boondi & pomegranate.
Dahi Bhalla aka Dahi Wava are deep fried lentil balls. They are drenched in creamy yogurt sauce and topped with assorted chutney and toppings. This dish is hands down one of the most famous dishes during warmer months in India. This specific dish is great for meal prep and stays good in fridge for few days. I love these goodies so much and I always wished I could eat it often if they were not deep fried.
Besides the frying part, this is one of those dishes that can be made very healthy just by swapping full fat regular yogurt with fat free greek yogurt. Baking the bhalla takes this healthy concept to next level by avoiding deep frying and using close to no oil to make. The best part about this dish is the toppings. Fresh pomogranate seeds, thin sev, savory boondi, fresh cilantro and assorted chutney are some great topping options. The flavors and texture are out of these world wen you put it all together.
I love making these Steamed Dahi Bhalla during Holi time. And the reason being, this particular dish that falls into chaat category, makes a great recipe for spring time with amazing bright colors and flavors. I not not going to false claim by saying that the steamed bhalla has same exact soft texture as deep fried bhallas. However, it is pretty close to it and honestly comes out to be amazing with texture. Especially when you use a little Eno/fruit salt before baking them.
This recipe is great for meal prepping. You can simply prepare everything listed below in advance and assemble on the day of eating. You will be surprised how quickly you can bring an amzing fiber and protein packed meal to a table that the whole family will enjoy, including kids! I am a sucker for good chaat dishes as it represents Indian Street Foods at it’s best. If you are anything like me, go ahead and give this recipe a try and thank me later!
If you like cooling yogurt based easy chaats, check out my Dahi Boondi Chaat. I suggest you try this recipe of mine and let me know how you like it. Either leave me a comment below or tag me on Instagram @myvegetarianroots. I would love to get your feedback on my recipes.
Happy & Healthy Eating!
Steamed Dahi Bhalla
Ingredients
Steam Bhalla Ingredients
- ¾ cup Urad Dal
- ¼ cup Yellow Mung Dal
- 2 Thai Green Chili
- 1 inch Ginger Root
- 1 tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Roasted Cumin Powder
- ¼ cup Water
- 1 tsp Eno
- ¼ cup Chopped Cashews
- ¼ cup Raisins
Yogurt Sauce
- 32 oz Fat Free Plain Greek Yogurt
- ¼ cup Water only if needed
- ¼ cup Powdered Sugar
- ¾ tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Roasted Cumin Powder
Thin Yogurt Water to soak bhalla
- â…“ cup Fat Free Plain Greek Yogurt
- 3 cup Water
- ½ tsp Black Salt
- ½ tsp Roasted Cumin Powder
Toppings
- ½ cup Date Tamarind Chutney https://myvegetarianroots.com/ultimate-chutney-lineup/
- ½ cup Cilantro Mint Chutney https://myvegetarianroots.com/ultimate-chutney-lineup/
- ½ cup Thin Sev
- ½ cup Pomegranate Seeds
- ¼ cup Savory Boondi
- ¼ cup Chopped Cilantro
- 1 tsp Kashmiri Red Chili Powder
- 1 tsp Roasted Cumin Powder
- ½ tsp Black Salt
Instructions
Steamed Bhalla
- Mix Ural dal and yellow mung dal. Wash 3-4 times until the water run clear and soak them for 4-6 hours.
- Once soaked, remove all the water from the lentils. Grind it with ¼ cup of water 2 thai green chili, 1 inch ginger root, 1 tsp salt and ½ tsp roasted cumin powder using Vitamix like blender. Grind it until almost smooth. Add 1 tbsp of additional water at a time if needed to grind the batter. The batter should not get runny.
- Once batter is ready, it it out in a mixing bowl and whist it vigorously for at least 10 minutes. I like using Kitchenaid standing mixture with the whisk attachment for this step.
- If baking the bhalla, add 1 tsp of eno (fruit salt) once you are almost done whisking. Skip eno if you are deep frying the bhalla. Once whisking is done, drop a small amount of batter in a bowl of water, if the batter floats on top, that means the batter is ready. If it falls apart or sinks, keep whisking until you get it to flow in a bowl of water.
- Once ready, grease idli molds. Place a big dollop of batter in each idli mold and steam them for 12 minutes, or test out by poking toothpick in the steamed bhallas, if they come out clean that means they are done steaming.
Soaking of bhallas
- While bhallas are steaming, mix ⅓ cup of yogurt, ½ tsp of black salt and ½ tsp of roasted cumin powder with 3 cups of water. Mix it all well so that there are no lumps. I like using emerson blende for this step.
- Once bhallas are done steaming, let it sit at room temperature just for couple of minutes. Then take them out of the idli mold and put them into water + yogurt liquid for 10-15 minutes. Let them to soak up the liquid.
- After soaking of 10-15 min, take one bhalla at a time between your palms and gently squeeze some liquid out, not all. Keep them a side.
Assemble Dahi Bhalla
- Blend 32 oz of greek yogurt with ¼ cup of water, ¼ cup of powdered sugar, ¾ tsp of salt and ½ tsp of roasted cumin powder until it becomes thick smooth liquid.
- Take a wide tray like glass baking tray, pour just a little thick yogurt sauce at the bottom. Place prepared bhallas in single layer on top of yogurt layer.
- Then pour rest of the thick yogurt sauce on top of bhalla so that each bhallas are well covered with it.
- Sprinkle it with mix of kashmiri red chili powder, black salt and roasted cumin powder.
- Drizzle generous amount of sweet and spicy chutney on top.
- Refrigerate it for 20 minutes before serving.
- Right before serving, Sprinkle generous amount of sev, pomegranate seeds, savory boondi and chopped cilantro.
