Dhaya ambado is our own amchi version of the famous “Dahi vada.”..Dhaya is curd and ambado is the vada wherein it is shaped round like a ball.The batter remains the same as that of the vada but we do not use the toppings like the green chutney and the sweet chutney which is a must in the other versions.Most of the hotels in Karnataka specially the small joints in Udupi , Mangalore belt and even in other places this is how the dahi vada is served and this is my personal favourite too.The recipe is simple but there are few points to be kept in mind to get the ambados perfect…crisp outside and soft inside.So go through all the points mentioned in NOTES carefully specially if you are a beginner or trying this for the first time.
Ingredients :-
- 1 cup of urad dal / black gram dal
- 3 cups of curd
- Salt to taste
- Sugar 3- 4 tbsp (adjust as per preference)
- Oil for deep frying
- 1- 2 green chillies chopped
- A tbsp of chopped ginger
- Handful of curry leaves
- 2 tbsp of coconut bits
For tempering the curd:-
- A tsp of oil
- 1 green chilli finely chopped(optional)
- Sprig of curry leaves
- Tsp of mustard seeds
- Tsp of cumin seeds
For Garnishing:-
- Coriander leaves chopped
- 1/4th cup of boondi
- 1 carrot grated
Method:-
- Soak the urad dal for one and half to two hours after washing them well.
- After 2 hours drain the water completely and transfer it to a mixer jar.
- Grind the urad dal adding a tbsp of water into a smooth paste
- The paste should be thick and not free flowing (Check Notes)
- Remove the ground paste or batter into a wide bowl and whisk (it in one direction only ) using a whisker or your hands to make it airy and fluffy.
- Crush ginger,green chillies and curry leaves and add it to the batter or just tear the curry leaves roughly and add it with other ingredients.
- Add the coconut bits and mix again
- Lastly add the salt and give a mix.
- Now the batter to prepare the ambado is ready
10. Heat oil for deep frying and once the oil is hot ..pinch a small portion of batter into the oil…if it raises up immediately…the oil is hot enough for deep frying.
11. Change the flame to medium high and drop small portions of the batter into the oil and deep fry them till they get a nice golden colour by flipping them once in a while…. so that they are fried from all sides and cooked well
- Once done remove them on to a kitchen towel to remove excess oil
- Similarly deep fry them in batches depending on the size of your pan till all the batter is used up .
- The deep fried ambados are called Biscuit ambado in South Canara and can be had as such with chutney and sambhar as an evening snack or for morning breakfast.
- I have used half of the ambados as evening snack and rest of them for preparing dhaya ambado.
For Dhaya Ambado proceed further as given below
- Allow the deep fried ambado to cool a bit.
- Meanwhile take one cup curd add 1/2 cup water,pinch salt and whisk it well .should be bit thin in consistency.
- Once the ambados are cool enough to handle ..drop them in a bowl of lukewarm water around 7-8 at a time and let it stand for 5 minutes.
- Remove them from water by gently pressing them in between your palms and drop them into the prepared thin curd mix and allow it to soak in it until the thick curd mix is ready.
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You can even refrigerate this if you are not preparing it immediately
- Take the remaining 2 cups curd in another bowl..add salt ,sugar as required and whisk well.
- Prepare the tempering with the mentioned ingredients and add it to the curd.
Refrigerate it for an hour to chill,After an hour remove it from the refrigerator and transfer the ambados which are being soaked in the thin curd mix into this chilled curd .Check for salt and add if required
Dhaya ambados are ready to be served
Garnish with coriander leaves,grated carrot and boondi before serving
Notes:-
1.Do not soak the urad dal for more than 2 hours as it may soak oil while deep frying.I have soaked it for 1 1/2 hours .
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While grinding make sure to grind it in two to three batches depending on the size of your mixer jar and to avoid overloading as we need to grind it very thick.
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Do not add more than a tbsp of water at a time and add more only if required OR if your mixer does not operate .
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I have added Tbsp of water around 2-3 times per batch and ground it in three batches
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I have crushed the ginger green chillies and curry leaves in a mixer ..you can finely chop them too .
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It is recommended to deep fry the ambado immediately after grinding but if you cannot.. then DO NOT add salt ..instead add salt just before you start frying to avoid turning the batter watery
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Even then I suggest not to keep the batter for more than 1/2 an hour .
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Even after following all the points in case your batter turns watery or if you added more water than required while grinding and feel that the batter is not thick ….add a handful of rava or 1/4 th cup of rice flour to adjust the consistency .
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Also I recommend you to fry just 1-2 ambado at the beginning while deep frying so that you can get to know and adjust the consistency of the batter.
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Grinding the batter too thick also will result in very hard ambado..so take care while grinding and also whisk it well to make it airy and fluffy once you transfer it to a bowl after grinding.
- A tip shared by my co blogger friend is to drop the batter in a bowl of water after grinding..if it floats then the batter is perfect.
- As I have mentioned in the “method” …. I have used half of the ambados as evening snack and used around 15 for making dhaya ambado…incase you prefer making only dhaya ambado halve the quantity of urad dal ,the curd and other ingredients mentioned .
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Preparing two curd mixes is optional..(you can also soak the ambados into the thick tempered curd mix directly after removing them from the water )..I prefer this way as we like more curd to slurpp in after biting into the ambado..also when preparing in large batches or for parties this method suits as we can serve the ambado first and then pour the thick tempered curd mix over that and then add the garnishings .
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Garnishing with carrot and boondi is optional
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The dhaya ambados can be refrigerated for a day if leftover or can be prepared a day prior and refrigerated .
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The above proportion yielded me around 35 Ambados. The quantity will depend upon the quality of urad dal you used,the cup you used to measure the dal and the size of the ambados.
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The cup I used is not the standard measuring cup .
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Some prefer using wet grinder for grinding .I have used my mixer to grind it I have used mixer to grind the batter….you can also use your wet grinder to grind it
Konkani Khann Anik Jevan 