Mum's recipe-dahi bhalla

This summer, when I went home to my parents' place, I fell in love with my Mum's dahi badas allover again. I was having it after a long long time and could not have enough of it. I would have six seven badas in one go and still would not feel satiated. Such light and fluffy vadas with chilled yogurt and tangy tamarind sauce were like a balm for the soul than stomach in the seering Lucknowi heat. I HAD TO learn it from Mum and do a test run in her presence so that I could do it on my own back in Bangalore. Mum painstakingly taught me and Dad like a veteran connoisseur approved my work.
I made dahi bhallas for Xmas today and kept thinking of Mum. I can never match her prowess in the kitchen..never in a thousand years and there is so much to learn from her that a thousand years wouldn't be enough..Here is Mum's no fail dahi badas..spreading love and joy this Xmas..just the way my mum does:)

Ingredients-

Moong dhooli daal-1/2 cup
Urad dhooli daal-1/2 cup
To be soaked overnight
A pinch asoefetida
Oil to fry

Tamarind sauce

Lemon sized ball of tamarind
Oil-1 tsp
Cumin-1 tsp
red chili powder-1/2 tsp
Asoefetida- 1/4 tsp
Black rock salt- to taste
Jaggery or brown sugar-1/2 cup
Water-2 cups
Raisin-1/4 cup
Cashews-Handful roughly chopped

To serve
Plain yogurt
Roasted cumin powder
Chaat Masala
Salt
Optional-juliennes of ginger, chopped green coriander, grated carrot

Mix the daals, wash and soak in two cups of water overnight.
Next morning,add a dash of asoefetida and grind it to a paste.
Now here lies the crucial part-before frying whisk the paste vigorously.
Take a bowl of water, add a drop of this paste.
If the drop sinks,there is more whisking to do and if the drop floats, the paste is ready to be fried into bhallas. This is very crucial for bhallas being light and fluffy. Without passing this test, be prepared for rock hard and heavy dumplings.
Heat Oil and add spoonfuls of batter and fry into dumplings.
Take out the dumplings in a tissue paper lined plate to soak extra oil.
Next heat a vessel full of water with a teaspoon of salt.
Bring the water to boil and switch off the gas.
Dunk the dumplings in boiling water and remove after two minutes.
Drain and squeeze out excess water and store the dumplings for anytime use.
Stored in fridge,dumplings should keep well for a week.

  Tamarind sauce
This is super easy to make and though its a  must for dahi badas it can be used for all kinds of Indian chaats. In fact I personally at times like to peep in the fridge and lick the sauce straight from the jar..stealthily!

Soak the tamarind in a cup of hot water. Extract the pulp and discard the seeds and hard skin.
Keep aside.
Heat one table soon of oil. Add cumin seeds, red chili powder and a pinch of asoefetida.
Add the tamarind pulp and two cups of water and bring it to a boil.
Now combine jaggery or brown sugar and let the sauce simmer.
Add salt,raisins and cashews.
Switch off the gas after five minutes.
Cool the sauce and store it bottled in the fridge.

To serve
Cover the dumplings in whisked smooth yogurt.
Sprinkle salt,chaat masala and roasted cumin powder.
Add a splash of tamarind sauce and garnish further with chopped coriander, grated carrot and juliennes of ginger if you wish.
Serve chilled.