Jain Chaat Recipe - Dahi Vada (Paryushan Special)

Paryushan is an 8-day long festival celebrated by Jain religion in India and by Jains around the world. People observed fasts, worship God and forgive and seek forgiveness for all the sins committed knowingly or unknowingly. Some people, like myself, do not follow Jainism all round the year, but during this festival we try to observe them.

The idea of not consuming food that come from roots/stem (onions, garlic, potatoes, carrots, etc) is buried in the fact that these food have numerous amount of small organisms and as humans, we should not harm other living beings as much as possible. Also, some of the Jainism directives such as eating before sunset, observing complete fast, consuming boiled water, and so on, are the behaviors supported by science in the modern world. During paryushan, we try to avoid plant roots/stem, green veggies and outside food. That still leaves you with tons of options, using milk, fruits, yogurt, beans, lentils, etc. Some families, like myself, accept the use of basic herbs and veggies such as tomato, cilantro, curry leaves and green chilies. Being a Jain, I am personally not very stringent about religions in general. Nevertheless, it is no harm in observing and devouring Jain food if one would like to and is able to.

It is a myth that Jain food is sad and tasteless. Dahi vada is one such recipe that is a delicious chaat enjoyed all over India and can be made Jain easily. It is a dish of fried lentil cakes soaked in water, enjoyed with sweet yogurt and tamarind chutney. Oh, my mouth is watering just by writing about it. As I mentioned, I added cilantro chutney because we do use cilantro. You can skip it if you do not consume any veggies. By the way, do not be mistaken, this recipe is not just for Jain people, it is a must-try chaat for everyone!

Ingredients:

For the Vada:

2 cups Urad Dal

1 Tbsp Chana Dal or Moong Dal (Optional)

Salt to taste

1 tsp Baking soda or Eno Fruit salt

For the Tamarind-Date Chutney:

1/2 cup dates (de-seeded)

2 Tbsp Tamarind paste or dried tamarind soaked in warm water

1 tsp dry ginger powder or 1 small of piece of fresh grated ginger

1/4 cup Jaggery

2 tsp dry red chili powder

1 tsp cumin seeds or cumin powder

1-2 tsp cooking oil

A bowl of ice-water

Salt to taste

For Yogurt:

1 cup plain yogurt - whisked (add a little water to get a pouring consistency)

2-3 sugar

salt to taste

For Cilantro Chutney (Optional):

1 cup fresh cilantro

1/2 lemon

1 green chili

1 tsp cumin powder

salt to taste

Garnish:

Pomogranate

Cumin and red chili powder

Cilantro

Sev

Vada Preparation:

1. Soak the urad dal and chana/moong dal overnight (atleast 7-8 hours)

2. After soaking, grind it to think coarse mixture. Add no more than 2 Tbsp water. Basically we need a think mixture.

3. Heat oil on high-flame for frying

4. Spread the mixture on flat vessel/pan/sheet/kitchen top and hand knead it for at least 5 minutes. This is an important step. It helps make the batter airy. You can wet your hands slightly to make it easy for you.

5. Once you are done, add salt and eno/baking soda

6. Make lemon size balls and fry them until brown. Takes about 3-4 mins for each. Do not over crowded the frying vessel

7. Add the fried vada in the cold water bowl and soak them for 10 minutes

8. Drain each vada and keep them ready for serving

Tamarind-Date Chutney:

1. In a pressure cooker/instant pot, saute cumin seeds and ginger in 1-2 tsp oil

2. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook for 3-4 minutes.

3. Add very little water and close the lid

4. Pressure for 4 whistles or on high-pressure for 8 mins in Instant Pot

5. Cool it down and grind to a fine paste

6. Refrigerate it until ready to serve

Cilantro Chutney and yogurt:

1. Grind all the ingredients in blender and its done!

2. In bowl, add the whisked yogurt, slight water, salt and sugar

Assembly:

1. On plate, hand smash 2-3 vadas

2. Spread generous amount of yogurt on them

3. Finish with the chutneys and pomogranate

4. Sprinkle cumin powder, red chili powder, cilantro and sev

5. Enjoy!

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Michammi Dukkadam!