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South Indian Dahi Vada – Thayir Vadai – Curd Vada Recipe

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Learn how to make South Indian style Dahi Vada or Thayir Vadai Recipe using this easy recipe. 

I was terribly jet-lagged all of last week. I couldn’t keep my eyes open beyond 8pm and was up and about by 4:30 which is super duper rare for me because I am just not a morning person. I have to say I secretly enjoyed my energy at 5 in the morning the past few days. 

South Indian Dahi Vada - Thayir Vadai - Curd Vada Recipe
Spongy vadas soaked in spiced and tempered thayir or yogurt

On Saturday morning, I had this weird craving for medhu vada / uzhunnu vada. I have made this in the past so you can find the medhu vada recipe here. 

Also check out: spongy vadai recipe with aval, the popular vada pav from Mumbai, and onion vada from the streets of Kerala.

A few tips while making medhu vada: 

– I made the batter in my Ultra wet grinder and this makes all the difference in your  medhu vada. I was amazed how crisp the vadas were outside and soft inside. I was also able to get the doughnut shape (although not perfect), you just need to resist the temptation to add too much water to the urad dal while its grinding. This is harder to control in a mixie I guess. 
– I added whole peppercorn like the ones you get in restaurants. TH doesn’t like biting into them but I didn’t have an option because we were out of green chillies. I also added ginger more liberally than last time. 
South Indian Dahi Vada - Thayir Vadai - Curd Vada Recipe

Perfect, pillowy, and soft. 

But today’s recipe is all about dunking these deep fried awesomes into a bowl of flavoured curd, letting them soak for a while and then sinking your teeth in the resulting goodness. We did this with the few remaining vadas and actually enjoyed it more than the vadas by themselves. 
South Indian Thayir Vadai Recipe
Serves 2
Ingredients:
1 cup thick curd
1/4 cup water
Chopped coriander leaves
1/2 tsp paprika or Kashmiri red chilli powder
1/2 tsp roasted jeera powder
Salt to taste
How to make Dahi Vada:
1. Dunk the vadas into a bowl of warm water, soak for 10 seconds, take them out and squeeze out the excess water. This will ensure that the vadas are softer once soaked in the curd. 
2. Beat the curd with some water, the jeera powder, and salt. Add the vadas in and leave in the fridge for atleast 4 hours or overnight. 
3. Before serving, garnish with some chopped coriander leaves and chilli powder / paprika. Kara boondi also makes an excellent garnish but sadly, I didn’t have any. 
South Indian Dahi Vada - Thayir Vadai - Curd Vada Recipe

Notes:
1. The Dahi Vada made in Northern parts of India is slightly different from this. The spices used to flavour the dahi are different and they usually serve it with dates chutney and mint chutney, the same kinds used for chaat. That tastes great, but is different from this.
2. In some versions, ground coconut is added to the curd. Although I was tempted to try this, I didn’t have any coconut in the fridge (remember, I was away for 3 weeks!). Maybe next time.

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  2. Hey Nags, when I saw the South Indian Thayir Vadai pic…it got me salivating..and my tummy rumbling…I will definitely try your recipe. Just wanted to know what type of wine would you recommend this dish to complement it? I have tried quite a few types and varieties of wine before with Indian cuisine…many misses and a few spot on…please advice.

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  4. I do like plenty of ginger in mine too. Prefer green chili to peppercorns but can bear with them. A perfect thing for the warming weather. I have to make dahi wada.

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  8. Dahi vadia looks fantastic. I am actually drooling here….wonderful yummy looking clicks too.
    Thanks for letting me know that butterscotch is available here in Singapore.

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  10. Gwen, you should be able to find the urad dal in your local indian store. make sure you get the husked, whole urad dal, not the unhusked black ones or the halved ones.

    also, you can't substitute brown sugar for jeera. jeera is cumin, and i am sure you can find it somewhere there 🙂 if you can't, jus omit it.

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  15. Hi what a prodigious recipe, I can't wait to try it. I've seen your name on some of my daring bakers friends; I wanted to introduce myself: I am Bobbie of bobbiesbakingblog.com nice to no you via internet.

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  16. This looks absolutely delicious! I have never had this dish (I'm here in New Mexico, USA) but it looks so tasty, I would like to try making it!

    I've never cooked with urad dal (which may or may not be at our one international grocery store), would it work to grind it up in a food processor?
    Is it possible to substitute brown sugar for jeera?

    I love your blog!

    thanks,
    gwen

    Reply

  21. Now you are making me to crave for some,and early morning you made vada?,great 😀 It will be like we have so much of time the whole day if we wake up early ..

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  27. I love love dahi vada & a homemade one at that. I love both the N Indian & S Indian versions, But I hate the addition of coconut in it .. Glad you didn't add it 🙂

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