Dahi Balle

Since Pakistan cuisine can be pretty rich and spicy, I have recently been thinking about Pakistani appetizers that are light on spices and rich on fresh flavors. Dahi Balle is one is dish. It is a must have on the dastarkhwan (a dinning place mat) during Ramadan. It is considered a street food and is a special treat during visits to bazaars. Below is my go to recipe for Dahi Balle.

Ingredients

1 cup Urad Daal

1/2 cup Moong Daal

1 cup boiled chick peas

1 cup boiled potatoes

1/4 cup of water

1 tsp of chaat masala

1 tsp amchur (dried mango powder)

3 cup yougurt

1tsp cumin seeds

1/2 cup pomegranate

1 tsp ginger garlic paste

1 tsp sugar

Oil for frying

Salt to taste

Directions

1. Soak the Urad Daal and Moong Daal for 4-5 hours. If you are in a rush, you can boil the daal for 20 mins or instapot it on high pressure for 4 minutes

2. Rinse the daal and blend with cumin seeds, ginger garlic paste, salt, and a splash of water

3. Test the texture of the daal mixture by dropping a dollop in a bowl of water. If the mixture floats, then the batter is the right consistency. If it doesn't, add some gram flour to the mixture. This will make the batter thick enough to fry.

4. Heat oil in a pan and drop 1 tbsp of batter into the pan until the it forms a pakora (or fritter) and turns golden brown

5. Take out the fritters and soak them in water for a few minutes. Take out each fritter individually and press between your palms to remove excess water

6. Blend yogurt with water, chaat masala, amchur, and sugar

7. To assemble, pour the yogurt mixture into a bowl and place the daal fritters, chick peas, and potatoes in the yogurt mixture. You can also create layers by repeating this step a few times.

8. Sprinkle chaat masala, pomegranate seeds, tamarind and mind chutney (optional) on top and enjoy!