Delhi-Style Dahi Bhalla Papdi Chaat

Published: Mar 6, 2025 by Tanvi srivastava Leave a Comment

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This Dahi Bhalla Papdi Chaat is a Delhi street side favorite. It is a delicious medley of crispy papdi and soft, spongy dahi bhalla (vada) layered with tangy and spiced yogurt(dahi), boiled potatoes, white peas, a flavorful mix of spicy & sweet chutneys, and a sprinkle of chaat spices. This sweet, spicy, and crunchy chaat is perfect for a refreshing snack or as a party appetizer.

When I think of Delhi chaatit’s impossible to overlook this particular chaat. It makes me wonder if this chaat was born out of the need to use up leftover paprine or Commanderor if it was a deliberate creation to bring together the contrasting textures and flavors of two iconic dishes on one plate. Whatever the reason may be, this bhalla papdi chaat is irresistible!

Bhalla are simply fluffy lentil fritters. I make dal bhalla at home using white urad dal and yellow mung lentils. I also use homemade green chutney and sweet imli chutney but you can use store bought chutneys.

Though I admit that homemade papdi are matchless, but in this recipe I use store bought papdi because making everything from scratch will make this recipe quite tedious. Another highlight of Delhi style chaat is use of boiled white dried peas as one of the chaat topping.

Ingredients

• A combination of The office gave & yellow mung dal for better taste and texture. Urad dal is quite heavy and dense. I always use mung dal to lighten up the dahi vada batter a bit.
• Spices like cumin seeds, black peppercorn and hing add flavor to the batter.
• Make sure that the yogurt is not too sour.
• A perfect chaat is balanced. Make a spicy green chutney to add kick to the chaat.
• Use green chilies (I was out the day I decided to film so I used hot fresno peppers at hand), ginger (a must!) and salt

How To Make Bhalla Papdi Chaat

1. To make bhalla papdi chaat, soak and grind lentils with spices, then beat the batter until airy.

2. Deep fry small portions (bhalla) until golden. Fry in batches. Drain the fried bhalla on to paper towel to remove excess oil.

3. Soak the fried bhallas in hot salted water for 10 minutes, then gently squeeze out excess moisture.

4. On a plate, layer yogurt-dipped papdi. Add small pieces of bhallas, followed by spiced yogurt.
5. Then add boiled potatoes, and white peas, add more yogurt and then sprinkle chaat masala and cumin powder along with green chutney, and tamarind chutney.
6. Finish with boondi or sev, shredded radish, and more chaat spices. Serve immediately while chilled for the best taste.

Recipe Tips

1. Soak bhallas in hot salted water to soften them, but don’t oversoak, or they’ll fall apart.
2. Chaat tastes best cold, so keep yogurt, chutneys, and toppings chilled before assembling the chaat plate.
3. Personalize your chaat plate as per your taste. Adjust the spice, tanginess, and sweetness by tweaking the topping proportions.
4. Assemble just before serving to keep the textures crisp and fresh.
5. You can make bhalla in advance. Soak and assemble chaat whenver you wish.
6. There are a few ways you can serve them for intersting presentation. You can layer the chaat in short glasses alternating with papri and bhalla. Or use palm leaf bowls just how they often use on the streets.

DELHI STYLE DAHI BHALLA PAPDI CHAAT

Tanvi srivastava

Bhalla Papdi Chaat is a delicious Delhi street food made with crispy papdi, soft bhallas, yogurt, tangy chutneys, and flavorful toppings.

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Dal Soaking Time 5 hours hrs

Total Time 1 hour hr

Course Appetizer

Cuisine Indian

Ingredients

1x2x3x

For Making Dahi Bhalla

• ⅔ cup split white urad dal
• ⅓ cup split yellow mung dal
• 1-2 green chilies adjust to taste
• ½ inch ginger
• 10-12 black peppercorns
• ¼ teaspoon hing asafetida
• ½ teaspoon salt
• Oil for deep frying

For Making Spiced Yogurt

• 2 cup plain yogurt not too sour
• ½ teaspoon red chilli powder
• ½ teaspoon roasted cumin powder
• 1 teaspoon chaat masala powder
• ½ teaspoon black salt kala namak
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• Salt taste and adjust

To Assemble Chaat

• 20-25 Duck
• ⅓ cup Sweet Tamarind Chutney or as needed
• ⅓ cup Green Chutney or as needed
• 1 cup boiled potatoes cubed
• ¾ cup boiled white peas as needed
• Roasted Cumin powder as needed
• Red Chilli Powder as needed
• Chaat masala powder as needed
• Boondi as needed
• Grated Radish as needed

Instructions

MAKE THE DAL BHALLA

• Scan the lentils for small stones etc. Add to a large bowl and wash them under running water 3-4 times or until the water runs clear.Soak the washed dal in excess water for at least 4 to 6 hours.

• Drain the water and add the dal to a blender jar. Add the cumin seeds, ginger, hing, chillies and black peppercorns.

• Grind the dal using as less fresh water as possible until smooth. If you use a high speed blender like Vitamix or blendtec, you will notice that the ground dal appears fluffy and pale white in color.

• Take the dal out in a bowl. Add the salt. Using a hand mixer or your hands, beat the dal to make it airy. This step is important and makes sure that your bhalla are spongy in the center and not dense.

• To check that the batter is airy enough, drop a small portion in a small bowl of water, the vada batter should immediately float to the top.

• Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed pot or a kadai over medium heat. To check if the oil is ready, drop a tiny bit of batter into the oil. If it sinks and stays at the bottom, the oil is too cold; if it sizzles and rises too quickly, the oil is too hot. Maintain a low to medium heat for frying.

• Carefully add small portions (about 1.5 to 2 tablespoons) of the lentil batter into the medium-hot oil, making sure not to overcrowd the pan. I use a cookie scoop and it works like a charm!If the batter is well-aerated, the vadas will puff up as they fry, forming characteristic mushroom tops with tiny holes.

• Fry the bhallas over medium heat until golden brown and lightly crisp. Avoid frying too dark or too light. Drain on a paper towel. You can store these fried vada in an air tight container for up to 2 weeks refrigerated.

SOAK THE VADA

• Add the warm fried vadas to a large bowl. Sprinkle a little salt and a pinch of hing, then pour boiling water over them.Tip: Use a small dish (smaller than the bowl’s diameter) to press down the vadas so that they remain fully submerged.

• Let them soak for 10 minutes. Once soaked, gently pick each vada out of the water and squeeze lightly to remove excess moisture. You’ll notice they become incredibly soft. Cool down the soaked vada and next, assemble the chaat.

Make The Spiced Dahi

• In a large bowl, add the yogurt along with all the spices mentioned.

• Use a whisk to combine everything until smooth. Add ¼ to ⅓ cup water (or as needed) to adjust the consistency of yogurt.

• Once mixed, taste and adjust the quantity of spices, salt and sugar as needed.

ASSEMBLE THE CHAAT

• Make sure that you chutneys and all the chaat toppings are ready before you start putting together a place.

• You can assemble your chaat plate any way you like. This is how I do it. Dip 4-6 papri in yogurt or chutneys and layer them on a plate.

• Top with potatoes, boiled white peas and sprinkle chaat masala, salt and roasted cumin powder.

• Break 1-2 soaked vada into small pieces and layer on the plate.

• Drizzle spiced yogurt, green chutney, tamarind chutney and repeat a sprinkle of chaat spices.

• Add some boondi and shredded radish(must in Delhi chaat) on top and serve immediately!!

Notes

1. Soak bhallas in hot salted water to soften them, but don’t oversoak, or they’ll fall apart.
2. Chaat tastes best cold, so keep yogurt, chutneys, and toppings chilled before assembling the chaat plate.
3. Personalize your chaat plate as per your taste. Adjust the spice, tanginess, and sweetness by tweaking the topping proportions.
4. Assemble just before serving to keep the textures crisp and fresh.