DAHI VADE [font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]1 cup white urad dal 3-4 green chillies (chopped) 1 inch piece of ginger (chopped) ½ tsp cumin seeds 8 to 10 peppercorns Oil for deep frying 3 cups curds Salt to taste To garnish: 1 tsp red chilli powder 1 tsp cumin seed powder Finely chopped coriander leaves 3-4 tbsp sweet date chutney (optional) 2 tbsp green coriander chutney (optional) Wash and soak the urad dal in water for about four hours. Drain out the water before grinding the dal. Grind the dal with a little water along with chopped green chillies and ginger to a fine paste. The consistency of the paste should be thick. Add salt, cumin seeds and peppercorns to the dal mixture and beat the mixture with a spoon for 8-10 minutes. Heat oil in a kadai to a smoking point. Gently slip the vadas in oil. Deep fry the vadas on a medium flame till golden. Remove and cool for a few minutes. Soak the vadas in water for about five minutes. Squeeze out the water from the vadas. Place the vadas in a dish. Beat curds with little water and add salt. Pour the beaten curds on vadas and garnish with red chilli powder, cumin seeds and coriander leaves. You can also top them with sweet date and green coriander chutney.[/font]