Dahi gujiya-stuffed lentil dumplings in yogurt sauce

Ingredients

For the Gujiyas:

• 1 cup white urad dal
• 2 green chilies
• 1″ shoot of fresh ginger, peeled
• 1/2 teaspoon asafoetida[hing]
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Oil for frying

For the Stuffing:

• 3 green chillies, chopped
• 3 tablepsoons chopped cilantro
• 3 tablepsoons raisins [ you can use cashews, almonds or any nut of your choice]
• 1 tablepsoon fresh ginger julians
• 1 teaspoon salt

For serving:

• 2 cups thick beaten plain yogurt mixed with 1 tablepsoon sugar and salt to taste
• Red chilli powder
• Roasted cumin powder
• Chopped cilantro, onion [optional]

Tamarind Chutney:

• 1 cup dried tamarind
• 1 cup jaggery/sugar
• 1 tablepsoon roasted cumin seeds powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 tablepsoon red chilli powder
• 2 teaspoons black salt
• 1/2 teaspoon asafoetida
• 3 tablepsoons dates paste
• 1 teaspoon oil
• 1/2 cup water

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Preparation

• Soak the urad dal overnight or atleast 5-6 hours in atleast 4 cups of water. Next day, drain all the water from the dal and transfer to the blender along with green chillies,asafoetida and ginger. Do not add salt. Grind the dal in no or as less water as you can use to a smooth paste.Using liberal quantity of water while grinding will loosen the dal and make it un useable. Transfer the ground dal to a bowl. In a small bowl add all the ingredients for the stuffing and keep aside.
• To fry the Gujiyas:
  Pour enough oil in the frying vessel to cover the gujiyas while frying. Heat the oil on medium high.To see if the oil is hot enough, drop a little dal into the oil, if it immediately comes up to the surface of oil and does not turn brown, oil is ready. Let the oil remain heated on medium flame.
  When you are ready to make Gujiyas: Whip the ground dal for few minutes by hands till it becomes fluffy. TIP: To check if the ground dal is airy, drop a little whipped dal into a bowl of water,it should immediately rise up to the top. Mix the salt now to the dal.Do not let the dal sit with salt mixed in it, it will make the gujiyas hard once fried.
• Take a cling film sheet/plastic sheet and put a dollop of ground dal on the cling film, using wet hand spread the dal into a circle. Put a spoonful of stuffing in the centre of the circle and turnover the cling film to make a semicircle.
• Now, spread generous amount of oil on your hands, pick up the gujiyas and immediately transfer to the frying pan. This has to be done within a span of 5 seconds else the gujiya will stick to your palms.
  
• Fry on medium heat untill golden brown on both sides. Once done, transfer to paper towel to drain excess oil.
• For serving the Gujiyas:
  Soak the gujiyas in warm salted water for at least 20-25 minutes. Once soaked, pick up ,gently press by hand to shake off water. Place the gujias in a serving dish.
• Top up with beaten yogurt mixture. Garnish with chopped coriander, red chilli powder,roasted cumin powder. Serve cold or at room temperature with a drizzle of tamarind chutney.
• Tamarind Chutney:
  Soak the tamarind in enough water for atleast 3-4 hours. Once soaked , mash the tamarind until pulp is softened. Sieve the pulp into a bowl and discard the seeds and thick fibers. In a small sauce pan, heat the oil.Once heated add the cumin seeds, as soon as the cumin start to crackle, add all the ingredients listed above to the pan. Simmer the chutney for atleast 20 minutes, till it starts to thicken. It will thicken more on cooling. Remove from heat, let cool, transfer to a small bottle or drizzler. This chutney prepared with this method can last for a month in refrigerator.

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