Directions

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  1. Wash and soak the daal for 3-4 hours (or overnight).
  2. Drain the daal and chopperise into a fine paste. If the batter feels lumpy or grainy, add a few drops of water to help it grind into a smooth consistency. If you’ve made too much, you can freeze some of the batter at this point.
  3. Take the batter out into a large bowl and add salt, ginger powder, and all-spice. Using a large spoon beat the batter well until it becomes smooth and creamy (about 2-3 minutes).
  4. Prepare your frying space. In a large frying pan add enough oil so that the dahi baray would be half-immersed in the oil during frying.
  5. Half-fill a small bowl with water and keep nearby.
  6. Add the baking soda into the batter and mix well. Note: baking soda should be added right before you’re ready to start frying.
  7. In another small bowl scoop out some of the batter. Add a bit more water if the batter has thickened up in the last few minutes. This happens because daal has a tendency to soak water. The batter should be thick enough to hold its disc-like shape when frying (i.e. not spread), and smooth/thin enough to easily slide off the spoon.
  8. We’re going to use a large round spoon (serving spoon) to pour the batter. First, dip the spoon into the water and then spoon out the batter into the hot oil in the form of even discs. Note: Dip the serving spoon into water before each bara so that it slides off the spoon easily.
  9. Fry on medium flame. You will notice air bubbles forming, this means it’s cooking through well. When the dahi baray start to turn golden brown, flip to cook the other side.
  10. Drain the fried baray on tissue/paper. This recipe makes 18-20 baray. If you’re not going to be using all of it, you can cool and freeze the fried baray.
  11. Fry the remaining baray in the same way. You may need to adjust the flame to control the heat and add more oil between each batch.
  12. Soak the fried baray in hot water. Leave long enough for them to completely soak (an hour or so).
  13. Now to prepare the yogurt. Beat the yogurt and add salt and sugar. I like thick yogurt for dahi baray, but if you prefer it to be a bit thinner, you can add a few tablespoons of milk. Note: The dahi baray tend to release some water as well so best not to make the yogurt too thin.
  14. Drain the baray and squeeze excess water from it pressing gently between your palms (without destroying or mashing it).
  15. Add a single layer of the baray into a wide serving bowl. Pour some yogurt over it. Then add another layer of baray and yogurt. Lather, rinse, repeat.
  16. Sprinkle some chat masala on top before serving.