Dahibara Aloo Dum, the soul food of Cuttack, Odisha. Dahi bara, made in Odia Style is served with a serving of aloo dum and guguni along with other chat toppings. It makes a perfect meal for anytime.
Dahibara is Vada soaked in a masala buttermilk and Aloo Dum is Odia version of Dum Aloo, a thick gravy of slow cooked potatoes. There is also the Guguni, a gravy made with white peas that also added by the spoonfuls however it is the underdog of the story. To top it all, finally you add finely chopped coriander leaves, onions and bhujia Sev with a liberal dose of spice powders.
The authentic way of serving this chaat is in bowl made of khalli patra (Bahunia Vahlii leaf). After placing the dahibara, you proceed to garnish with one after the other! People talk about how this chaat evokes pure nostalgia of our "pila dina" (childhood). It is also mentioned that the authentic recipes are closely guarded secret. Of course, there are so many recipes shared online and I adapted mine from here.
Though this dish is supposed to be for breakfast, the whole process is quite elaborate and I ended up making it for dinner. It was so filling and everybody loved it. Of course my boys had chapatis with the gravy dishes. We loved the unique combination of the gravies added along with sev topped over!
In the Odia Breakfast Thali, check out the Dahi Bara, will be back soon with the gravy recipes. On SYL, its another state that's close to this dish!
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Step By Step Pictures for making Dahi Bara
How to make Dahibara Odisha Style
Ingredients
For the Bara
- 1 cup Urad dal
- 1 tbsp Semolina / Rava
- Salt to taste
- A Pinch Baking powder
For the Masala Curd
- 2 or 3 nos Green Chilies finely chopped
- 1.5 cup Curds slightly sour preferably
- 1/2 tsp Cumin Powder roasted
- 1 tsp Red Chili powder
- 1/2 tsp Black Salt / Kala Namak
- Salt to taste
- Cooking Oil for frying
For Tempering
- Handful Curry Leaves
- 2 to 3 nos Dry Red Chilies
- A Pinch Asafoetida
- 1 tps Mustard Seeds
For garnish top:
- 1 cup Onion finely chopped
- Coriander Leaves finely chopped
- 5 to 6 nos Green Chilies finely chopped
- Sev
- Kala Namak
- Cumin Powder
- Red Chili powder
Instructions
For the Bara:
- Soak urad dal for 2 hours. Grind into a smooth paste.
- Let it ferment for at least 2 hours. The recipe calls for fermenting for at least 6 hours, however, it was never a need for us.
- Just before making the bara, add in rava and baking powder into the batter.
- Beat it well with your hands for it to be aerated well.
- In a bowl, beat in 2 tbsp of curds with salt and enough water to make a thin buttermilk. Keep it aside.
For making bara:
- Heat oil in a kadai. When the oil is hot, using a spoon, drop in small balls of the batter and cook on all sides by turning it with a slotted ladle.
- Continue with the rest of the batter and cook in batches. Drain the cooked bara with a slotted spoon and drop these into the thin buttermilk you have prepared.
- Let the cooked baras soak in this for at least 30 mins.
Making the Masala Curds
- In another bowl, the curds, and beat well to a smooth consistency.
- Add salt, black salt, chili powder, roasted cumin powder and chopped green chilies and mix well.
- Add water to this curd mix as required. You can make it thick or thin as per your taste.
- Next removed the baras from the buttermilk and squeeze it slightly to remove excess water
- Add it to this masala curd
Tempering the baras
- Heat 2 tsp of oil in a tempering pan. Add mustard seeds, broken red chili, curry leaves and asafoetida.
- Pour this tempering over the dahi-baras. Keep aside for 3 to 4 hours.
Assembling the DahiBara with Ghuguni and Alu Dum:
- In the serving bowl, place a few baras along with masala curds.
- Pour one serving of ghuguni over it, followed by a serving of alu dum.
- Next sprinkle red chili powder, roasted cumin powder over this.They call this mix as jeera lanka powder.
- Now sprinkle finely chopped onion, coriander leaves, green chilies, kala namak, and crispy sev on the chat.
- Serve right away!
Vaishali says
Adding sooji to the batter for dahi bara is new to me , very interesting . We all are very fond of these , will surely try this version .
Harini Rupanagudi says
That is amazing dish Valli. I am ready to go to bed and now I am craving this chaat 🙂
Srividhya Gopalakrishnan says
This looks like a crowd-pleaser for sure. Vada topped with gungni and aloo. Reading the post is making me drool. I am sure be it for breakfast or lunch or dinner, it hard to say no to this one.
Renu says
At first I thought this is completely different, but have some similarities to what we make. Liked the way you have topped it up, looks very tempting.