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Dahibara aludum

AI-drafted · awaiting admin review

Soft urad dal vadas soaked in thin tempered curd, served with spicy potato curry and ghuguni. Cuttack’s favourite street food.

Region: Odisha (Cuttack)Occasion: Evening snack and street foodTime: 1 hour + soakingServes: 4Vegetarian

Ingredients

  • 1 cup urad dal, soaked 4 hours
  • Salt to taste
  • Oil for frying
  • 2 cups curd whisked with 2 cups water
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds, curry leaves, 1 dried chilli and ½ tsp ginger for tempering
  • 4 potatoes, boiled
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
  • 1 tomato, chopped
  • 1 tsp red chilli powder, ½ tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp roasted cumin-chilli powder (bhaja masala)
  • Chopped onion, coriander and sev to garnish

Method

  1. Grind the urad dal to a light, fluffy batter with salt. Drop spoonfuls into hot oil and fry until golden.
  2. Soak the vadas in warm water for 10 minutes, squeeze gently and add to the thin curd. Pour the tempering over and leave for at least 30 minutes.
  3. For the aludum, fry onion until golden, add ginger-garlic paste, tomato, chilli and turmeric and cook down.
  4. Add the boiled potatoes, cut or whole, with 1 cup water and simmer until thick and spicy.
  5. Serve dahibaras with their curd in a bowl, top with aludum, ghuguni, bhaja masala, onion, coriander and sev.

History

Dahibara aludum grew up as a street snack in Cuttack and has spread across Odisha.

Significance

It is Cuttack’s signature snack, sold from carts every evening, and Odia people far from home often name it as the taste they miss most.

Sources