The dish that we will be making today is actually a Sindhi breakfast recipe, very popular across Rajasthan. The dish we are referring to is called Dal Pakwan. Believe it or not, the Sindhi community even has a World Dal Pakwan Day that’s celebrated on the 11th of April each year!
For all you Chaat fans out there, we are going to make a fun version of this dish; it’s called Dal Pakwan Chaat – a truly delightful evening snack. We strongly recommend that you try this as an accompaniment for your evening tea.
The ingredients that you will require for preparing this delicious Dal Pakwan Chaat are given below.
Ingredients:
- Plain Flour (Maida): 150 grams
- Semolina (Sooji): 30 grams
- Split Chickpea Lentils (Chana Dal): 100 grams
- Mustard Oil: 9 tablespoons
- Cumin (Jeera) Seeds: 2 teaspoons
- Green Chilli: 1
- Ginger (Adrak): One half-inch piece
- Turmeric (Haldi) Powder: One large pinch
- Mango Powder (Amchur): One large pinch
- Garam Masala: Just a pinch
- Tamarind (Imli) Chutney: 3 tablespoons
- Black Pepper: Just a pinch
- Salt: To taste
The quantities mentioned above are for six servings. Adjust the ingredients proportionately to suit the number of servings you require.
Preparation:
Finely chop the ginger.
Finely chop the green chilli.
Wash and soak the lentils in around 750 millilitres of water for two hours.
Method:
Let’s start by making the puris. In a mixing bowl add the flour, a pinch of cumin seeds, the semolina and two tablespoons of Mustard Oil along with a pinch of salt. Add enough water (a little at a time) to make dough. Knead the dough well and keep aside for around 15 to 20 minutes.
Divide the dough into twelve equal portions, and roll each portion into circular shapes that are around 3 inches in diameter. When you are rolling the portions of dough, if it sticks to your rolling pin just add a little bit of oil (a few drops will suffice) to the dough and also coat the rolling pin with a bit of oil.
Use a fork to prick holes in the circular pieces of dough – this will ensure that your puris will be crisp after frying.
Heat five tablespoons of Mustard Oil in a frying pan on Medium heat. Once the oil reaches its smoking point and emits whiffs of aromatic white smoke, turn the flame down to Low.
Fry the circular pieces of dough, turning them over at regular intervals to ensure even frying on both sides. Fry in batches to ensure that your puris don’t get burnt.
Once the frying process is complete, turn the flame off and place the puris on paper towels to drain the excess oil. You could treat this step as an optional one since we are using cold-pressed Mustard Oil for making this dish. Not only is this oil healthy, it is also proven to be minimally absorbed in the puris while frying.
Let us now move on to making the Dal (lentils) for our Dal Pakwan Chaat. Drain the water from the split chickpea lentils that you had earlier soaked and kept aside.
Take the remaining Mustard Oil in a pressure cooker and heat on a Medium flame. To the hot oil add the remaining cumin seeds. When the seeds begin to splutter add the lentils, ginger, turmeric and green chilli along with salt to taste.
Close the pressure cooker and cook on a High flame. After the pressure cooker starts letting off steam, reduce the heat to Medium and cook for around four minutes.
Turn the flame off and wait for the steam release to stop. Then open the cooker. The lentils should be well-cooked and soft – but not pulpy.
Now add the mango powder, garam masala and black pepper. Mix well.
Take six serving plates. On each plate, place two puris. Put a dollop of the Dal on each puri and apply a topping of tamarind chutney.
Your Dal Pakwan Chaat is now ready to be served. The best way to enjoy this is to sit down with a cup of steaming hot tea and a plate of this delicious Chaat. Life is good!
You can find more recipes at : https://www.purioilmills.com/recipes-in-english/
The Mustard Specialist 