DAL PAKWAN

When it comes to food, some matches are made in heaven!!! Here is a popular and traditional Sindhi breakfast dish, that you must try it you really want to taste the true flavours of Sindhi Cuisine that is Dal Pakwan. Dal Pakwan which is made during special occasions or festivals. A crispy fired poori cooked and mildly spiced special dal served with coriander chutney, sweet tamarind chutney. Sindhi cuisine is something I don’t know much about. But saw few posts on FB food groups which tempted me and so I tried this.Dal Pakwan is much taled about and based on the name, I thought this must be some dessert made from dal. Because in Hindi ‘Pakwan ‘ means a special delicacy and it is also used to refer to special or festival foods. But I was surprised to learn that Pakwan here is nothing but a kind of poori. The Poori or Pakwan is crispy, more like farsi poori or mathri. This is actually a breakfast recipe which is specially  made on festivals or some special occasions. My daughter loved it and even me too. Here the dal is made with chana dal which is heavy on the tummy and has a meaty texture. Here I soaked and pressure cooked the dal but you can pressure cook for 3 whistles without soaking it. But if you are cooking without soaking then increase your simmering time to 10-15 minutes. This can be made for a lazy Sunday for brunch as it is quite a heavy one.

INGREDIENTS:

For Dal:

250 gm Chana Dal [split Bengal gram]

1 Small Onion, chopped

4-5 Green Chillies, slit

2 Dry Red Chillies [optional]

1 Medium Sized Tomato, grated

1 teaspoon Cumin Seeds

2 Sprig Curry Leaves

3 Cups Water

½ teaspoon Turmeric Powder

2 teaspoon Garam Masala Powder

 1-2 teaspoon + 2 tablespoon Oil

Salt as needed

¼ teaspoon Asafoetida

For Pakwan:

2 Cups All Purpose Flour

2-3 tablespoon Whole Wheat Flour

1 tablespoon Suji/ Samolina

½ teaspoon Cumin Seeds

½ teaspoon Caraway Seeds [optional]

¼ teaspoon freshly ground Peppercorns

3 tablespoon Oil/ Ghee

Salt to taste

1 teaspoon Red Chilli Powder

Water for making dough

Oil for deep frying

OTHER INGREDIENTS:

2 tablespoon Onion, finely chopped

1 tablespoon Coriander, finely chopped

½ teaspoon Aamchur Powder

½ teaspoon Chilli Powder

1 tablespoon Tamarind Chutney

1 tablespoon Coriander Chutney

METHOD:

For Dal:

STEP 1 – Wash the dal under running water and soak for an hour.

STEP 2 – Now heat a pressure cooker on low heat with 2 teaspoon oil.

Add asafoetida, chopped onion and roast the onion for 1-2 minutes.

STEP 3 – Then add grated tomato in it and fry well till it get cooked.

STEP 4 – Now add soaked dal and turmeric powder in it and give a nice stir.

STEP 5 – Add salt, mix it and sufficient water in it.

STEP 6 – Close the lid and wait for one whistle.

STEP 7 – After one whistle, let the pressure release and then open the lid. [see notes]

STEP 8 – Heat another 2 tablespoon oil in a pan, let’s add cumin seeds and crackle them.

STEP 9 – Add curry leaves, green chillies, garam masala and red chillies in it and roast for a minute.

STEP 10 – Add this tempering to the dal.

 Let the dal simmer for few minutes.

For Pakwan:

STEP 1 – Seive the flour and mix it with cumin seeds, red chilli powder, salt and oil.

STEP 2 – Add sufficient water and make a dough.

Dough should not be very soft or very hard.

STEP 3 – Cover it and let it rest for 15 minutes.

STEP 4 – Later on, divide the dough into small lemon size balls.

STEP 5 – Take one ball

and roll it like a disc of 4” in diameter.

STEP 6 – Prick the surface with fork or knife which helps not to puff out the pakwan.

STEP 7 – Heat oil in a wide kadai.

STEP 8 – Repeat the same and roll out all the pakwan.

STEP 9 – Slide in the Pakwan in oil and deep fry carefully on medium flame till it turns crisp and golden in colour.

STEP 10 – Remove from oil and drain excess oil on tissue paper or kitchen towel.

How to serve:

 Take dal in a serving bowl and sprinkle some Aamchur powder, chilly powder, chopped onion, chopped coriander, tangy tamarind chutney and coriander chutney and serve with hot and crisp pakwans.    

NOTES: Dal should be tender but not mushy.