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.  

KALAKAND

Today I am sharing with you the easiest and simplest recipe for a Indian dessert that is Kalakand. It is very easy to make at home and needs very few ingredients for it and it is quick too. In India, festivals are all about eating and meeting family and friends. It is very convenient to go to the Sweet shop and buy sweets for your special occasions. But when the same sweet is prepared at home then your guests must feel really happy and they will consume it without any pressure whether it is hygienic , pure or not.  So from now, there is no need to run to a Sweet Shop when you are craving for Kalakand. I might be late in posting this recipe in my blog but as we know better late than never. Here at my place, all are very fond of all types of Mithai’s but my younger daughter is little choosy about it. And the best part is that she loves Kalakand so much.  I prepared this for Diwali, as Diwali celebrations are incomplete without these yummy Diwali sweets and snacks. Kids really look forward to enjoy them in their holidays and we all love sharing them with our neighbours, friends and relatives who visit us on Diwali. I am sharing today an easy to make Diwali sweet – Kalakand. Hope you enjoy it with your family and friends…!!!

INGREDIENTS:

1 Cup Paneer / Cottage Cheese [see notes]

200 gm Condensed Milk [see notes]

A pinch of Cardamom Powder

2-3 Pisctachio, sliced

Ghee or Butter, for greasing the plate

METHOD:

STEP 1 – First heat a non-stick pan on low heat. Add crumbled paneer  and condensed milk in it.

STEP 2 – Add milk powder in it and mix well. [see notes]

STEP 3 – Make sure that all ingredients combined well. Cook on low flame with continues stir and mast the paneer continuously.

STEP 4 – Cook the mixture till it get thickened.

STEP 5 – The condensed milk melts first and then after further cooking gets thicker.

STEP 6 – Add cardamom powder and mix it.

STEP 7 – When the mixture starts to separate the pan and forms a lump, remove it on a greased plate.

STEP 8 – Level it with the back of a ladle and garnish it with sliced pistachios.

Set it to a block making  an inch thick.

STEP 9 –  Press them gently and cool completely. Cool it naturally for near about 3-4 hours or keep it in refrigerator for about 3o minutes to set completely. Cooling naturally will make the Kalakand more moist and tasty.

STEP 10 – Cut it into squares and serve.

Make it and serve it on any occasion and your family will love it.

Store it for a week in an air tight container in refrigerator and enjoy.

NOTES: Here I used both paneer and condensed milk which are homemade. Recipes are already there in my blog as – HOMEMADE PANEER and HOMEMADE CONDENSED MILK.

Homemade fresh paneer is more moist and fresh.

You can use store brought paneer and condensed milk.

 Milk powder is optional. It is used because it gives whitisih colour to your kalakand.

PANJABI CHOLE MASALA

Kabuli chana or chickpeas are a great source of protin, One of the best ways to make chickpeas is Punjabi Chole which goes very well with Bhature, Puri or Rice. It is a classic street dish from Delhi and is widely appreciated all over India. Basically a spicy chickpeas curry is cooked with onion, ginger-garlic paste and tomato puree tastes delicious.

Chole Masala or Punjabi Chole is one of the very delicious and irresistible Indian Curry which I like the most. In most of the North Indian restaurants and dhabas you will find this mind blowing and fabulous curry along with Punjabi Breads. You can prepare this North Indian curry for your lunch or dinner and have it with roti, paratha or naan whichever you like. I prepare this Punjabi Chole Masala quite often at my place as my family loves it a lot. In this recipe, I have followed the traditional way of making chole masala. Hope you all like it.

INGREDIENTS:

1 Cup Chole

1 big Onion, chopped

2 big Tomato, pureed

2-3 Green Chillies split lengthwise

2 tablespoon Ginger-Garlic paste

Dry Masala:

1 teaspoon Jeera

2 teaspoon Coriander Seeds

8-10 Black Pepper

1-1.5 inch Cinnamon stick

4-5 Cloves

1 Black Cardamom

6-7 dried Red Chillies

1 Bay leaf

Other Ingredients:

1 teaspoon Kashmiri Chilli powder

½ teaspoon Turmeric powder

1 teaspoon Tea leaf (tea powder)

1 teaspoon Sugar

Cooking Oil

Salt

METHOD:

STEP 1 – Soak chole for 5-6 hours, overnight.

STEP 2 – In a cooker, add chole, water, and salt in it.

Add tea powder in a cloth

and then pressure cook it for 5-6 whistles.

STEP 3 – When chole are pressure cooked, release pressure completely and then open the pressure cooker.

STEP 4 – Then remove tea bag and discard it.

Remove the chick peas in a bowl

and reserve the excess water.

STEP 5 – Put a pan, dry roast the dry spices and roast them for 2 minutes.

STEP 6 – After 2 minutes, you start getting nutty aroma from the spices, turn off the flame and let them cool down completely.

STEP 7 – Grind them to a fine powder. Dry spicy powder is ready.

STEP 8 – In a blender, add 2 tablespoon cooked chole and grind it into coarse paste. This paste will be used to thicken the gravy.

STEP 9 – Take pan with 3 tablespoon oil.

Add chopped onion. Roast it well. Add green chillies and ginger-garlic paste. Cook for 2-3 minutes.

STEP 10 – Add tomato puree in it and cook with salt as per needed. We have added salt while cooking the chole in pressure cooker. So be careful.

STEP 11 – Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, sugar, spice powder and sauté it well.

STEP 12 – Add cooked chana in it along with the paste.

STEP 13 – Add water as your desired consistency. Water is used which is we have kept aside after pressure cooking.

STEP 14 - Cook it for another 7-8 minutes and switch off the flame.

Garnish it with chopped coriander

and serve it hot with bhatura or chapatti or paratha.