Is what I kept saying after I had dunked into one daal pakwaan as soon as I clicked the picture.. Mummy was still finishing dinner preparations in the kitchen and I immediately took one to her to taste and then we both sat on the dining table with the daal in one bowl; pakwan in another and tamarind chutney on the side. One by one we finished all of it right there [and made a very apologetic face when dad finally came home!]
Daal Pakwaan is a common Sindhi Sunday breakfast item but for us it made a great appetizer! Crispy flat bread topped with spicy lentils and tangy tamarind chutney. It is a medley of flavour and textures. I got the recipe from this month’s Good Food India magazine. There was a time when the magazine was a monthly feature in my home but I hadn’t bought in a long time because actually I haven’t had a home in a long time :). Since the last few months, I’ve been a wandering pilgrim, finding a home wherever I go which currently happens to be in Chandigarh where my parents live. So without much delay, I present to you a totally delectable, delicious, mouth watering and asking-for-more daaaal pakwaaaan!
PS: I don’t have a great camera while I’m traveling (space constraints) so have to make do with what my basic phone clicked.
Dal Pakwan (Lentils with crisp flat bread)
By Ashima Goyal Siraj
Preparation time: |Cooking time: |Serves: 2
for the Daal (yellow lentil)
1 cup Chana dal (yellow gram), soaked in hot water for 30 minutes
½ tsp Turmeric powder
Salt to taste
1 tbsp oil
A pinch of asafoetida
¼ tsp cumin seeds
1 green chilli, chopped
1 small tomato, finely chopped
½ tsp Kashmiri red chili powder
½ tsp raw mango powder (amchoor)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
½ cup fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped
2 tbsp tamarind chutney
for the Pakwaans (crisp flat bread)
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tbsp oil for the dough
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying
- Boil the soaked chana dal with 2 cups water, turmeric and salt in a pressure cooker, for 3-4 whistles. Remove from heat but open the pressure cooker only after all the steam has escaped on its own.
- In a small pan, heat oil for tempering. Add asafoetida, cumin seeds and chopped green chili. Once the seeds start sputtering add the chopped tomatoes. Sauté for 3-4 minutes till tomatoes are cooked. Add Kashmiri red chili powder. Now add the tempering to the cooked daal.
- Put the daal in a serving bowl, sprinkle some amchoor powder, add tamarind chutney and sinely chopped onions and fresh coriander leaves.
- Meanwhile, knead the dough for the pakwaan/ papdi (crisp flat bread) by mixing the dough, salt and 1 tbsp oil with some water. The dough should have a medium- hard consistency. Let it rest for 10-15 minutes. Divide the dough into 6 balls. Roll each ball into a flat round and prick with a fork all over.
- Heat oil in a pan and deep fry the rolled pakwaans on a low flame until they are golden and crisp.
- Serve the pakwaans with daal and more tamarind chutney on the side.
- To eat, take one pakwaan, top it with the daal (make sure to have the onion and coriander as well in each topping) and some more tamarind chutney. Dunk into it and enjoy the chaat evening! 🙂
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