Dal Pakwan

I never had any Sindhi friends growing up nor any Sindhi neighbors. Even my parents had no Sindhi friends. 😯 To say that I had no Sindhi influence in my life what so ever, would not be incorrect. It was my huge loss that my palate and Sindhi cuisine hadn’t been introduced until now!! Because of that, I have been deprived of Dal pakwan all of my growing up years. Do you think I am being over dramatic? Wait till you try it and you might end up feeling betrayed too.

In my quest to try out as many different dishes as possible, I suddenly thought of trying dal pakwan. I had heard of it but never actually tried or tasted it. It’s a very popular Sindhi breakfast. Crispy fried pakwan is topped with Chana dal,  onion, cilantro, green chilies and chutneys, making it absolutely delectable and mouth watering. Since it tends to be a little  heavy, it can also be eaten as lunch or even as an evening snack. When I say heavy, I don’t mean oil dripping greasy heavy food. Even though pakwans are fried they are incredibly crispy and light. What I mean is, you end up eating so many of them that no matter how light the pakwans are, gravity has no choice but to finally kick in. Also Chana dal, being protein rich, decides to let you know you have eaten enough, a little later.

After doing lot of research and asking people around, I have come up with this version. I can’t claim it to be authentic but I loved it so much that I am sticking to it. This dish is  like a party in your mouth. The crispy cracker like pakwan topped with the simple yet flavorful Chana dal does tango with the spicy toppings and the whole thing turns out to be quite a rocking affair.

Yum

Dal Pakwan

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Yield: 3-4 people

Ingredients

For dal
• 1 1/3 cup chana dal
• 3 tbsp. oil
• 2 1/2 tsp. cumin seeds
• 3/4 tsp. red chili powder or to your taste
• 4 green chilies chopped big
• Pinch of asafoetida
• 2 1/2 tsp. salt
For Pakwan
• 2 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. carom seeds
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp. water
• 4 tbsp. oil
• Oil to fry
For topping
• 1 medium onion finely chopped
• Cilantro finely chopped
• 1/2 cup Tamarind pulp
• Green cilantro chutney( optional)
• Date and tamarind chutney (optional)

Instructions

For dal
1. Soak the chana dal for a few hours and in a pressure cooker, add water just an inch more than what is required to soak the dal properly.
2. Boil the dal till it's cooked but holds its shape quite well. (I let the cooker whistle 1 time on high flame and 1 on low flame)Keep aside.
3. Take a pan and add oil to it. Add cumin seeds, asafoetida and let cumin seeds sizzle.
4. Then add green chilies, salt and red chili powder. When cooked, add to dal. Keep aside.
For Pakwan
5. Take flour, salt, carom seeds and oil. Mix well together. Mixture will be crumbly.
6. Add water little by little to make a not too hard not too soft dough. Keep aside for 10-15 min, if possible.
7. Divide the dough into small balls and roll them as thin as possible. Prick them with fork all over so that they won't puff up while frying.
8. On medium low heat, fry them one at a time.
To assemble
9. Take one Pakwan, put chana dal on it. Make sure it a piece of chili on it.
10. Sprinkle some onions and cilantro on it.
11. Add the chutneys as per your taste and serve immediately

Notes

1.Chana dal should be boiled just up to the right texture. It should retain its shape perfectly. 2. You can make pakwan with all whole wheat flour or half whole wheat and half all purpose flour too. 3. If you have kids you can cut the green chilies big like I did so that it's easy to take them out else chop them fine. 4. Assemble the dal and Pakwan just before you eat it else it might get soggy. 5. Fry the Pakwans on medium low flame to make them crispy. 6 Pricking the Pakwan all over is a very crucial step to ensure their crispness. 7.Roll the Pakwan thin like papad and bigger than the size of poori.

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