Dahl Puri

One of our friends kept raving about some Dahl Puri which he had at a small restaurant in Seattle. He was so impressed that I had to also try it out. After a few attempts we finally got to Pam’s Kitchen at the University District one evening. I was surprised to know how a large percentage of Caribbean population is of Indian origin and our food has taken a different twist in their kitchen. I loved the Dahl Puri which they served along with a medley of Goat curry and Potato-bean curry. Even though they call it Puri it is more closer to Indian Parantha than the traditional Puri.

This is my recreation of the same, but obviously with a bong twist.

Ingredients

For the filling

• 2 cups yellow split peas
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/4 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1 tsp. ground roasted cumin
• 2 green chilies
• Salt to taste

For the dough

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 tbsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. instant yeast 
• 1 cup water

Procedure

Wash split peas and boil them in a sauce pan with about six cups of water and a pinch of turmeric powder. Once it comes to a rolling boil reduce the heat and cook for about thirty minutes.

Drain them on a strainer and let it cool down.

Take all the ingredients of the filling in a food processor. Grind them into a smooth mixture. There should not be any whole piece of grain left in the mixture.

In a mixing bowl take flour, yeast, salt and baking powder. Add water little at a time and start kneading. You might need to add little more water than a cup. keep kneading until you make a firm dough.

Cover the dough with a kitchen towel and let it rest for thirty minutes.

Divide the dough into six portion and make smaller balls out of them.flatten out each dough ball in your hand to form a six inch circle and dust one side of it with dry flour. Fill this up with 3 tbsp. of filling and then using your finger close the open end and seal.

On a flour dusted surface roll out each stuffed dough ball into a disc of 12 inch diameter.

Heat a skillet (Tawa) on medium high heat. Brush the surface with oil. Place the rolled out disc on hot tawa and let this side cook for thirty seconds. Flip it over. Once the puri is done it well swell up like a ball. Remove from tawa.

Serve hot.