Dal Bhari Poori

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One year today. How time flies some say, but this year literally just flew by. Swept away from under our nose and we did not even realize. So much to do and so little time that for a second we forgot exactly 365 days back, last week I was sitting in my garage at this time, couched in one of the easy chairs papa parked out there in the sun for me. With one hand covering my eyes from the glaring but comforting sun and holding my phone with the other I remember that impatience killing me slowly from the inside. Doctor was supposed to call me in, the previous night in order to induce labor but no sign of him anywhere. It had been a tough and tiring pregnancy with one threat or the other every step of the way. Somehow we made it till the final lap but these last few steps seemed to be taking forever.

Rest of the day just went by trying to distract myself with a movie or repacking the hospital bag which had already been packed several times before. Losing any hopes of getting a call either from the doctor or the baby who was happily snuggled inside my belly, I retired to bed early. Only to be woken up in the middle of the night by the doctor’s office telling its time. Seconds back, time couldn’t have moved slower enough but now I needed some extra! After a quick shower, a crispy butter toast with chai and tilak from mummy, we headed to the hospital.

Sixteen hours, thousand kegels and a million squats later, she was born. And suddenly things got real! If I could describe that moment when I first heard her loud cry, in one word, that would be overwhelming. There was this overwhelming gush of emotions trying to flood out of me and I just couldn’t stop them. Those tiny toes and fingers, the lips, eyes and that face. Looked familiar from before and now I had two. Gosh, now I had two! Double the amount of love, double the cuteness and of course trouble. Although for some reason felt easier the second time around probably because we weren’t as clueless this time or maybe because we had help, a LOT of help!

Papa mummy were here, practically seeing us through the whole year. From the little ones daily oil massage to the butterfly’s trips to and from school to keeping us fed and the house (both old and new) in order, they made sure everything was running smoothly while we went through a lot of transitions this past one year. That’s the thing with being a parent, once you are one, you feel responsible for the well being of your child. Then it doesn’t matter whether he/she is one year old or 30.

Probably that’s the reason, today while writing about the monkey’s first birthday I cannot get them off my head and the difference their presence made. Thinking of mummy sharing her recipe for Dal Bhari Poori with you today which also happens to be Papa’s most favorite thing in the world. Makes this recipe extra special! She made it for us at least a 100 times while she was here and lucky for me, I was able to pick up my camera this one time while the baby was napping. So it only feels right to share this recipe today on the monkey’s birthday (well birthday + 1 week day!). Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients: Makes approx. 20 parathas

For the filling:

Chana Daal- 2 cups

Onion- 1 medium- thinly sliced

Garlic- 1 bulb

green chili- 2-3

Coriander- 6 Tbsp

cumin- 1 teaspoon

red chili powder- as per taste

asafetida- 1 pinch

methi seeds- ½ tsp

turmeric- 1 tsp

salt

vegetable oil or ghee- 2 tablespoons

For Paratha:

Whole wheat aata (flour)- 4 cups

Water- 1 1/2 cups (approx)

Salt- 1 tsp

Ghee or vegetable oil for pan frying

Method:

For the filling:

Soak chana dal overnight. Strain water. set aside.

Heat oil in a pan. Sautee onion, green chili and garlic until golden. Take out of oil.

In the leftover oil add asefotida, methi. As it sputters add chana. Mix well. Pressure cook to a whistle or until its cooked through although not mushy. Dry excess water. Add rest of the ingredients into the dal. Mix well. Allow to cool.

Transfer to a food processor. On medium speed grind the chana dal mix, fried onion, garlic, chili to a grainy sticky powder.

For Paratha:

In a large mixing bowl mix together flour, salt and water to knead into a soft dough. Refer this post.

Divide the dough into approximately 20 equal parts. Roll into balls. One dough ball at a time lets start the filling process.

Press dough ball between your palms to flatten. Now press the dough ball in the middle with your thumbs forming a small depression kind of shaped like a small cup.

Fill a couple tablespoons (or as much as you can handle) of the filling inside the dough cup.

Lift the edges from all sides, bring it together and pinch them to close the pocket.

Now gently press the filled pocket between your palms. Dust and roll into a flat disc.

Heat a heavy cast iron skillet or tawa. Now transfer your rolled out paratha to a hot griddle and cook brushing with ghee/oil until it gets small brown patches on it. Flip and repeat again.

Serve hot with sweet mango puree and chutney.