Dal Bhari Paratha or Dal Bhari Puri we call it both at home. When I say puri you might picture the deep-fried fluffs, no the chana dal bhari puri is more like parathas but has its unique taste. Not to confuse with the puris and parathas, I am using Dal Bhari paratha as the term. You cannot resist having more than one (Calorie Alert!), especially when you have these dal bhari parathas with mango or Karele ki meethi sabzi. Try it now and thank me later 😀
To give you a brief, the dal bhari – it’s the most understood word at home which means dal bhari paratha – is a stuffed paratha. The stuffing includes chana dal or split Bengal gram as the main ingredient. It is one of the commonly found lentils in India, and also one of the widely used among dals. It is made with fewer ingredients. The blend of turmeric, onion, ginger, garlic and cumin seeds make the taste of Dal Bhari Parathas heavenly.
Well, I know you might want it right now! Let’s head straightaway to the recipe.
How To Make Dal Bhari Parathas at Home
A step by step recipe guide to Making Dal Bhari Paratha
Ingredients
For Dough
- 500 gm Wheat Flour
- Water as required
- Two pinches Salt
For Grinding
- 200 gm or 1.5 cups Chana Dal or Bengal Split gram
- 1 tsp Haldi or Turmeric powder
- 1 Small Onion, roughly chopped
- 8 Garlic cloves
- 1 inch Ginger piece
- ½ tsp Zeera or Cumin seeds, roasted
- 2 Green chillies
- 2 cups Water
- Salt to taste
To fry the stuffing
- 1 big Onion, sliced and chopped
- 1 cooking spoon Mustard oil
- ½ tsp Garam Masala or All-Spice Powder
For Frying the Dal Bhari Parathas
- Mustard oil or Refined oil for frying
Directions
- Knead atta or wheat flour for parathas; the dough should be soft.
- Add salt while kneading the dough.
- Once the dough is kneaded, cover it with a damp muslin cloth and keep it aside.
- Take a pressure cooker. Add all the mentioned ingredients “For Grinding” to the pressure cooker.
- Close the lid and keep the pressure cooker on simmer.
- Let the chana dal cook for 20-25 minutes.
- Turn off the heat. Open the lid.
- Let the cooked dal cool.
- Grind the cooked chana dal to a smooth paste.
- Take a wok or kadhai, add 1 cooking spoon mustard oil and heat it.
- Add the large onion we had chopped separately.
- Saute till onions turn pinkish.
- Add the chana dal paste and garam masala.
- Mix and sauté for 5 minutes on low heat. Let it cool for 10-15 minutes.
- The chana dal stuffing is ready for Dal Bhari.
- Make equal sizes of dough balls.
- Take one dough ball, flatten it till palm size with the rolling pin.
- Put the chana dal mixture in the centre and now join the edges of the rolled dough.
- With light hands, flatten the stuffed dough ball into a paratha.
- On a heated griddle or tawa, place the dal bhari paratha.
- Flip over to cook evenly. Apply mustard oil on both the sides of the paratha for frying.
- Cook till golden.
- Repeat the process (from step 16-21) to make parathas, as required.
- Serve it with mango slices of Meethe Karele ki Sabzi or even Karonde ki Sabzi.
Step by Step Recipe for Dal Bhari Parathas
Knead dough for parathas; add two pinches of salt while kneading. The dough should be soft. Once kneaded, cover with a damp muslin cloth and keep it aside.
Take a pressure cooker. Put all the above-mentioned ingredients “For Grinding” in the Ingredients list. Mix the ingredients with a spatula. Close the lid and put the pressure cooker on low heat.
Let the Chana Dal cook for 20-25 minutes. Do not add more water than required; we just need to get the dal cooked to make the paste. If the dal will be watery, you won’t be able to make a proper stuffing.
After 20-25 minutes, let the steam from the pressure cooker rest. Open the lid and let the Chana Dal cool down.
Once the dal is cool enough, put it in a grinder jar and grind to make a smooth paste. You can divide the portions into two and grind one by one.
Keep the Chana Dal paste aside.
Now, take a kadhai or a wok and add mustard oil. Heat it.
Add the chopped onions; remember we had chopped a large onion for frying? This is the step for it. Saute the onions till pinkish and soft.
Now add the chana dal paste and garam masala. Mix them well with a spatula. Saute for 5 minutes.
Once done, turn off the heat and transfer the mixture to a bowl. Let it cool for 10-15 minutes.
Take the kneaded dough, we had kept aside earlier. Make equal dough balls out of it. Take one dough ball to flatten it with the rolling pin. The flattened disc should be of a small palm size so that you can put the mixture for stuffing.
Add the mixture to the centre of the rolled disk. Join all the edges to make the round ball again. Now flatten it lightly with your hand and start rolling with the rolling pin. Roll big enough to make a paratha.
Take a griddle or a tawa and put it on the stove. Heat. On the heated griddle, place the Dal Bhari paratha. Flip it to cook evenly. Now apply some mustard oil over it. Flip over, apply the oil on the other side as well. Cook till golden.
Repeat the process to make more Dal Bhari parathas. Serve it with mango slices (if mango is still available at your place) or Meethi Karele ki Sabzi or Karondey ki Sabzi. You can even have the Dal Bhari Paratha with a pickle.
