Dal Puri (Unleavened Indian Bread stuffed with Lentils)

Back to blogging after a short break! I had been visiting Mumbai and Goa with family for a short vacation. It was indeed tiring because of the heat, but nevertheless it was a fun-filled trip with loads of entertainment with the whole family. Short trips to hometown is reinvigorating and gives new strength and energy to go on with life!! The only drawback of holidaying is that I eat and eat….eat a lot!! LOL!! And finally end up putting on a few pounds. Hopefully I should be able to shed a few kilos, now that I am back home!

Back in India DD (my little one) and myself had a great time. At times we felt exhausted because of the rising temperatures in Mumbai and Goa but that did not stop us a bit from having a good time to the fullest! ❤

Talking about today’s post, Dal Puri is a deep-fried Indian bread with lentil stuffing and is usually enjoyed with a spicy potato curry.

Usually it is prepared with yellow moong-dal stuffing but I have used masoor dal (red lentils) which is commonly used in my family and is equally delicious. It is a simple recipe requiring very few ingredients. This dish is very festive and is relished by kids. DD loves puris in general, irrelevant of whether it’s with/without any form of stuffing. For people making it for the first time, it will probably require some amount of practice to perfect the intricacies of the dish, but that should not stop you from trying! Once you are there, I am sure you will definitely love it as much as we do! 🙂

Ingredients:

For the puris:

Wheat flour – 1/2 cup

All-purpose flour – 1/2 cup

Salt – 1 tsp

Oil – 1 tbsp

For the stuffing:

Masoor dal / Red lentils – 1/2 cup

Coriander leaves – 1 small bunch (finely chopped)

Green chillies – 2-3 (finely chopped)

Cumin powder – 1 tsp

Salt – as per taste

Method:

1. Mix the wheat flour and all-purpose flour with some salt and oil. Mix well. Prepare a dough by adding small quantities of  water at a time. For puris, you will need to make a little harder dough as compared to roti doughs which are relatively softer.

2. Take the red lentils in a pot of water just enough to cook the lentils. Do not add too much water in the beginning as we need to dry out the water completely and the lentil mixture should not be watery . Add cumin powder, chopped coriander leaves and green chillies. Cook until the lentils are cooked and completely dry. Add salt in the end.

3. Take a small ball of dough. Roll it out initially to a small round flat disc using a rolling pin.

Place a spoon of the stuffing in the middle and roll it up from the sides gently to seal it from the outside and form a round shaped dumpling. Repeat the process for the other dough balls as well.

Take each dumpling, press it gently in between your palms. Coat it slightly with some oil.

Roll it out into a flat circular disc.

4. Heat oil in a pot.

The oil should be sufficiently hot or else the puris will not puff up.

Insert the puri into the oil. Fry on one side for 1 min. It will puff up. Turn it around and fry for another 1 minute.

Repeat the process for all the puris.

Enjoy hot delicious lentil-stuffed puris with a spicy potato curry and chilled yogurt.