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Dabal Pakora~ AlifBe~ 21

Alka Keswani — Fri, 14 May 2021 10:56:39 +0000

Alifbe of Sindhi Food, the series about A-Z of Sindhi food is now at the 21st letter; ڊ or D in Roman Sindhi and ड in Devanagari ! D as in Daddy, Dairy, Daily etc! And I couldn’t help but pick one of the most popular Sindhi street foods, the Dab^al Pakor^a (In Roman Sindhi) or Dabal Pakora (Pakora pao/sandwich) for ڊ ! The term Dabal is used for Double roti which could mean Pav/Pao or even the sliced bread, in Sindhi! Bread is being commonly used in Sindhi households since past many decades (probably even before the Partition happened) be it for Seyal Dabal, or Chola Dabal or is also had with mutton curry or even with Keema. And the Dabal Pakora combination i.e Pav served with pakora and green chutney is as dear to Sindhis as Vada Pao is to Marathi manoos or even to a Mumbaikar. In Ulhasnagar, my home town, you will find plenty of small bakeries on the road side and in small lanes and as you walk around, the heady aroma of breads and biscuits, rusks and nankhatai being baked in those small bakeries is simply irresistible! As a school going kid, few decades back, I remember visiting bread shops that had sale counter at the front of the shop while the wood fired oven at the back of the shop and I would often peep inside the bakery and watch in awe the ‘baker’ drenched in sweat working like a magician, shaping pao dough, lining dough balls in rows, in a tray and then dumping it in ‘oven’ all with a lightning speed. Never knew then, that at that particular moment such Ovens were being used somewhere abroad to bake Pizzas, Focaccia, Ciabatta, Garlic bread etc and who would have thought that those Italian breads will dominate the food markets and the tastebuds, globally in the near future! Coming back to Dabal Pakora (in Sindhi the Plural of a Pakoro is Pakora), it is very common to spot small roadside shops in Sindhi populated areas, where batches of Sanna Pakora, Mirchai Pakora (Amchoor marinated Chilli fritters), patate ja pakora (alu pakora), Beeh tikki (Lotus stem tikki), patate ji tikki (Sindhi style Batata vada) are fried right in front of you and you can relish a pao stuffed with pakore and some runny but spicy green chutney on the go. The combo is very pocket friendly but not so heart healthy considering that the refined oil is reheated beyond the permissible levels, plenty of times, across the day. If you observe well, you will notice that the kids at these pakora shops almost always buy Sanna and patate ja pakora, the youngsters opt for patate ji tikki, the middle aged prefer Mirchai pakora while the elderly like to eat Beeh pakora/beeh ji tikki. Do you agree? And no, I cannot explain why I loved and preferred the Mirchai pakora and Beeh ji tikki when I was barely a decade old! I still love both, crazily! The pakora in the above pictures are Sanna Pakora (Also known as Sannah pakora) and no, these are not Kaanda bhajiya! The typical Sindhi style Sanna pakora are double fried, crunchy fritters made from a dense batter of besan, chopped onions, chillies, coriander leaves, coriander seeds, cumin seeds and pinch of mithi soda or the baking soda! And did I tell you that Abana Spices have this wonderful Sanna Pakora spice blend that helps you to make the sanna pakora most scrumptious and crunchy ? You don’t even need to add soda to the batter! The spice blend has a hint of garam masala that adds an oomph to the fritters without overpowering the flavors. Do check this link for their spice range or for placing your order! If you need the recipe of Laadi pao, please check this link of my other blog, Recipeonclick.com! Print Dabal Pakora~ AlifBe~ 21 Ingredients For Sanna Pakora: 1 cup gram flour 1 small onion (chopped) Coriander leaves (chopped), a few sprigs 1 tsp Cumin seeds 1 tsp Annardana (Dry pomegranate seeds) 1 tsp Coriander seeds (akkha dhaniya) 2 Green chillies (finely chopped) Salt to taste Red chilli powder as per taste A pinch of baking soda Water Oil for frying To serve: Laadi pao Mint coriander chutney Fried Whole chillies (optional) Method Mix all the ingredients listed under 'Sanna Pakora' except oil for frying, and make a thick batter. Heat oil for frying in a pan/kadai. Add a tbsp of hot oil to the batter, mix well. This will make fritters crunchier! Take a spoon full of this mixture and slide gently into hot oil, repeat for whole mixture but do not overcrowd the pan. Cook in batches, if needed! Fry on medium flame till almost done. Take them out, allow to cool down a little and then break the blobs of pakora into small pieces. Flash fry again, in hot oil, till dark golden brown and crisp. Take a fresh Pao, and cut/tear/open apart, pour few tsp of spicy but runny mint coriander chutney, stuff some pakora and enjoy the blissful bites! Can add some fried whole chillies to spice it up! 3.5.3251 Interested in Learning how to read and write Arabic Sindhi? Then do check the following video and you can watch other videos on my youtube channel!

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Dal Dimma~ AlifBe ~ 18

Alka Keswani — Tue, 04 May 2021 03:40:52 +0000

We have arrived at the 4th shape group in Sindhi Script with the 18th letter and it is د or ‘D~’ as in Daawat or as in Dehradun, in Roman Sindhi while द in Devanagari. To Check a recap for AlifBe series kindly click here ! The Sindhi dish starting with د is Dal Dimma or Dal mung! Folks from Sindhi populated areas might know how common it is for people to flock around the carts selling Dal pakwan, early mornings. Though traditionally Sindhi Pakwan is served with Chana dal, it is very common to find carts where you will get an option of Dal Dimma or Dal mung as many call it. Dal mung is a mix of Whole mung, chana dal and Yellow mung dal, slow cooked separately and mixed while serving. Those who hail from Ulhasnagar would know the popular Doli Naashta waala, well known for traditional Sindhi street foods like Dal pakwan, Dal sandwich, Samose, Gulabjamun etc and Dal mung is one of its best seller. Those living around camp 4 of Ulhasnagar would vouch for Dal mung at Shankar Uncle’s New Delhi Nashta House, near Canara Bank. Interestingly around the same place (Canara bank) and previous to that, near Jungle hotel, an old frail, tall Uncle ji (I think his name was Hari or Hiru) used to sell Dal Dimma on fresh leaves (Can’t recollect if those were Paan or some other leaves). Barely 3 tsp of mung and 2 tsp of dal, garnished with spice powder and chutney @ 25 paise, in late seventies and early eighties would be enough to satiate your morning hunger as it was often had with Pao or roti or even with home made Koki. Anyone remember that Uncle ji? The plain mung dal used to be so dense that you need to actually scoop it with a roti/bread. Slow cooked on charcoal sigri for hours, with only salt and turmeric, garnished with black pepper powder, the piping hot buttery soft dal used to be a delight to relish. As a kid studying in Bal Mandir ( Preschool of yore), I was privileged enough to enjoy hot dal from that Uncle’s cart with mom made Koki courtesy the lady who would bring tiffins for the kids from their respective homes during lunch break. I also have memories of savoring Dalmung Sandwich from the cart opposite building number 6, or amazing Dal pakwan at Vig, in Chembur, while enjoying a stay at Grandparent’s home, pampered with food, food and more food by aunts, Uncles and cousins. You can read more about Chembur Street food here! I have already shared recipes of Dal mung and Dal moth on the blog but today we are talking about Dal Dimma! Honestly speaking I was not aware of the term Dimma as it is called Dal mung in my home town. But thanks to the Sindhirasoi facebook group I got to know that a dal preparation without using tomatoes or onions/garlic is called Dimma. I am yet to find the actual meaning of the word Dimma but I need to thank Mr Manohar Pamnani, Mr Sanjay Lulla, Ms Dolly Atmaram Chandwani and Ms Shashi Nagpal who shared their valuable inputs and their memories about Dal Dimma when I approached them to understand what exactly a Dimma preparation is. Will share more about that some other time! Also a big thanks to Barkha Khushalani Di for always helping me out with the Devanagari script. And of course, heartfelt thanks to my better half, Deepak Keswani too, for being there at every step of learning be it Alif Be or reading dictionaries, recording videos/ Insta reels or for helping out in editing clips. Here is the video of letter formation and assembling of Dal Dimma: Summary: So from what I gathered from discussing about Dal Dimma is that mung/ dal is boiled with just salt, turmeric and optionally, chillies and is tempered with hing (asafoetida) and cumin seeds and garnished with spice powders/garam masala. Print Dal Dimma~ AlifBe ~ 18 Dal Dimma or Dal Mung is a mix of whole mung, chana dal, mung dal, cooked separately and assembled for serving. It is a popular Sindhi street food. Ingredients Serves 3 Mung Whole Mung 1 cup Salt as per taste Green chillies 2 or as as needed Turmeric powder ¼ tsp Garam masala powder (I used Abana's GM) ½ tsp Ghee / oil for tempering Red chilli powder ¼ tsp Cumin seeds ½ tsp Asafoetida 2 pinches For chana dal Chana Dal ¾ cup Salt as per taste Turmeric Powder ¼ tsp Green chillies 1-2 Ghee/oil for tempering Cumin seeds ¼ tsp Asafoetida a pinch Abana's Dal Pakwan Masala 1 heaped spoon Cumin seeds ½ tsp Mung Dal Mung dal (split yellow) ½ cup Salt as per taste Turmeric powder ¼ tsp Ghee/Oil for tempering Red chilli powder ½ tsp Black pepper powder ¼ tsp For Serving Boiled potato chopped 1 Small Boiled beetroot chopped, 1 Small Tomato chopped, 1 Small Onion Chopped 1 Mint coriander chutney Sour Tamarind chutney * Amchoor powder for garnish Fried or Roasted Green chillies 3-4 Method Rinse well and soak Mung, chana dal and mung dal, separately for few hours. Cook each dal separately using salt, chilliies and turmeric powder, till done. If using Abana Dal pakwan masala, then add it while boiling Chana dal. You can cook each dal in a pressure cooker or slow cook in a pan. Mung and Chana dal are bit mushy but not completely mashed, while mung dal is cooked till buttery smooth. In Whole mung, add a tempering of ghee/oil, cumin seeds, hing, red chilli powder and mix well. Add some garam masala powder. In Chana dal, add a tempering of ghee/oil, cumin seeds, hing and chilli powder and mix well. Remember not to overcook or over-mash this dal. In mung dal, add a tempering of ghee/oil and red chilli powder. Add black pepper powder and mix. Consistency of all three should not be very runny. Chop salad vegetables and season with salt, pepper, chilli powder and amchoor/chaat masala. *To make Sour Tamarind chutney just soak some tamarind in water, squeeze well and discard the pulp. Season the tamarind water with salt, chaat masala, chilli powder and hint of sugar. While serving, pour some whole mung in a bowl, some chana dal on one side and mung dal on other side, garnish with some Abana Dal masala, Amchoor powder, chilli powder, salad vegetables, chutneys and dried or roasted whole chillies. Serve hot with bread, roti or Koki. 3.5.3251 Picture Courtesy: Saarthak Aurora I made Dal Dimma using Abana Brand’s Sindhi Dal (pakwan) spice mix along with Garam masala and Amchoor powder of the same brand. Abana is a Sindhi word referring to something that is ancestral. They make some unique Sindhi spice mixes that no other brand can boast of; Sindhi Dal ( pakwan) spice mix, Sindhi Kadhi spice mix or even Sindhi Sanna Pakora and Tuk patata spice blend. The spice mixes dedicated to the Sindhi cuisine and a brand name that is so Sindhi that it stirs memories of yore like nothing else would (Remember the Sindhi Movie, Abana?), the brain child of Mr Basant Rajan, who, at the age when people retire, ventured in this field purely because of his passion for traditional food and spices. If you wish to try these Sindhi spices, please check this Box of Nostalgia, a box with 14 different spices and spice blends!

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Chhola Dab^al For AlifBe ~ 16

Alka Keswani — Thu, 22 Apr 2021 08:25:12 +0000

Chhola /Charaan i.e Kabuli Chana curry is a very popular dish in Sindhi cuisine and it is often had with rice, roti as well as with sliced bread and Pao (laadi paav) too. Sindhi style Chole (Chhole in Roman Sindhi) are made in basic onion tomato gravy style, though many cook it in just tomato gravy. No tea leaves are used (to give color) and also, traditionally, no chole masala (spice mix) is added. The curry gets its flavors from whole spices like Kamaal patt (Tej Patta), vadho photo (Black Cardamom) etc while tomatoes and tamarind (optional) provide tanginess. Few crushed chana render thickness to the gravy and the garam masala powder pushes the flavors a few notches up! In Sindhi populated areas, Chaap chhola (Patties with Chole) and Chhola Dab^al are two of the most famous street foods and while patties chole are generally had as an evening snack, Chhola dab^al on the other hand is had for breakfast. Chhola is a curry made using Garbanzo beans (chickpeas) while dab^al in Sindhi refers to bread ( sliced bread, pao etc). It is also known as dab^al Roti or Dab^roti in Sindhi. Simply put, Chhola Dab^al is bread topped with chickpeas curry and garnished with chutney, sliced onions and sev (Nylon sev). Gupta ji Chole waala, opposite Satramdas hospital in Ulhasnagar was famous for his Chhola dab^al as well as falooda. His cart had a stove with a large aluminum container, filled with dense spicy garbanzo curry, arranged on the outer sides of the container. The centre of the container was intermittently filled with soupy gravy and a portion of dense curry (with beans) was then mixed with it and allowed to simmer for a while. Few chunks of pao were then immersed in the simmering curry, scooped out and placed in a takeaway container, topped with some gravy and beans, chunks of cooked potato, chutney and spice mix (a trade secret), some coriander leaves and nylon sev for the garnish. The hearty breakfast was often had on lazy winter Sunday mornings and it used to be my (late) mother’s favorite. Somehow I never developed a liking for it! If you have been tracking the AlifBe series, you may have got a hint by now. Yes, we are at the 16th letter of Sindhi Alphabet and it is ڇ or ‘Chh’ as in Chhattisgarh, in Roman Sindhi while छ in Devanagari. And no marks for guessing that the Sindhi dish starting with ڇ is Chhola Dab^al ! To check step by step pics of assembling Chhola Dabhal, please watch this video! Dab^al or bread was had by Sindhis even in the pre partition era. You can find a reference, in the book We the Sindhis, of a certain Ghanno (name of the vendor) Pakorai (one who sells pakore or fritters) in Jhuremalani Ghitti (street) in Sindh (Now in Pakistan) before partition, who was immensely popular for his Beehu (lotus stem) and ras mein dabroti or the bread in gravy. Also every Sindhi must be aware of the song ‘Dal Chola Dab^al’ from the movie Abana, the Sindhi movie released in the year 1958 in which the veteran actress Late Sadhana Shivdasani played a second lead role. So you see, Sindhis have been relishing this street food much before the Vada pav, Bombay Sandwich and Pavbhaji became the popular snacks featuring the bread. The recipe of Chhola Dab^al is as follows: Print Chhola Dab^al For AlifBe ~ 16 Rating 5.0 from 1 reviews Chickpeas curry topped over laadi pao and garnished with chutney, onion slices and sev. Ingredients 200 gm Kabuli chana 2 large onions, finely chopped 3 tomatoes, grated 2 green chillies 3 cloves of garlic and 1 inch piece of ginger, pounded 1+1 Tej patta * 1+1 Black Cardamom* 1 inch piece of Cinnamon ½ tsp Turmeric powder ½ tsp red chilli powder (or according to taste) 2 tsp coriander powder 1 tsp Garam masala ( or you can use Chole masala) Oil 2 tbsp Salt Two small potatoes, cut in chunks (Optional) To assemble Chola Dabhal (1 small serving) 1 Pao ( laadi pav) A cup of Chole curry 2 tsp Green chutney (Mint coriander) Handful of Nylon sev Fresh coriander leaves to garnish Some lemon juice or 1 tsp of tamarind water Some slices of onion Method Pick, rinse Kabuli chana few times, with water and soak overnight. Drain and add soaked chana to a pressure cooker and pour water to submerge chana completely. Add salt, 1 tejpatta* and a black cardamom * and close the lid of pressure cooker. Put it on the flame. Cook for two whistles and put off the gas. When pressure subsides, drain boiled chana and reserve the water. Do not throw away the water. Now in the pressure cooker, pour 2 tbsp of oil and add 1 tejpatta *, cinnamon and a black cardamom*. Add pounded ginger garlic. Cook for a minute and then add finely chopped onions. On medium to low flame keep cooking onions till nice brown. Do not increase the flame. Add turmeric powder and chilli powder and chopped green chillies. Immediately add drained boiled chana (Please note: Pre boiling chana is an optional step. I boil it if I am not sure about how fresh the stock is. You can skip pre boiling and use raw soaked chana at this stage). Add grated tomatoes and some salt (remember there is salt in reserved water too), coriander powder and keep cooking on high flame, mixing intermittently till oil separates out. Add the reserved water (if you have boiled chana) or hot water ( if you are using raw soaked chana) and make sure that the chole are completely submerged in water. If using potatoes, add it at this stage. Mash some chana to thicken the gravy. Add some chopped coriander leaves, garam masala powder and close the lid. After a whistle, put the flame on minimum and let chole cook under pressure for 12-15 minutes. To make Chhola Dabhal, tear off Pao in big chunks in a serving plate or bowl and pour Chhole (the curry), garnish with some chutney, onion slices, lemon juice or tamarind water and nylon sev. Serve/eat immediately! 3.5.3251

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