Culinary Chronicles
By Yasmin Rahul Bakshi
A long, treacherous drive of twenty-five hundred kilometres from Guwahati to Jalandhar in Punjab that included a traverse through the “Blissful Bihar”.
Many apprehensions swirled my mind before voyaging a road trip to Bihar – the state with deep royal roots, culture and heritage. To my astonishment Bihar was mesmerising with a touch of nature and history. Nothing close to what I had heard or seen through the eyes of the media or in the motion pictures.
Four of us, including our pet, a Saint Bernard, stepped into the state via Kishanganj. There was some kind of fright in my mind which soon disappeared on witnessing the sublime conditions.
The rock mountains of Rajgir where the university of Nalanda rested, the peaceful city of Bodhgaya with eye catching Buddhist temples and Stupas, forts of Buxar, Darbhanga, Shergarh, Jalalgarh exhibited the past laurels and the glory of the great dynasties like the Mauryas, Nandas, Guptas and of Samrat Ashoka who ruled that segment. Modern Bihar can boast of the ancient architectural monuments it holds within its territory.
The cuisine of this state was generous. Way ahead of “Litti Chokha” are the “Bihari kebabs, Mutton Ahuna Champaran, Dalpuri, Sattu parantha, Makuni, Laung lata, Ghugni, Dhuska, Kela machli and many more infinite delicacies that can allure anyone.
To my amazement, I found a few foods from the Bihari cuisine on the boulevards of Trinidad and Mauritius. Out of which “Dalpuri” is quite popular. In the mid- nineteenth century, the immigrant labour from this state carried their recipes as legacy with them to these isles.
The highways that sliced through the territory were impressive, without any hurdles in between with heavy plantations of bananas, papaya and corn on both the sides over the fertile and mineral copious earth. To break the monotony of the fields, giant tanks of water for fish farming could be noticed.
First-hand experience remodelled my conception of the beautiful and rich Bihar.
Ingredients:
(For dough)
- Whole wheat flour – 1 cup
- All purpose flour – 1 cup
- Salt – according to taste
- Ghee – 1 Tbsp
(For filling)
- Split chickpeas (chana dal) – 1 cup
- Asafoetida – ¼ tsp
- Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
- Red chilli powder – ½ tsp
- Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
- Salt – according to taste
- Ginger – 1 tsp (grated)
- Oil – for cooking
- Coriander leaves – 2 tsp (finely chopped)
- Ghee – 1 tsp
Method:
- Wash and soak the chana dal in water for ½ an hour. Drain the excess water.
- Make a soft dough by using water with whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, salt and ghee.
- Cover and let it rest.
- Heat 1 tsp of ghee in a pressure cooker and add in the cumin seeds and asafoetida.
- Add in the drained chana dal with salt, red chili powder and turmeric.
- Sauté for a minute. Add about 30 ml of water and close the lid of the pressure cooker.
- Cook for three whistles until done, take care that the dal does not get mushy.
- Open the lid and check if there is some water left. If yes then on full flame without the lid, cook until the water evaporates.
- Grind the dal into a fine powder.
- Mix in the finely chopped coriander leaves.
- Divide the dough into equal table tennis ball size portions.
- Flatten each dough ball.
- Place a spoonful of dal filling in each flattened ball and encase it inside.
- Roll out a dal filled ball into a thin flat disc with the help of a rolling pin.
- Heat a griddle and cook it by brushing with oil on both sides over a medium flame until it turns light golden and small brown spots form on both the sides.
- Repeat with all the remaining balls.
- Serve hot with a curry or chutney.
(Yasmin Rahul Bakshi is an accomplished senior consultant Chef and a food historian. A widely travelled Army wife from the Mussoorie hills with exposure to international cuisines & preserving recipes with the medium of food photography and digital content creation in the form of stories.)
