Friday 2 February 2018

Mung aur Chana Dal ke Pakoday (Legume Fritters in a Tomato-Nigella Sauce)

This one is backlogged from quite some time ago, so I'm afraid I don't remember many of the details of making it.

Mung aur Chana Dal ke Pakoday
Slightly adapted from 660 Curries
For the Fritters:
3/4 c. skinned split mung beans
1/3 c. yellow split peas
6 fresh Thai (bird's eye) chiles
4 large cloves garlic
2 lengthwise slices fresh ginger (each 2.5" x 1" x 1/4")
1/2 c. chopped red onion
2 Tbsp. chopped cilantro
1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
1 tsp. bishop's weed (or 1/2 tsp. dried thyme + 1/4 tsp. black pepper
canola oil (for deep frying)

For the Sauce:
1 Tbsp. mustard oil (or canola oil)
1 tsp. nigella seeds
2 dried Thai or cayenne chiles (stemmed and gently pounded)
1 large tomato, chopped
1 Tbsp. chopped jaggery (or firmly packed brown sugar)
1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt

To Make the Fritters:
1. Rinse the beans and peas several times. Drain. Then cover with fresh water and allow to soak, covered, at room temperature, for 1-4 hours.
2. Drain the legumes.
3. Combine drained legumes in a blender with chiles, garlic, ginger, and 1/2 c. water. Puree.
4. Transfer the legume paste to a bowl and fold in the onion, cilantro, and bishop's weed.
5. Pour oil to a depth of 2-3" and heat over medium heat to 350F.
6. Line a plate or cookie sheet with several layers of paper towels.
7. Once the oil is hot, gently add teaspoonfuls of the batter to it and fry 3-5 minutes, turning occasionally.
8. Remove fritters with a slotted spoon and repeat the cooking process with the remaining batter.

To Make the Sauce:
1. Heat the oil over medium-high heat.
2. Sprinkle in the nigella seeds and chiles and let them sizzle for 10-15 seconds.
3. Add the tomato, jaggery, and salt.
4. Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the tomato softens (5-7 minutes).

To Serve:
1. Place 3 fritters on a plate.
2. Spoon ~1/2 tsp. of sauce over each one.

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