Channa Dal Fritters in a Tangy Sauce

I had this recipe with me since a long time and I don’t know from where I have sourced it. Since deep fried as a method of cooking is something I generally avoid this recipe didn’t get tried for a long time. But the other day I decided to give it a shot and it was a nice change from the normal day-to-day cooking.

Ingredients

1 cup channa daal (soaked for 4-5 hours),

1 medium sized onion (finely chopped),

1 inch piece of ginger,

5 cloves of garlic and 4 green chilies (ground into a paste),

4 tbsp besan,

1tbsp tamarind pulp,

1 tbsp powdered jaggery,

Salt to taste,

1 tbsp oil,

½ tsp mustard seeds,

½ tsp cumin seeds,

A pinch of asafoetida,

Oil for deep frying,

¼ tsp powdered turmeric,

Few curry leaves,

4 cups water

Method

Drain the soaked channa daal and grind it with the ginger. Add the fine chopped onion. Add salt and turmeric and 1 tbsp besan.Mix it well and make small dumplings and slip into hot oil. Deep fry on a medium heat till done and golden brown.

In a saucepan, heat one tbsp of oil and add the mustard seeds, after they pop, add the cumin seeds, asafetida, turmeric and curry leaves. Add the water to the tempering. Bring this to a rolling boil. In the mean time add some water to the remaining 3 tbsp besan and make a smooth paste. Add this paste to the boiling water, this will make it thick.

Add the tamarind pulp, salt, jaggery and the chilli-garlic paste. Boil for a few mins.

Add the deep fried balls and boil for 2 mins. In about 30 mins. the balls will have soaked well and the daal will be thick.

Goes well with plain rice.