Chakulya – Indian Pasta!

Name: Chakulya – Indian Pasta!
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: dal sauce For the /; 3 cups toor dal L entils / (my cup holds 200ml); 3 Onions medium fineely chopped; 1/2 cup coconut coconut Grated dry / desiccated; 10 pods garlic finely chopped; 3 - 4 tbsps oil; of 1/4 A pinch Asafoetida toor dal + th tsp addedto while pressure cooking; 1 tsp chili powder Red; 2 tbsps masala Maharashtrian goda/ kala; 1/2 tsp Turmeric (haldi); 1 tsp Cumin jeera /; 1 tsp Mustard seeds / rai; 1/4 cup Groundnuts; 1 Green chili; 1 tbsp Lemon juice; A handful coriander of finely chopped; butter A dollop of clarified for each helping…… its a must.; 3 cups Wholewheat atta (flour); salt A pincf; Oil to add to the dough; water Enough to knead the dough

Gauri Shirke @cook_7836379

Mantri Tranquil, Kanakpura, Bangalore

Call it chakulya,varan phal, dal dhokli or Indian Pasta like I do :) its one tasty dish on any given day!At home chakulya were made when mom had a very busy day and no time to cook an elaborate meal, my younger sister and me were more that happy to have heaps of it with dollops of ghee. I still remember we almost licked the plates :)
This dish has two main components - varan or dal which is cooked with cooked toor dal and phal or fruit which here are rolled out rotis cut into diamond shapes.
Even though I have given a detailed recipe below (my way), you can change this to suit your taste and you will still love this dish.
Getting back to the recipe some things that I would like to specify:
I have used 3-4 tbsp oil mainly because I don’t have a very large non-stick utensil to cook chakulya, if you use non-stick cookware reduce the oil accordingly.
I like the groundnut+chilis+garlic pods to be coarsely pound, it gives a good texture to the dal/sauce (all the kids on Junior Master chef Australia are super talented, thought I should start using the correct language – texture / character/ and so on)
Goda or Kala masala is a maharashtrian masala, if not available at home just add another tsp of red chili powder.... don't worry the dollop of ghee will balance all the heat.

Gauri Shirke @cook_7836379

Mantri Tranquil, Kanakpura, Bangalore

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Ingredients

dal sauce For the /
3 cupstoor dal L entils / (my cup holds 200ml)
3Onions medium fineely chopped
1/2 cupcoconut coconut Grated dry / desiccated
10 podsgarlic finely chopped
3 - 4 tbspsoil
of 1/4 A pinchAsafoetida toor dal + th tsp addedto while pressure cooking
1 tspchili powder Red
2 tbspsmasala Maharashtrian goda/ kala
1/2 tspTurmeric (haldi)
1 tspCumin jeera /
1 tspMustard seeds / rai
1/4 cupGroundnuts
1Green chili
1 tbspLemon juice
A handfulcoriander of finely chopped
butter A dollop of clarified for each helping…… its a must.
3 cupsWholewheat atta (flour)
salt A pincf
Oil to add to the dough
water Enough to knead the dough

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Steps

1

First knead the dough and set aside
2

Cook the lentils in the pressure cooker with a pinch of asafoetida and 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder.
3

Once the lentils are cooked in the pressure cooker, set aside.
4

Gather the spices:
5

Take the green chili, ground nuts, garlic pods and pound them coarsely, or just wrrrrr them once in the mixer/grinder.
6

Now take a heavy bottom large pan or a non-stick pan if you have one and add oil. Once the oil is heated add asafoetida, cumin, mustard let them splutter, then add turmeric, saute for a minute, add the coarsely pounded groundnuts with garlic and chili.
7

Saute this for 1 minute, then add 1 tsp red chili powder and 2 tsp of goda masala (easily available in the market)
8

Add the desiccated coconut, chopped onions,
9

Then add the cooked toor dal/ lentils and mix well, add 4 cups of water, salt, lemon juice and adjust the seasoning as per taste.
10

It may seem like a lot of water in the dal, but as you add the chapati / roti, it starts to thicken.
11

Now as this dal cooks, roll out the dough like a roti / chapati and cut it into squares.
12

As the dal / sauce is cooking keep adding these cut pieces, stir the dal in between as its very likely that it sticks at the bottom of the pan.
13

Also separate each piece of the chapati as they will stick together in the dal/ sauce.
14

Keep adding the dough, once you are done.. let it cook for 10 mins on medium heat, this is how the roti / chapati will look once cooked.
15

The roti/chapati is cooked when it has shine, take a piece of roti out and try break it with your fingers it will happen in a jiffy (let it cool a bit or you will definitely burn your fingers!
16

Garnish with a handful of finely chopped coriander.
17

Serve hot with a dollop of ghee, papad, achaar, onions or just plain and ENJOY!