Savory lentil dumplings - Puli bongaralu :D

I sinned. I haven't blogged in like 7months. I have just about enough time to cook and eat these days(that is whenever I cook). And, lack of proper light for photographs is such a bummer. Well, before I'm kicked out from the food blogger community, I should get back to blogging. So, let's pretend that neither of us have any knowledge of my absence and be foodie friends again. Ok?
My home in Hyderabad has abundant natural light and my mom's an awesome cook. To believe this, you must taste her payasam or onion dosa or tomato-carrot rasam or.. you get the point right? It's a paradise for a food blogger in me. So, I take out camera and ask her for recipe while she pours batter on pan or practically whenever she is in kitchen.
This is my second most favorite Indian breakfast/snack item right after Onion dosa. It has a crazy name in Telugu and forget about non-Telugu people even my Telugu friends have a good laugh when I say what these are. They go by the name - Puli bongaralu in my household. Let me guess, Puli - for being a little sour, though we really don't use that term much and bongaralu being the tops. How thoughtful of someone to come up with a name like that!
The pan used in this preparation is easily available in India. So, no excuses for not making this!

Prep time- 15mins
Makes about 2 batches(roughly 15)

Ingredients -
Dosa batter - 2 cups
Carrot grated - 1/2 cup
Curry leaves - handful torn to tiny pieces
Chana dal - 2 tb spoons (soaked for a while )
Green chillies - 4-5(minced)
Turmeric - 1/2 tea spoon
Salt - as per taste
Oil - 1/2 tea spoon per dumpling
Jeera/cumin - 1 tea spoon
Coriander - 1 table spoon chopped fine

Procedure:
1. Bring together all the ingredients except oil and mix into a nice,colorful batter.
2. Heat the aebleskiver pan and add oil into each hole. After oil is heated, carefully spoon in about 2 table spoonfuls of batter in each hole. They would puff up once cooked so don't fill them entirely.
3. Let them cook for about 3-4 minutes on one side on medium flame. Then carefully flip them with a wooden lifter(which mom uses) or you may use end of spoon. If they are cooked thoroughly they would come off easily. Once flipped let them cook on the other side. Once they turn to a beautiful brown lift them and place on a kitchen towel.
I'm very embarrassed to tell you guys how many dumplings I gobbled. Yum-o!

Read more

by Hb ~ Tuesday, July 20, 2010 10 comments