Indrahar (dal fritter)

Indrahar is a savoury deep-fried dal cake. It's got all the flavour of dal with the texture of a crispy hashbrown.

• serves

  4

• prep

  45 minutes

• cook

  10 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Stream free On Demand

Madhya Pradesh

episode • India Unplated • 

cooking • 

22m

G

episode • India Unplated • 

cooking • 

22m

G

Ingredients

• 20 g mung dal
• 20 g channa dal
• 20 g masoor dal
• 20 g urad dal
• Salt, to taste
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 ½ tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• Vegetable oil, for deep – frying

Toppings

• 250 g thick Greek yoghurt
• 2 baby golden beetroot, thinly sliced
• 2 baby candy beetroots, thinly sliced 
• Squeeze of lemon juice
• Mint leaves, to garnish

Soaking time: 5 hours

Instructions

1. Place all the dal in a large bowl, cover with plenty of cold water and stand for 5 hours.
2. Meanwhile, for the toppings, place the yoghurt in a piece of muslin or cheesecloth. Tie into a bag and hang in the fridge over a bowl to drain the whey. You can do this the night before if time permits.
3. Drain the dal, then place in a food processor with the salt, sugar, turmeric, chilli powder and ground coriander until a coarse paste forms. Place the paste in a non – stick frying pan and stir over medium heat for a few minutes to dry it out a little and to bring the paste together. Place the cooked paste into one half of a small baking tray so that it is about 1 ½ cm thick. Cool to room temperature then slice into squares.
4. While the dal paste is cooling, thinly slice the beetroots on a mandolin and toss in a bowl with the lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Spoon the hung yoghurt into a piping bag fitted with a plain nozzle if you wish.
5. Heat the oil for deep – frying in a deep saucepan to 190˚C. Deep fry the indrahar for a few minutes or until golden and crisp. Drain on paper towel.  Top the indrahar with the yoghurt, beetroot slices and micro mint and serve immediately. 

 

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Photography by Andrew Dorn.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

Stream free On Demand

Madhya Pradesh

episode • India Unplated • 

cooking • 

22m

G

episode • India Unplated • 

cooking • 

22m

G