Chawal ke Faray / Dal Pittha

August 26, 2022bysaltandsoul

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

Serves: 15 - 18 pieces

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August 26, 2022bysaltandsoul

For the dough

For the stuffing

For the tempering (tadka)

The stuffing and tempering

1)
Soak urad dal and chana dal for at least 3-4 hours or overnight.
2)
Transfer the soaked dal, water and all the spices and steam it in a pressure cooker for 7-8 whistles.
3)
Once done take it off the flame, let it cool down and then coarsely mash the dal. Transfer it to a big bowl.
4)
Make the tempering in mustard oil by adding mustard and cumin seeds, dry red chilies and chopped garlic.
5)
Once the tempering is cold, mash the red chilies with your hands to enhance the smoky flavour from the red chillies which have been slightly burnt in the hot mustard oil.
6)
Add the tempering, chopped coriander and curry leaves to the mashed dal and mix well. Keep it aside. Our stuffing is ready.

The dough

1)
In a large patila or kadai add water, salt and 1 tsp oil. Once it comes to a roaring boil switch off the flame and slowly add the rice flour. Mix it gently with the help of a spatula. Cover it with a lid and let it rest for 5 minutes. Make sure to add rice flour in batches otherwise lumps will get formed and it would be difficult to knead it into a dough.
2)
Take it out in a big bowl or a Paranth while the mixture is still hot. Start making a dough by mixing it with your palms. If needed add a little water. Keep the dough covered with a muslin cloth to avoid getting it dry.

The Farey

1)
Take a small sized ball of the rice flour dough and roll it out into a 2” diameter circle. It should not be too thick or thin, the thickness should be about 1/2 cm.
2)
Fill it with 2-3 tbsp of the prepared stuffing, fold it and press the corners gently. Make sure to not overfill it otherwise it will be difficult to fold the fareys and the dough will crack and will be difficult to steam.
3)
Keep the steamer on high to medium flame. Steam the fareys for about 10-15 minutes. Make sure the fareys are well spaced out while steaming otherwise they will stick to each other. Insert a toothpick and if it comes out clean, they are done. Once done take them out in a plate and let them cool down.
4)
Your Fareys are now ready to enjoy. You can make them in large batches as well so that you can enjoy them the next day with your morning tea, breakfast or as an evening snack.

TIPS

For the dough keep the rice flour and water in the same proportions.
Use Mustard oil to make the tempering as it will give a nice, smoky flavour to your stuffing.
While pressure cooking the dal don’t add too much water otherwise the stuffing will become watery. Add just enough water to cover the dal.
If extra dough is left, you can make rice flour rotis. They are amazingly tasty with garlic chutney or any vegetable.
Keep the dough covered otherwise it will become dry and would be difficult to make fareys.
It the dough is too hot to knead with your palms, you can use the back of a cup or glass instead.
Make sure the stuffing is not too hot while making the fareys otherwise the dough might crumble.
While placing the fareys in the steamer, make sure they are well spaced out so that they don’t stick to each other.

VARIATIONS

You can make these with whole wheat dough too. Mix both whole wheat and rice flours in equal amounts.
Instead of steaming we can boil the farey in a wide pot with lots of water. Boil water with little salt and 1 tbsp oil. Once the water comes to a boil add the Farey to it. All the Fareys will be immersed in water at once. Once they start cooking they will start coming up. It will take about 10 minutes. Insert a toothpick and if it comes out clean the Farey are ready!