Bobbatlu

Before you start

• Make the dough at least 3 hours ahead — an underrested bobbattu dough will not stretch and will tear every time.
• Soak the chana dal 30 minutes before cooking so it softens evenly.
• Cook the filling and cool it completely before stuffing; warm filling turns the dough sticky and unworkable.

Method

1. Knead the maida, atta, salt, turmeric and about 120ml water into a very soft, sticky dough — softer than chapati dough, almost batter-like at the edges.
2. Pour 4 tbsp of the melted ghee over the dough, cover, and leave it 3 hours at room temperature. It should be slack and silky when you come back.The dough must be soft enough to spread with your fingers. If it holds a firm ball shape, work in another tablespoon of water.
3. Pressure cook the drained chana dal with 400ml water for 4 whistles, until a grain crushes to paste between two fingers.Cook it soft but drain it hard — wet dal makes filling that will not hold together.
4. Drain the dal thoroughly, then blitz or mash it to a smooth paste.
5. Cook the dal paste with the jaggery in a heavy pan over medium heat for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring constantly, until it thickens and comes away from the sides in a single mass.It will loosen and go watery when the jaggery melts. Keep going — it stiffens again, and that is when it is ready.
6. Stir in the cardamom and nutmeg, spread the filling on a plate and cool it completely, then roll it into 8 equal balls.
7. Oil your palms, take a lump of dough the size of a lime, flatten it on a greased sheet of banana leaf or baking paper, place a filling ball in the centre and gather the dough over it.
8. With greased fingertips, pat the parcel out to a thin 15cm round — do not use a rolling pin, it will tear.Work from the centre outwards in small pats. If the filling shows through in one spot, patch it with a scrap of dough.
9. Heat a tawa over medium heat and flip the bobbattu onto it, paper side up, then peel the paper away.
10. Cook 60 to 90 seconds a side, brushing with ghee, until brown spots appear and the surface puffs in patches.Medium heat only. High heat browns the outside before the filling warms through.
11. Slide it onto a plate, brush with more ghee, and repeat with the rest.

Storage

Keeps 3 days at room temperature in an airtight box, or 8 days refrigerated. Warm on a dry tawa for 30 seconds a side before eating; microwaving makes them chewy.