Dal Pitha

Before you start

• Soak the chana dal in cold water for 4 hours, then drain it well. Wet dal grinds to a paste and the filling turns sticky instead of crumbly.
• Make the rice dough while it is hot and keep it covered under a damp cloth at all times. Rice flour dough cracks the moment it dries.
• Have the steamer water already boiling before you start shaping, so the pithas go in as soon as they are made.

Method

1. Grind the drained chana dal with the garlic, ginger, green chilli, 1 tsp cumin seeds and 1 tsp salt to a coarse, sandy mixture with no added water.Pulse rather than run the grinder. You want the texture of wet semolina, not hummus.
2. Heat 1 tbsp mustard oil, add the asafoetida and turmeric, then the ground dal, and fry over medium heat for 6-8 minutes until it dries out and smells cooked.It is done when the mixture stops clinging together and moves loose in the pan.
3. Bring 450ml water to a rolling boil with 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp mustard oil.
4. Take the pan off the heat, tip in the rice flour all at once and stir hard with a wooden spoon until it comes together into a shaggy mass. Cover and leave 5 minutes.
5. Knead the warm dough with oiled palms for 4-5 minutes until it is completely smooth and takes a fingerprint without cracking.Knead it as hot as you can bear; cooled rice dough will not come smooth and the pithas split while steaming.
6. Pinch off walnut-sized pieces, roll each into a ball and press into a 8cm disc between oiled palms.
7. Place a heaped teaspoon of the dal filling in the centre, fold into a half-moon and press the edge shut, crimping it with your fingers.
8. Steam the pithas in a single layer over boiling water for 12-15 minutes, until the surface turns glossy and no longer looks chalky.Do not crowd the steamer. Pithas that touch stick together and tear when you separate them.
9. Heat the remaining mustard oil until it smokes faintly, then crackle the panch phoron, remaining cumin seeds and broken red chillies for 20 seconds.
10. Toss the steamed pithas in the temper for 2 minutes so they take on a light crust, scatter over the coriander leaves and serve hot with chutney.

Storage

Keeps 2 days refrigerated. Re-steam 5 minutes to soften, or shallow fry the cold pithas in mustard oil until crisp at the edges, which many households prefer to the fresh version.