Recipe: Chef Balwant's Kali Dal, Jaisalmeri Paratha

Creamy black lentils mopped up with any kind of freshly-made Indian flatbread is a tasty combo.

Chef Balwant Sajwan chooses to serve his recipe for Kali Dal with Lijjat papad-accented parathas. These Jaisalmeri Parathas take their inspiration from the traditions of the western Thar desert.

An executive sous chef at the Jaisalmer Marriott Resort & Spa, Chef Balwant has this pairing on the menu of Wyra, the hotel's rooftop restaurant that offers a night view of the twinkling fort.

Kali Dal and Jaisalmeri Paratha

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

For the black dal:

• 150 gm sabut kali urad dal or whole black gram
• Water
• 50 gm tomato puree
• 25 gm butter
• 10 gm fresh cream
• 10 gm ghee
• 4 gm kasuri methi or dried fenugreek leaves
• 20 gm degi mirchi powder (a red chilly powder that is a blend of different types of chillies)
• 20 gm ginger-garlic paste
• Salt to taste, about 1½ tsp

For the Jaisalmeri Parathas:

• 80 gm aata or wheat flour + extra for rolling
• Water
• 1 tsp ghee + extra for oiling the dough
• 5 gm crushed Lijjat papad
• 3 gm crushed dhaniya or coriander seeds
• 3 gm crushed jeera or cumin seeds
• 3 gm roughly crushed peanuts
• 3 gm chilly powder
• 5 gm butter
• Salt to taste, about ½ tsp

Method

For the black dal:

• Soak the dal overnight.
  Wash and boil the dal in a large saucepan with 2 cups water over low heat for 40-50 minutes, at least, till of a thick, porridge-like consistency.
  Keep aside.
• Heat the ghee in a saucepan or kadhai and add the ginger-garlic paste, tomato puree along with all the spices and saute over low heat for 4 to 5 minutes.
  Add the boiled black urad dal and cook till well combined.
• Finish or serve with the fresh cream and/or the butter.

For the Jaisalmeri Parathas:

• In a bowl, combine the flour, chilly powdr, salt with the water and the 1 tsp ghee and knead into a smooth, soft dough.
  Let the dough rest, covered and oiled with a little more ghee, for 20 minutes and later knead again and divide into the dough into 1½ inch-diameter ball-sized portions.
  Dust each portion with the extra wheat flour and roll it out as thin as possible.
  Generously spread ghee over the rolled paratha and sprinkle some of the crushed spices, peanuts and the Lijjat papad on top of each and roll it up, make a coil and roll again.
  Fry the paratha, adding dabs of the butter on a tawa or griddle or in a home tandoor until crisp.
  Repeat for the balance dough balls.
• Serve the parathas fresh off the tawa with the steaming dal.

Chef Balwant, a graduate of the Indian Institute of Hospitality Management, Dehradun, began his career at the Park Plaza, Ahmedabad, and has been with the Marriott group since 2012, with a brief one-year stint at the Sarovar Hotels in between.

• REDIFF FOOD