Whatshot
Through my eyes
Through my eyes
Date: 2016-03-25
On my recent travels to Mauritius I met up with a seasoned home cook Onila from Mon Choisy. My husband had been on my case since even before we left Durban, carrying on about how we must travel to Curepipe and try their famous Dhall Puri. Oh and did we find it? But I have to be honest, my favourite Dhall Puri came from Port Louis Vegetable Market.
So one day having been pestered by my husband, I decided to see if I could learn to make my own version of this Mauritian speciality. Onila is a waitress at one of our favourite hangouts in Grand Baie. Onila invited me home and showed me the way to make the puri and I would love to share the recipe with you.
So you will need yellow split dhall available everywhere and really cheap too, three cups of bread flour, salt, Butter (Garlic, wet Tandoori masala and onion optional).
You take two cups of yellow split dhall and soak for two to three hours. Cook the dhall until almost soft but still crunchy in the middle. Take three cups of bread flour and sift with a teaspoon of salt, melt two tablespoons of butter and add to flour. Use the water from the dhall, which has been cooled but is still warm to mix with the flour into a soft dough. Set aside.
In a frying pan fry your favourite spice, Onila used cumin seed, which I dislike, I used grated fresh garlic, half an onion finely chopped and two tablespoons of "Wet Tandoori masala", fry until soft and add to the drained and dry dhall.
Using a potato masher, mash the braised spices and dhall together, until it becomes a dry crumbly mush. Roll the dough into even balls the size of a golf ball. In your hand squash the ball into a flat disc, take a walnut size ball of dhall and fold it into the dough ball.
Make sure that the dhall is covered in dough and using your hands roll into a ball. Then using your hands squash the ball on a floured surface and roll into a thin pancake.
In a frying pan on medium heat melt one teaspoon of butter and fry the puri. You can eat it with any kind of curry but it tastes best with a Sugarbeans, tomato chutney and a chilli pickle.
I hope you will try it and let me know how it turned out. It is amazing how we are defined sometimes by our culinary cultural specialities and how we can grow closer and more appreciative of each other through food and culturally specific dishes. Feel free to share some of yours with me.
Bon Apetite!