A - Z India Street Foods ~ U for Urad Dal Ke Poori / Bedmi Poori

The alphabet 'U' took me to North India to savor one of it's popular breakfast dishes, urad dal ke poori which also happens to be a street food there. Indians everywhere love their deep fried puffed bread, poori without any reservations despite it being a guilty pleasure. Whereas the standard pooris are made with a dough of wheat flour alone, these pooris also known as bedmi poori use urad dal as well some semolina / coarsely ground wheat flour for the crispiness. 

These pooris are prepared two ways. In the first method, soaked and coarsely ground urad dal batter is directly added to wheat flour along with spices and a dough is prepared. In the second method, coarsely ground urad dal batter along with spices is sautéed and used as a stuffing for the pooris. 
Today’s version uses the former method which is simpler and quicker compared to the stuffed version. The pooris only have a hint of urad dal smell and it is hard to notice it when savoring them with the spicy accompaniment. One can adjust the spice levels mentioned in the recipe. However remember to add more spices than you think are necessary while preparing the poori dough since some of the potency is lost while frying. Otherwise, the pooris would taste bland. These pooris hold their shape and are crispier. They are also more filling and heavier compared to the usual pooris. These pooris are usually served with a spicy potato curry prepared in a ghee base called as dubkiwaale aloo from the holy city of Mathura. The curry falls under 'saatvik foods' as it uses no onion or garlic.

Ingredients: (Yield 20 pooris)
1/2 cup (soaked for 2 hours and drained) urad dal / skinned, split black gram
1 tsp. grated ginger
1&1/4 cup whole wheat flour / atta
3 tbsp. semolina
Salt to taste
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. cumin powder
1 heaped tsp. coriander powder
1/2 tsp. garam masala
1/2 tsp. amchur powder / dried mango powder
1 tsp. fennel powder
1/4 tsp. asafoetida
1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
Oil for deep frying

Method:
* Grind urad dal and ginger together without adding any water to slightly coarser texture.
* Combine the rest of the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Add the above ground paste and mix well. Gradually add water in slow increments and prepare a firm dough. (I added about 3/4 cup water.) Add a tsp. oil to the dough and knead a minute. Cover it with a lid and leave for about 10 minutes.

* Heat the oil in a pan for deep frying on medium flame.
* Divide the mixture into 20 portions and roll each of them into 3 inch diameter circles.

* Fry a poori at a time until golden brown, flipping once or twice. (There is no need to worry if some of the pooris don't puff up.) 

* Remove it with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel.
* Serve the pooris hot with a spicy curry.

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