Dal Pandoli

So far in the series,

First week - Sweets
Malaadu / Hurigadale Unde
Dry Gulab Jamun
Coconut Burfi / Kobbari Mithai
Almond Halwa / Badam Halwa
Elaneer Payasam
Godhuma Sojjappalu

Second week - Snacks from Gujarat
Damni Dhokla
Doodhi Muthia / Lauki Muthia

I came across this recipe while searching for snacks in Gujarati cuisine. Black eyed peas are soaked and ground into a batter and then steamed as small sized portions. If not for this event, I would have been skeptical to even consider trying this recipe but glad that I tried and found out a healthy snack / light meal option. This is like a grain-less idli option for south Indians and also a gluten free recipe if asafoetida is omitted or gluten free asafoetida is used.

Most of the pandoli recipes I came across are made with moong dal but there was this variation where black eyed peas was used. There is basically only one basic recipe online that everyone seems to be following. I am familiar with the steaming ground moong dal concept but black eyed peas version was a novel and interesting one. I wasn't even sure whether the dal would hold without any binding agent but hold, it did. One can include spinach leaves in the recipe and grind it along with the batter. I added cilantro and peas instead and added a bit of tadka to make it more flavorful. I served them with peanut cilantro chutney.

Pandolis are made in an old fashioned way on a cloth tied to a steamer, pouring portions of a big spoonful of batter over it, spacing them apart. However idli tray would be the perfect or even a better substitute for pandoli making which would allow one to use up all the batter at once and for an easier clean up. Pandoli are shaped similar to idli and I made the first batch the traditional way and the rest in idli plates. I made only a small batch as mentioned in the recipe and the pandoli cooked to perfection. I am a person who cooks for six even when there are two people and my husband was surprised to see why I had made a small portion when they tasted good. I am not sure about the results when made in large quantities.

Ingredients: (Yield - 12 pandolis or 9 if made in idli stand)
1/2 cup black eyed peas
1 tsp. grated ginger
1 tsp. green chillie paste / 2 green chillies
Salt to taste
3 - 4 tbsp. sour yogurt 
2 tbsp. minced cilantro (optional)
2 tbsp. fresh / frozen peas (optional)
1/2 tsp. fruit salt (Eno's brand)
Ingredients for tadka:
1 tsp. oil
1 tsp. mustard seeds
1 tsp. cumin seeds
2 pinches of ground asafoetida

Directions:
1. Rinse and soak the black eyed peas in water, for about 3 - 4 hours. Drain the water completely after the soaking period.

2. Heat oil in a small pan (just hot and not to smoking point) and add mustard and cumin seeds. When mustard seeds start to pop, add asafoetida and turn off the stove.
3. Grind the soaked peas along with ginger, green chillies, salt and spinach if using, adding only as much as yogurt needed to make a thick and smooth batter. 

4. Add minced cilantro, green peas and the tadka from step 2 to the batter and mix well to combine.

5. Take a deep and wide vessel or a cooker base and fill half of it with water. (I used less and it is a hassle when the water evaporates and the water needs to be added in the middle of steaming pandolis.)

6. Tie a muslin or thin cotton cloth over the top and heat the vessel until the water to starts to boil.

7. Add the fruit salt to the batter and sprinkle a spoon of water over it. Mix it well to combine.
8. Pour spoonfuls of batter on the cloth, spacing evenly. Cover it with a dome shaped lid or even a cooker lid without the whistle. 

9. Steam them on medium heat, until a toothpick inserted at the center comes out clean, about 15 - 20 minutes.
10. Turn off the stove and let it sit for a few minutes, Remove the pandolis and repeat the steps 5 and 6 to make more pandoli.
Serve them warm with green chutney.

Note:
1. Moong dal can be used instead of black eyed peas for variation.
2. Pandolis can be steamed in an idli stand instead to cook more at once.

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