I got a wonderful opportunity to do my first guest post for my loving blogger friend Aruna of ãhãram. During the course of blog writing we came to know each other and become very good friends. She has a versatile blog full of recipes from different parts of the world. You should visit her blog to look for those at aahaaram.wordpress.com.

Thank you very much Aruna for introducing my blog to a new group of foodies.

Aruna has a special connection to Bengalis and passion for Bengali foods. When I post the recipe of Karaisutir Kochuri or Peas Puri she expressed her fondness for it. Over the chat she got to know about Radhaballavi from me and asked me to share its recipe in form of a guest post for her blog.

Now few words about “Radhaballavi”. This sweet named dish is nothing but puris filled with urad dal stuffing. It goes very well with Cholar dal or Chana dal and Alur Dom.  Aloo Matar Paneer, which is my recent post, can be a good match as well. In Kolkata, people on their way back from daily bazar in the morning, often flock infront of sweet shops to have a quick Radhaballavi while others pack them to home for a good breakfast. Some of these sweet shops are selling Radhabalavi for many years and well known to keep up the traditional custom  and taste.

If you are bored of having usual puris, radhaballavi can be a welcome change.

Ingredients for 7 – 8 Radhaballavi :

For Stuffing :

1. Skinless urad dal – ½ cup
2. Green chilli – 1 or 2
3. Ginger paste – ½ tbspoon
4. Black cumin seed – ½ teaspoon
5. Fennel seed – ½ teaspoon
6. Asafoetida or hing (powder) – ½ teaspoon
7. Pinch of turmeric powder
8. Salt to taste
9. Cooking oil – 2 tbspoon

For dough :

1. Plain flour – 1 cup
2. Sugar – ½ teaspoon
3. Asafoetida or hing (powder) – ½ teaspoon
4. Pinch of salt
5. Oil – 1 tbspoon
6. Lukewarm water

Ingredients for Cholar dal or Chana dal :

1. Chana Dal or Cholar dal – 2/3 cup
2. Chopped tomato (medium) – ½
3. Ginger paste – ½ tbspoon
4. Small pieces of coconut – 2 – 3 tbspoon
5. Lengthwise sliced green chilli – 2
6. Cumin seed – ½ teaspoon
7. Whole garam masala (Cinnamon stick – ½ inch, Clove – 2, Cardamom – 2)
8. Bay leaf – 1
9. Turmeric powder – ¼ teaspoon
10. Salt & sugar to taste
11. Cooking oil – 1tbspoon

    

Procedure :

Making of Filling/Stuffing for the puris :

 Wash and soak the urad dal for few hours in water. Then drain the water and grind the dal by adding salt and green chillies. Add little water if needed, the paste should not be watery.

Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add black cumin seeds, let it splutter and then add the urad dal paste and turmeric powder. Fry the dal until it’s raw flavour goes away.

Now transfer the fried dal in a bowl and mix with ginger paste, asafoetida and fennel seeds using hand. Now your filling is done, let it cool down at room temperature .

Making of Dough :

Shift flour, salt, sugar, asafoetida and oil in a big bowl and mix them very well. Add lukewarm water, little at a time, to combine all the ingredients. Knead the dough very well to give it a semi-soft texture. Leave the dough for at least 30 minutes in an air tight container.

Making of Radhaballavi/Puri :

Divide the dough into 7 or 8 equal parts and round them between your palms. Radhaballavi is bigger in size than puri, so make the balls a bit bigger than puri balls.

Flatten each ball evenly by your fingers to make a hole in the ball, put 1 tbpoon of the spicy urad dal stuffing, close it from all sides and again roll them between your palms.

Now roll the stuffed balls, by a rolling pin, on an oily work surface to make a circular shape, slightly bigger than that of puris.

Now heat sufficient amount of oil in a frying pan over medium heat and fry the puris in it. I don’t like my puris to be brown in colour, so I don’t fry them for too long. You can fry the puris according to your preference.

Making of Cholar dal/Chana dal :

Wash the chana dal and pressure cook it, adding water, upto 3 to 4 whistles. Do not throw away the water soon after boiling the dal.

Heat the oil in a large pan over medium flame. Add whole garam masala, cumin seeds and bay leaf, saute them for a while and then add the coconut pieces. Fry the coconut till light brown in colour and then add ginger paste, chopped tomato, green chillies, turmeric powder and salt. Cook till tomato gets softened and raw flavour of ginger goes away. Now add the boiled chana dal with water, season with sugar and salt (if needed), also add extra water if needed. Now let it boil for few minutes so that the dal gets the flavour of other ingredients. Put the gas off as the dal thickens to your desired consistency. It should not have a very thin gravy.

Now serve the Radhaballavi with Cholar dal and enjoy. 🙂

Note :

1. While frying the urad dal paste, don’t fry it for too long, otherwise it will get hard.
2. The oil should be moderately hot when you are going to fry the puris. If your oil temperature is low, your puri will not rise well. On the other hand, if the oil temperature is too high, your puris may get burnt.
3. While boiling the chana dal make sure it does not get mushy. It should be cooked still holds it’s structure well.
4. If you are using solid asafoetida/hing instead of powder, then use a pinch of it as it is more stronger than the powdered one.