Radhaballavi/Dal Puri - a pure bengali delicacy

Today, I'll share with you all another delicacy of Bengali cuisine..........
Radhaballavi, another name is Dal puri. It is stuffed deep fried bread. It is stuffed with lentil and little spices. It is a must on the menu of every ceremonies such as marrieges, birthdays etc. The name of this puffed bread is very special, as it is associated with Lord Krishna and Radha. I don't know the reason behind that. If anyone has any idea, I am very curious no know. Few other food items are also named after Lord Krishna, like one kind of rice is called Govinda(another name of Lord Krishna) Bhog.

Anyway, Radhaballavi or Dal puri goes well with Cholar Dal(chana dal) or Aloor dom or any kind of aloor tarkari(potato gravy). Originally it is made of white flour. But I made it with wheat flour or it can be made with white and wheat flour mixed together.

Ingredients

For the outer crust :

Wheat Flour : 3 cups
Oil or ghee : 2 tsp.
A pinch of salt
Water to knead

For the filling :

Chana dal/bengal gram(cholar dal) : 1 cup
Red chilli powder : 2 tsp.
Cumin powder : 1 tsp.
Roasted Cumin seed powder : 2 tsp. (dry roast the seeds and crush them with a rolling pin)
Salt to taste
Oil : 1 tsp.

Enough oil to deep fry the puris/radha ballavis

Method :

• Soak the dal/lentil overnight or 4-5 hours in hot water. Grind the dal/lentil to a fine paste in a food processor with minimum water.
• Take a pan, heat 1 tsp. oil, add the lentil to the pan. Add other spices and mix well with the lentil. Stir until all the water evaporates. Take it out of heat and let it cool. Your filling is ready.
  
• Meantime, Add ghee and salt in the flour and mix, then add water gradually. The dough shouldn't be too soft and soggy. Knead the dough until it doesn't stick to your finger. Keep it aside for half an hour. Break the dough into lime size balls.
  
• Take a ball, flatten a bit, then place little filling(about one big spoonful) in the center.
  

• Carefully seal from all sides and make a ball again.
  

• Now take one stuffed ball and flatten the ball 3-4 inch wide pressing very gently. Take care not to break the outer cover. The filling should not come out of it.

• Heat enough oil (the oil should be piping hot) to deep fry, carefully immerse each rolled out balls into the oil. Gently press the sides with a spatula to puff them out. When one side is puffed, flip to the other side. Fry till slightly browned and take it out with a spatula which has holes in it to drain the excess oil from the puri.

It tastes absolutely divine like it's name when hot. Once I tried with left-over Ghugni(Dried peas curry) for filling, it was delicious.

Sending this to Laurie of Mediterranean Cooking in ALaska,
who is hosting MLLA9 this Month,
Susan of Well-seasoned Cook is the creator of MLLA(My legume love affair).