Once of my favorite snacks from back home!

These golden fluffy fried dough disks filled with the most simple and delicious dal filling can be found at fried food stalls all over Dhaka. I mostly had them at home, so today I’ll be showing you how to recreate the perfect fluffy puris at home!

For the best dough:

You want to make sure to mix the flour, salt, and oil together well first before adding the water. This will make the dough flakier.

You can rest the dough just till your dal is cooled and ready to use but I would highly recommend letting it rest on the counter for at least 2-3 hours or overnight in the fridge for best results. This will make the dough light and soft and the puris will fluff up beautifully.

When resting your dough in the refrigerator, take it out an hour or two before you are ready to roll them out and let it come up to room temperature before using.

Some more tips:

Make the dal a day ahead also and it will taste even better with the resting time. You don’t need to dry the dal out completely when cooking, just as long as there’s no extra liquid at the bottom. The dal will dry out more as it cools, especially if you spread it out on a plate to cool.

When you stretch the dough balls out to fill them, leave the centers of the dough thicker than the edges as you will be pulling the edges together to close the ball and you want both sides to be around the same thickness once the ball is formed. This way you won’t rip a hole in your puri while rolling.

When rolling out the puris, only do a few at a time (however many you can fry at once in your pan) so that they don’t dry out before frying. You can also cover your puris with clingfilm or a plate while you’re waiting to fry.

You can watch the full process in these videos: Part 1 & Part 2

INGREDIENTS  

Dough

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup water (or however much you need for a firm-ish dough)

Filling

• 1 cup masoor daal (washed and drained)
• 2 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup onions diced
• 3 garlic cloves sliced
• 1/2 tsp panch phoron (bengali five spice mix)
• 1/4 tsp red chili flakes
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 green chilis diced (optional)
• Cilantro chopped (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS (Pictures coming soon!)

First make your dough. Mix flour, salt, and oil together. using your fingers to make sure the oil is well distributed.

Then add in your water and knead until a firm dough is formed.

Cover with clingfilm and let rest while you prep your dal/3 hours on the counter/overnight in the fridge for best results.

For the dal, heat a small pot on medium high. Add in your oil, wait for it to heat up, then throw in your onions. Fry until translucent, then add garlic, fry for a couple minutes

Then throw in your panch phoron (bengali five spice mix). Fry for a few minutes until they get aromatic and start to pop, then add in some red chili flakes and fry for a few seconds

Then add in water. Let it come up to a boil, then turn the heat down to medium low, put the lid on, and let it simmer until steam stops coming out of the pot.

Check if your daal is done by tasting a bit off the top. Then spread out on a plate to let it cool, or put it in the fridge for the next day if you’re resting your dough overnight.

Then form your puris. If you rest your dough in the refrigerator overnight, take your dough out an hour before you’re ready to roll, and let it come up to room temp. Pull the dough into a log shape, then cut into 10 equal pieces.

Pull each piece into a circle, you want them to be thicker in the center and thinner at the edges. Then place a tablespoon of your cooled daal filling in the center.

Pull the edges together and pinch it close to make a dumpling like shape.

Roll in the palm of your hand gently to knock out those folds, then flatten a little and let rest for 5 minutes.

Roll them out gently into little circles. Be careful to not rip any holes in the dough.Cover any puris you won’t be frying immediately with a plate or some cling film so they don’t dry out.

Heat your oil on medium heat, throw in a small chunk of dough to check if it’s ready. If the dough floats up and starts bubbling immediately, it’s ready.

Gently slide in your puris. Fry for a few minutes until they fluff up and turn golden brown. Flipping them several times to get both sides colored evenly.

Then take them out onto a paper towel to let them drain, and your puris are ready to serve!