Sindhi Dal Pakwan Sunday brunch is a regular in many households. It is a regular dish at weddings and during 'Havan' or 'Pooja'.Moms' love the simplicity of this dish. Children love the crisp texture and tangy flavor of the pakwan. It is a dish everyone loves.This is a special Diwali breakfast recipe too in many households. It is a wonderful brunch for the weekend.
We love to enjoy this delicacy with a tall glass of rose sharbat and lassi /buttermilk. Cut ripe sweet mangoes go well with it, in summer. Yum and absolutely delicious!. Other easy sindhi recipes that you can make include Kali mirch koki, bhuga chawar & sindhi chauthe,
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I love making it whenever possible. Easy yet looks sinful. Most people can get them in Sindhi colony at any roadside stall. Just like how Gujarati stalls sell fafda on streets. However,when abroad, you gotta make your own pakwaan. Make it and store it in a can for an easy breakfast later. I love Indian breakfast recipes. We do not rely just on bread.
Sindhi Diaspora and identity
Sindhi diaspora is spread wide across the world.It was inevitable due to incorrigible partition. You can find a Sindhi colony in most cities because no one bothered to give them a state. Neither did they beg for reservation.They have tried their best to preserve their culture,cuisine and language in spite of adversities. Here is our small contribution in preserving these age old recipes.
Which are some famous Sindhi breakfast recipes?
Sindhi food has a great variety of vegetarian recipes apart from the Daal pakwaan above.
- Seyun patata - Sweet vermicelli without milk seyun, served with patata or fried potatoes. Another gem of a Sunday breakfast.
- Sindhi Kutti / Bhorat - Unique way of serving whole wheat flour roti smeared with ghee and sugar and chopped to small servings so that kids can eat alone with a spoon.
- Sindhi Mitho lolo- Sweet flatbread made with whole wheat flour, jaggery. Great for breakfast or tea time.
- Sindhi koki - Onion flatbread which goes great with papad and tea for breakfast or with some sunny side eggs.
- Sindhi Besani - Chickpea flatbread best served with some mint chutney, date chutney or lemon pickle. Perfect for travel.
Famous Sindhi main course dishes
Some of the common Sindhi meals include the following
- Sindhi Kadhi - Besan kadhi with lots of vegetables
- Sindhi Tairi - Sweet jaggery rice
- Taryal vagan - Pan fried eggplant
- Sindhi Tomato Kadhi - Similar to Sindhi besan kadhi , but tomatoes are used instead of tamarind.
- green garlic rice - Rice made with fresh garlic
- Sai bhaji - Spinach cooked with lentils
- Sindhi toor dal kadhi - similar to Sindhi kadhi, however toor dal is used in the base instead of besan.
Storage tips
You can fry the pakwan and store it in an air tight container. Although fresh is best, if you are hard pressed for time, you can also pressure cook the dal in more quantity and refrigerate it for 2-3 days. Add fresh tempering before serving the dal.
Key Ingredients
For Pakwan: -
- Plain flour/maida / all purpose flour - You can also mix wholemeal flour ,however the colour turns out a bit dark.
- Cumin seeds/jeera
- Oil - use a good oil such as rice bran oil for cooking at low heat.
- Carom seeds /ajwain - These help with indigestion, hence always good to add to deep fried recipes.
- Salt
- Water to knead - Do not use too much of water, keep
For the lentils
- Yellow split peas lentils/chana dahl /split bengal gram - Soak them for few hours
- Water
- Turmeric powder - helps with a nice color and other medicinal benefits
- Asafoetida/heeng - helps with digestion
- Salt as per taste
Tempering
- Oil
- Cumin seeds
Garnish
- Red chili powder
- Mango powder / dry amchur powder
- Tamarind chutney optional
- Chopped onions
refer to recipe card for details.
How to make dal pakwan?
- Knead the dough.Take a small portion and roll into a thin flatbread. Prick it with fork/knife.
2. Fry in oil at low heat. Keep it aside.
How to make daal?
3. Soak the lentils in water for 2-3 hours.
4. Cook them in a pot or pressure cooker with salt and turmeric powder.
5. Put a portion of lentil in the serving bowl, garnish with red chilli powder
6. Heat oil, add 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, let it splutter , Add the hot oil tempering to lentils. Garnish with finely chopped coriander, onions, sweet chutney and optionally garam masala powder.
Sindhi Dal Pakwan recipe
Equipment
- kadai/wok/frying pan
- pressure cooker
Ingredients
For Pakwan:
- 2 cups plain flour/Maida
- ½ teaspoon cumin/jeera
- 3 tablespoon Oil
- ½ teaspoon carom seeds /Ajwain
- Salt
- Water to knead
- Oil to fry
For the daal
- 1 cup yellow split peas lentils/channa dahl
- 2 cups water
- ½ teaspoon turmeric/haldi
- pinch of asafoetida/heeng
- Salt as per taste
For tempering
- 2 teaspoon oil
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
Garnish
- 1 teaspoon red chilli powder
- 2 tablespoon Mango powder/amchur
- 2 teaspoon Tamarind chutney optional
- Chopped onions
Instructions
For the pakwan:
- In a bowl, combine all ingredients and knead firm dough,It should not be sticky,but a smooth and bit stiff or tight.
- Cover bowl and let dough rest for 15-20 minutes,divide the dough in 10-12 small portions
- Roll out each portion of the dough with a rolling pin and prick it with a fork at regular intervals to prevent puffing.
- Heat oil in a deep pan and deep-fry it on a medium flame until crisp and golden brown on both sides.
- Drain on an absorbent paper.
For the dhal
- Soak the lentils in water for 2-3 hours
- Pressure cook chana dal with water, turmeric, asafoetida and salt for 3 whistles.
Tempering
- Heat oil in a deep pan.
- Add cumin seeds and let it crackle. Add this to the cooked dal.
- Garnish with chilly powder and amchur/dried mango powder.
- Serve the dal and pakwan with chopped onions, green chutney and tamarind or date chutney.
Variations
You can make Jain dal pakwaan by avoiding chopped onions in garnish. You may also add curry leaves in tempering optionally. Use whole meal flour to make wholemeal pakwan instead of all purpose flour pakwan.
FAQs
To promote Sindhi food, on 11th April every year.
Soak the dal in hot water for 15 minutes and then cook in pressure cooker. Temper it with oil and spices before serving.
Take a piece of pakwan like taco and pour some dal over it. Add chopped onions, and chutney over it. Have a crunchy bite and 🙂
Rajendra Lad says
I just liked it !!!
bhavana bhatia says
Thank you so much! We appreciate your feedback 🙂
Warm Regards