Chana Dal Fara is another popular dish of UP and Bihar. I posted the Kala Chana Ghugni recipe earlier and hope to post more regional cuisine recipes. Fara is also called gojha or peetha in different parts of the state. It is a gujiya shaped steamed lentil stuffed dumplings. There are two variations of fara or gojha, one is made with wheat flour and another one with rice flour. At my place, we prefer to make the wheat flour fara. We use soaked chana dal mixed with some spices as stuffing and stuff it in poori sized fara shells.
Chana Dal Fara
Chana Dal Fara is a very healthy and nutritious as the chana dal is rich in protein and the cooking technique used is either steaming or boiling. We make this for lunch or dinner and serve it with green coriander chutney. I like to make it a bit crispy, so I stir fry it and use curry leaves and mustard seeds for tempering. The curry leaves and mustard seeds give it some more flavors which I completely relish. You can avoid this step if you want to keep it completely oil free. It is a bit time consuming but worth the effort. I make this in large quantity and use this even for evening snack or morning breakfast.
I believe this is made in other parts of India too but might be named differently. Let me know what you call this at your place. Do give this a try and tell me if there is any other regional cuisine which you want me to post I will be more than happy.
You can also check the Youtube Video of Chana Dal Fara or Gojha Recipe:
Chana Dal Fara Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup chana dal soaked (overnight or 4-5 hours)
- 7 - 8 garlic chopped
- 2 green chillies
- 1/2 cup coriander leaves
- 1/2 tsp cumin seed
- a pinch asafoetida
- to taste salt
- 1 1/2 cups wheat flour
- 1 tsp salt
- water for kneading
- 2 tsps ghee
- 1 tsp mustard seed
- 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
- 5 - 6 curry leaves
- to taste salt
Instructions
- In a mixer jar add dal, coriander leaves, asafoetida, salt, garlic, cumin seeds.
- Blend everything well together to make a smooth paste using little water. Don't add more water as we require a thick paste.
- Keep aside and prepare the dough
- Knead a soft dough by using wheat flour, salt and water.
- Divide the dough into equal proportion and roll each portion into thin pooris.
- Place 1 tsp of the filling and fold it to make a semi-circle and seal the edges.
- Repeat the same process for the rest of the dough and filling.
- Now there are two methods either steam them or add them to the boiling water.
- For boiling water method: Boil water in a deep pan and add 1 tsp oil and add the faras to it. Cook them till they become soft and floats on the water surface.
- To check its cooked or not insert a knife, if it comes out clean it is done. Remove, cool and cut into pieces.
- For steaming method: Place the faras on a steamer plate or use your idli cooker to cook it.
- In a pan add ghee, mustard seeds, curry leaves once the mustard seeds start to crackle, add the cut pieces of fara.
- Sprinkle some red chilli powder and salt. Fry it till the edges become crispy or as per your liking.
- Serve immediately with green coriander chutney or with hot tea.
Recipe Notes
