Here is a recipe I think you will enjoy eating by itself, in a pita like Falafel, or even in a curry. These spicy balls of protein are easy to eat, and despite being deep fried, they are not greasy at all! While I was making the video, I wanted to prepare another batch! My goodness are these good!
So let's get cooking!!
Chana Dal Muthia Recipe Cooking Time 40 Minutes (Approx)
Soaking Time 2 - 3 Hours
Serves 4-5 People
INGREDIENTS :
· 1 Cup (200g) Chana Dal (Split Chickpeas)
· ¾ Cup (100g) Frozen Peas
· ½ Cup Chopped Spring Onions
· 1 Tbspn Oil
· 2 Tbspn Ginger-Garlic-Chili Paste
· ½ tspn Turmeric
· ½ tspn Red Chili Powder
· 2 tspn Coriander-Cumin Powder
· 1 ½ tspn Salt
· 1 Tbspn Chopped Coriander
· Pinch of Baking Powder
· ¼ tspn Garam Masala (optional)
METHOD:
Soak the Chana Dal for 2-3 hours in warm water. If you are short of time, make sure your water is warm by changing it every half hour. Check the dal is soaked enough by breaking it with your fingernail. If it is not done soaking, the dal will not break.
Drain the dal. Then grind the dal in batches so you can grind it evenly.
Grind until it is fairly fine in texture. You don’t want it too grainy as the balls will not bind. Too soft and your muthias will not have any texture. You can grind some of the dal very fine and some of it slightly grainy to get a happy medium.
Grind the peas also. Check you have ground the mix enough by trying to make a ball. If you can’t make a ball, you need to grind the mixture more.
Add all the ingredients to the ground dal and peas and mix by hand.
Make into balls about 3cm in diameter (smaller than golf balls). You should have about 30 balls.
Heat the oil to a medium heat and fry the balls until they are medium brown in colour.
Don’t have the heat too high as the balls will not be cooked inside. Too low a heat and the balls will become greasy.
When frying, don’t toss the balls until they have had a chance to develop crisp outer shell otherwise they will break easily.
Drain onto a paper towel.
These Muthia can be eaten like falafel in a pita with tahini, a chili chutney and salad or even eaten by themselves. We make a curry from these beauties! Check out my Muthia Curry video on this site!
Simply delicious!
NOTE: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.
This was SO good. Crisp and not greasy, with a subtle spiciness. I was worried the grinding would be too complicated. Not so. I substituted a couple ingredients: grated ginger and grated garlic for the Chili-Ginger-Garlic paste and curry powder for garam masala. Next I will try to make CGG paste to keep on hand. I will definitely be making this again!