Tuesday 11 January 2011

Bedai / Parathas stuffed with spicy Moong Dal



The Bedai / Bedei is a wonderfully spicy snack that can double up as a meal too.
Also known as Bedmi puris when made into puris and not parathas, these are great to
make during festival times like Diwali too.

A very popular street food in North India, the Bedei is a common Rajasthani meal too. While it is deep fried and served with a potato curry in the North, I have seen it made as parathas at my Rajasthani in-laws place.

It was in Rajasthan that I tasted the Bedei for the first time.
Kaki (aunt-in-law) makes them as parathas,
which are acceptable to me as they need much less oil to cook as compared to the
deep fried ones ...
which resemble the Moong Dal kachoris.
And she makes the stuffing from the Moong ka Mogar ... a stir fried moong dal dish that can be enjoyed as is with rotis too.
While the traditional Bedei has the lentil in the stuffing coarsely ground,
Kaki keeps them whole.

Needless to say, I follow her version.
These are great to carry on journeys like picnics or long drives.


For the Mogar

Need :

Yellow Moong dal - ½ a cup
Jeera / Cumin seeds - a pinch
Haldi / Turmeric powder - ½ teaspoon
Red chilli powder - to taste
Laung / Clove powder - ½ teaspoon ( can add more to make spicy )
Hing / Asafoetida - a pinch
Amchur / Dried Mango powder - 1 tsp
Dhania / Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
Garam masala powder - 1 tsp
Cooking oil - 1 tbsp
Salt - to taste

How to :

Soak moong dal for around 1 hour.
Heat oil in a pan.
Add jeera and hing.
Add the soaked dal, haldi, mirchi and salt.
Keep stirring.
Add garam masala, laung powder and dhania powder.
Give a good stir.
Add a little water ... just enough to skim the surface.
Cover and let it cook till done.
Do remove the cover in between and check if all water has dried up. If needed add some more water ... but not too much.
When the dal is cooked ... it will easily break when pressed between two fingers ... removeand cool.



The dal should be completely dryish .... every grain seperate yet whole.
This can be eaten on the side with rotis too.

If you find the loose dal difficult to handle as a filling,
do not fret.
Just grind the soaked dal coarsely and
cook as above till dryish.

If you make and store this before hand, the parathas take no time to make.
And you have a meal in a jiffy!

For the parathas

Knead whole wheat flour with a little salt and a few teaspoonfuls of cooking oil and water.
Make a soft yet firm dough.

To make the Bedei

Make medium sized balls of the dough.
Shape into small bowls with your hand and spoon in some of the dal mixture.



Close the dough ball and flatten it gently with your hands.
Roll out round parathas, starting with the sealed side down, using dry flour to dust occassionaly.



Heat a tawa / skillet.
Put in the paratha. After a while flip to the other side.



When it starts to turn slightly dry,
apply oil, raise heat and cook ,
flipping occassionaly till both sides are browned well.



Serve hot, preferable off the skillet ... with dahi/curd and achar.

I enjoy it with the Onion chutney or the Tomato chutney too.



Enjoy this winter with these hot, spicy Bedei as breakfast,
evening snack with masala tea
or as a tv dinner !!

PS : I had been to Bhuj and the beautiful Rann of Kutch on a recent vacation. Have made the first post on the trip in my travelogue.


Other stuffed Parathas on Kichu Khon

22 comments:

  1. parathas look healthy and delicious:)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I would have loved to say that am gonna make it tonight but have cooked the curry and also soaked the toor dal for dinner. so tomorrow night bedai is fixed for dinner. thats a life saver recipe for me Sahrmila as now a days I have to serve breakfast at 8 to hubby and also he takes packed lunch and snacks for the evening. needless to say we eat home cooked dinner too ;-)am going to make a big batch of this stuffing to save me for a few days in row.

    ReplyDelete
  3. between was thinking of mashing the dal coarsely after cooking it. do you think that would maintain the taste?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Aruna ... thanks.

    Sayantani ... this is indeed a life saver when you don't have anything else.
    No .. the taste won't differ ... just make sure it is completely dry ... any moisture will make it difficult to handle when filling and rolling out.
    Hope this helps.

    ReplyDelete
  5. This looks really tempting Sharmila. Specially after a dissappointing lunch of cold sapghetti.
    Samovar of Mumbai does an interesting variation. They make parathas with sprouts. Ever tried them?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wowo i have never had this but it looks so so super good.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Looks delicious .....so tempting

    ReplyDelete
  8. wow, mashed moong dal diye paratha baniyechi, whole moong dal diye kokhono babai ni...darun tasty habe,bujhte parchi..try korbo sure, awesome clicks, Sharmila as usual

    ReplyDelete
  9. Very nice..never tried this way ..Looks nice.

    ReplyDelete
  10. These look so good Sharmila. I have tried making parathas with masoor dal mashed into the dough. Got to try this one.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I make these too but did not know the name for it. They taste great and yours look absolutely flaky!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Sharmila,
    I was in my teens then , when once I visited one of my friends home..not to mention it was a north-Indian home..they have made this porota which they offered me so vehemently and then years passed but the taste still lingers on ..and now seeing here makes me so eager now to try it once..yours looks so delicious ..hugs and smiles

    ReplyDelete
  13. wow,..platter looks so delicious,..:-)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Good to have see you back in form champion! those paranthas look amazing. Will write to you soon
    take care n love

    ReplyDelete
  15. Aha ki shundor dekhte. Another Rajasthani jewel from your platter. Will try. Very different from our urad dal kachoris.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I have never even heard of this, but my MIL makes a dal version of this - as a side, as you have told. Filling ta shune ekdom kachori r kotha monay hochey. I like the idea that the dal is left whole/coarse. Raita and salad diye a wonderful complete meal.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Kalyan ... thanks. Nope. Must try sometime. :-)

    Happy, Priti, Indrani, Chitra, ISG, Harini, Jaya, Rinku, Priyanka, Somoo ... thanks! :-)

    I ... thanks! Will get in touch.
    :-)

    Pree ... thanks! :-)

    Soma ... thanks ... yes, complete meal. I prefer the whole version .. do not like the complete paste kind of filling as it sticks to the covering and after frying you find no stuffing at all. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hi , This looks so tempting. i am gonna try soon, my daughter likes such dishes a lot, will cook this for her tomorrow.. thanks :)

    ReplyDelete
  19. Sharmila eta baniechilam ar million zillion thanks tomake asadharon hoechilo. best part holo eta veggie tai ami shukrobar eta khete parchi

    ReplyDelete
  20. SS .. hope you'll like it. :-)

    Sayantani ... glad you liked it. :-)

    ReplyDelete


Please do not spam.