Skip the talk. Jump straight to the recipe!
I once battled meal worms and moths in my kitchen for well over a year. In the end I threw away many grocery bags full of food, much as I hated to do so. My cupboards, from that point on, became storage receptacles for storage receptacles. Tupperware-style containers were the solution, and any remaining foods with eggs were contained in air tight plastic, making it easy for me to eliminate any further pests without them contaminating more food stuffs.
The point I’m getting at is I have a lot of plastic tubs. A whole lot. So many, in fact, that there’s just not room. This means that when a certain grain is running low, I try to use it up in order to make space for another which is waiting for its new sealed home. I discovered the chana dal in the way back of the stack, and decided it was time to make space for some Israeli couscous, so this recipe was hence born. So as promised, here’s a recipe for chana dal cutlets!
Recipe Notes
Burgers versus cutlets? I intended this recipe to be for cutlets, but as an experiment I tried burgers as well. My preference is still for the latter, but that’s just me. The cutlets are good served with a nice rice dish, like a veggie biryani or pilau.
Don’t use hot broth and don’t over knead the dough. Both of these things will change the texture of the dough, specifically interacting with the gluten to create a more stringy and chewy texture. Of course if you want it to be chewier then knead for longer, but the hot water will make the dough tough from the start.
By the way, a pressure cooker is great for dals!
- Mix all ingredients together but the oil, which serves only the purpose of frying these suckers up. Don’t over knead the dough, aiming to mix and knead only to incorporate ingredients evenly.
- Depending on whether you want to make burgers or cutlets (my preference), divide the dough accordingly. You’ll want to make about 6 balls of dough for burgers and 10-12 for cutlets. Some bits of the dough may fall apart, but don’t worry too much about losing the odd dal.
- For burgers, roll the mixture into a ball and flatten slightly into a burgery shape. For cutlets, flatten to about 1/4-1/3 inch in thickness.
- Heat a skillet to a medium-high heat and add plenty of oil. Cook each cutlet for about 2-3 minutes on each side, or until slightly browned. Burgers may take a few minutes longer, so use common sense.
- Serve hot or cold.
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