Daar ni Pori – My Daar ni Potli (Sweetened Lentils in Pastry)
Niloufer is a cookbook author and cooking instructor with a great passion for food and a love of world travel.
This recipe is featured in Daar ni Pori – A Story of a Bygone Era
Daar ni Pori is prepared in two parts: the filling(daar) and the outside pastry called the pur (consisting of the dough and the maan).
This wonderful pastry is served on happy occasions, gifted to bridal parties at weddings and is very special.
While the Daar ni Pori looks like a thick stuffed rotli, I have shared my way of making this delicacy look pretty with all the authentic flavors intact. It is my sweet lentil crostata.
NOTE: You will need to begin this recipe TWO days ahead of cooking, to soak the lentils, cook them, and chill overnight.
- Servings Makes 2
Ingredients
For the Daar (filling):
- 296 ml (1 1/4 cup) channa daar (split bengal gram lentils)
- 5 ml (1 teaspoon) sea salt
- 177 ml (3/4 cup) sugar
- 15 ml (1 tablespoon) ghee
- 30 ml (2 tablespoons) rosewater
- 15 ml (1 tablespoon) candied orange peel
- 15 ml (1 tablespoon) chopped blanched almonds
- 15 ml (1 tablespoon) chopped unsalted pistachios
- 15 ml (1 tablespoon) chopped charoli nuts*
- 2.5 ml (1/2 teaspoon) vanilla extract
- 2.5 ml (1/2 teaspoon) ground cardamom
- 1.3 ml (1/4 teaspoon) crushed saffron threads
- 1.3 ml (1/4 teaspoon) freshly grated nutmeg
For the Pur (dough):
- 177 ml (3/4 cup) all-purpose flour, sifted
- 60 ml (1/4 cup) fine semolina
- 5 ml (1 teaspoon) salt
- 78 ml (1/3 cup) ghee
- 60 ml (1/4 cup) rosewater
For the Pur (maan):
- 60 ml (1/4 cup) ghee
- 60 ml (1/4 cup) all-purpose flour, plus additional as needed
For assembly
- Ghee or oil for greasing baking trays
- Slivered almonds, pistachios and edible rose petals
* Charoli nuts are wild almond nuts that are available in Indian grocery stores. They can easily be omitted from the recipe if they are unavailable.
Preparation
For the Daar:
Wash and soak the lentils overnight.Rinse lentils again. In a deep pot, boil the lentils in 473 ml (2 cups) water with the salt for an hour. Remove any foam that forms while they cook. Remove from the heat and add the sugar and the ghee. Stir until you can feel the sugar melt. With an immersion blender, pulverize the cooked lentils until smooth.
Return the pan to the stove and cook until all the water has evaporated. Add the remaining filling ingredients, mixing well. Adjust salt and sugar as needed. Chill overnight, and divide equally in two before filling the pastry.
For the Dough (Pur):
Toss the flour, semolina, and salt together. Add the ghee by, using your fingertips or two knives, cutting it into the dry ingredients until it resembles crumbs. Add the rosewater and bring it all together until well combined to resemble a soft, smooth dough.
Cover with a tea towel and allow it to rest for 20 minutes.
For the Maan:
In a pan, heat and melt the ghee, then add the flour. Cook this over medium heat, constantly stirring until smooth. Bring to a boil and continue to cook until it resembles a soft, thin paste; about 3 minutes. Remove it from the heat and allow it to cool and thicken just enough to easily apply over the rolled out dough. Divide equally.
For Assembly:
Grease two 18 cm (7 inch) round foil trays. Divide the dough into 4 equal parts.
On a parchment paper, roll out two parts of the dough to 15 cm (6 inch) rounds. Take half of the maan paste and spread most of it (saving 5 ml/1 teaspoon to finish it off) on one of the rolled pastry discs. Cover with the second rolled pastry disc and further roll them out to a 23 cm (9 inch) circle. Apply the remaining maan paste to the top of this larger disc.
Place the pastry on your greased baking foil tray, covering it completely with an even overhang. Do not press down hard on it. Spoon half the cooled lentil mixture on top of the pastry. Gently pull the overhang over the mound of lentils, overlapping and pinching the pastry to resemble a crostata. Sprinkle it with the slivered almonds.
Repeat for the remaining half of the recipe.
Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F). Bake the potlis for 35 minutes or until a light golden brown. Garnish with pistachios and rose petals. They are best served warm.
Tips
Butter or browned butter (that has been cooled and refrigerated) can be used instead of ghee. Lightly dust the rolling pin with flour to make rolling easier.
The daar can be made up to 3 days ahead. It also freezes well.
Do not allow the daar to dry out completely. Once cooled, it will thicken up. The perfect consistency is to be able to soft scoop.
To make traditional daar ni poris, lift the overhang and pull it over to the center, ensuring that it is sealed together. Press gently with the palm of your hand to form an even disc.
Do not overbake the potlis or the poris. They should have a soft pink hue on them once cooked. To reheat, it is best to use the oven or a hot skillet. Do not use a microwave.
Niloufer Mavalvala
Born and raised in Karachi, with London, Toronto and Dubai all part of her life, Niloufer has travelled extensively. Passionate about culture through its cuisine she enjoys all cuisines of the world. Self taught, her experience through the years has driven her to write a blog NiloufersKitchen.com and publish two Parsi cookbooks – receiving 3 awards. She strongly believes that while we are identified by race, religion and colour, we share the tightest bonding through food. Her umpteen zoom demos through this pandemic have picked up momentum worldwide making #revivinganancientcuisine one recipe at a time her priority. Niloufer runs regular cookery lessons via Zoom.
Courtesy photo
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