Khara Boondi (with Lentils)
Spicy tea-time snack
Boondi is a snack usually made from chickpea flour or besan. To make the crispy savory snack, chickpea flour, and turmeric are mixed into a batter. A slotted spoon is used to pour small drops into a deep frying pan.
Introduction
About this Recipe
Boondi is a snack usually made from chickpea flour or besan. Boondi refers to both the fried savory snack and also a sweet dessert. To make the crispy savory snack, chickpea flour, and turmeric are mixed into a batter. A slotted spoon is used to pour small drops into a deep frying pan.
For the sweetened variety, these little drops (boondi) are added into a mix of sugar syrup while the savory variety is garnished with curry leaves. The spicy khara boondi will include a varied mix of pepper powder, chilli powder, cumin powder, and so on. Khara boondi can be eaten by itself or added as garnishing to other snacks or chaats or mixed with curds and made into raita and eaten as a side dish in a meal.
“I WILL GIVE YOU A FEW UNDERSTANDINGS:
ENJOY THROUGH THE TONGUE WHICH YOUR
WHOLE INTESTINE ENJOYS. YOU WILL BE ‘YOGI’.
DON’T FORCE YOUR WHOLE INTESTINE TO TOLERATE
WHAT YOUR TONGUE ENJOYS. THEN YOU WILL BE JUST
‘ROGI’ (SICK)
YOGIS HAVE DEVELOPED A UNIQUE EATING STYLE WHICH
IS TASTY AND HEALTHY – THAT IS WHAT IS THE AGAMIC FOOD.
I WANTED THAT FOOD DESCRIBED IN THE BHAGA SHASTRA
TO BECOME THE LIFESTYLE, THE FOOD WHICH IS VERY HEALTHY AND
TASTY.
– SPH JGM Nithyananda Paramashivam
Preparation time: 10 mins
Soaking time: 4 hours
Cooking time: 25 mins
Total time: 4 hours and 35 mins
Servings : 4-6 persons
Course: Side Dish/Savory
Cuisine: South Indian & North Indian cuisine
Ingredients
- Bengal gram/chana dal 6 palam 210 gms
- Yellow/green gram/moong dal 4 palam 140 gms
- Black gram/urad dal 2 palam 70 gms
- Salt ½ palam 17.5 gms
- Red chillies 1/8 palam 4.37 gms
- Fresh coriander leaves ½ palam 8.75 gms
- Oil for frying 1 litre
Bhaga Shastra gives ingredient measurements in measurement systems used in the olden days. Hence please use the conversion guidelines to convert it into modern measurement systems. When giving this recipe, we are not rounding any measurements in the modern units, so as to avoid any deviations from the Bhaga shastra. Go to this link for Bhaga Shastra Units Conversion to grams and kilograms:
The above variety of khara boondi uses a mix of 3 lentils or dals.
Cooking Method
- Wash and soak the Bengal gram, black gram and yellow gram for about 4 hours
- After 4 hours, drain the water.
- Put it in a grinder by adding salt to it.
- Grind the dals to a fine paste and remove the batter into another container.
- Grind red chillies and fresh coriander leaves to a fine paste and mix it into this ground dal paste. Add little water to make a smooth paste.
- Heat the oil in a pan.
- Take a sieved ladle and hold it to the centre of the pan.
- Take some ground dal paste in another ladle and pour it on the sieved ladle.
- Bring all the fingers together like a cup and press the flour into the oil. By doing this the flour will fall like pearls or boondi into the hot oil pan.
- Using another sieve ladle turn the boondis in the oil until they are crisp and done.
- Remove the fried boondi onto a perforated vessel to drain out excess oil.
- Repeat the procedure until all the ground dal is emptied.
- Deep fry the curry leaves and sprinkle them over the boondis as a garnish.
- The khara boondi is now ready to be served to Swamiji as naivedyam.
Step by step instructions
1
Wash and soak the Chana Dal, Moong Dal and Urad Dal together for 4 hours and then drain the water.
2
Put the dals into grinder and grind to a fine paste.
3
Take the Red Chillies and Coriander Leaves.
4
Grind the Red Chillies & Coriander Leaves into a fine paste.
5
Combine the Red Chilli-Coriander Leaves paste into the Dal batter.
6
Mix the batter by adding some water to make a smooth paste.
7
The batter should be of pouring consistency, neither too thick nor too thin!
8
Heat oil in a deep frying pan/kadai.
9
Hold a perforated sieve over the middle of the heating oil. Take a ladleful of batter.
10
Bring all the fingers together like a cup and press the flour into the oil. By doing this the flour will fall like pearls or boondi into the hot oil pan.
11
The pearl shaped boondi frying in the oil. Using another sieve ladle turn the boondis in the oil until they are crisp and done.
12
Remove the fried boondi into a perforated vessel to drain out excess oil.
13
Transfer the boondi into a serving plate or bowl.
14
Garnish the boondis with fried curry leaves
15
Serve the Khara Boondi to Swamiji as naivedyam.
