Bajra Fara

By: Swati Bhaduri
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Serves 4
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‘Fara’ or ‘peetha’ is a crescent-shaped dumpling made with whole wheat flour or rice flour or a mix of both. Filled with coarsely ground chickpeas, black gram, and spices, it is steamed or boiled and often shallow-fried thereafter with a tempering of whole spices. A breakfast mainly eaten across Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, it also goes by the name of ‘goojha’. In this recipe, wheat flour has been replaced by gluten-free pearl millet (bajra flour). Its low glycemic index makes it a preferred choice for those with diabetes or heart disease. When made into a fara along with the lentil stuffing, the dish is a good source of protein, fibre, and iron.

Fara Filling

Chana dal (Split chickpeas) 1/4 cup
Urad dal (Black gram) 1/4 cup
Garlic 1 tablespoon
Cumin seeds 1 tablespoon
Sliced green chillies 1 tablespoon
Turmeric 1/2 teaspoon
Hing (Asafoetida) 1/4 teaspoon
Amchoor (Dried mango powder) 1/2 teaspoon
Salt 1/2 teaspoon

Fara Base

Bajra (Pearl millet flour) 1/2 cup
Rice flour 1/2 cup
Bajra (Pearl millet flour), for dusting 1/4 cup
Hot water 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons
Salt 1/4 teaspoon

Tempering 1

Mustard oil 2 teaspoons
Cumin Seeds ½ teaspoon
Hing (Asafoetida) 1/4 teaspoon
Dried red chillies 2
Dried red chillies 1 teaspoon
Water 3 cups

Tempering 2

Ghee 2 teaspoons
Mustard seeds 1 teaspoon
Curry leaves 8 - 10
Cumin seeds 1 teaspoon
Hing (Asafoetida) ¼ teaspoon
Ginger juliennes 2 teaspoons

What You Will Need

A skillet with a lid, mixing bowls, sauce pan, rolling pin, rolling board, spatula, kadhai or wok, knife, mixer grinder, whisk, measuring cups and spoons, fine mesh strainer, chopping board, and toothpick.

Instructions

1

Soak the chana dal and urad dal overnight or for at least six hours. Drain the soaked lentils and coarsely grind them in a mixer grinder.

2

Using a mortar and pestle or a mixer grinder, grind the garlic, cumin seeds, and green chillies together with turmeric, asafoetida, and dried mango powder. Add this  to the previously ground lentils and mix well.

3

To make the base for the fara, place a saucepan over the stove, add water, and bring it to a gentle boil, this should take about 4 to 5 minutes. Once the water comes to a boil, turn off the heat. Measure and set aside 1/2 cup of the hot water for later use.

4

Mix the bajra and rice flours together. Add this mixture to the hot water in the saucepan along with salt and mix well using a whisk. If required, add 2 tablespoons of water from what was kept aside and make a rough dough. Keep covered for 10 minutes.

5

Knead the dough well for 7 to 8 minutes while it’s still warm. The final dough should be pliable and soft to the touch. Divide the dough into 10 equal balls.

6

Dust a rolling board with some pearl millet flour. Roll each dough ball into a round disc, approximately 5 inches in diameter.

7

Put a tablespoon of the ground dal mixture at the centre of the dough disc. Then fold one end of the disc over the filling to form a half-circle. Seal the edges carefully, leaving the ends open so that you can see the lentil mix at both ends.

8

In a skillet, heat the mustard oil for the first tempering. Add the cumin seeds, asafoetida, dried red chillies, and sesame seeds.

9

Add 3 cups of water to the skillet. Once it boils, drop the fara carefully one at a time. Once all the faras are put in the water, cover the skillet with its lid and cook on medium heat for 20 minutes.

10

Check to see if the faras are cooked through by inserting a toothpick—it should come out clean.

11

Let the water evaporate and just about coat the spices on the fara. Turn off the heat and put each fara carefully on a chopping board. Cut each fara into 3 pieces.

12

To make the second tempering, heat the ghee in a frying pan or kadhai. Add in the mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add the curry leaves, cumin seeds, asafoetida, and julienned ginger and stir-fry along with the sliced fara. Serve hot.

Tips

  1. To make the fara spicier, you can add red chilli powder and a coriander leaf paste to the lentil filling.
  2. Be careful while rolling out the dough as it may tear.

Variations

  1. You can use green peas as a filling instead of the lentil mixture.
  2. Other millet flours such as sorghum and ragi may be used with slight tweaks to the recipe. 
  3. Foxtail or little millet flour mixed with rice flour is an alternative that may work too;  however, hot water must be used to knead the dough for best pliability. 

Swati Bhaduri is a Kolkata-based home chef. A former banker, she is behind the cloud kitchen Mama Bear. Having grown up in Uttar Pradesh, and lived in different parts of India , she has incorporated a love for local cuisine into her culinary journey along with a strong belief in sustainable nutrition. 

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