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Anglo-Indian Dal Pitha

Anglo-Indian Dal Pitha is a traditional Anglo-Indian recipe from the 1860s for a classic pitha or pasty made from pastry rounds stuffed with dal that's fried to cook. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Anglo-Indian version of: Anglo-Indian Dal Pitha.

prep time

10 minutes

cook time

50 minutes

Total Time:

60 minutes

Makes:

12

Rating: 4.5 star rating

Tags : CurryFusion RecipesBritish Recipes


This is a traditional Anglo-Indian recipe redacted from the volume THE INDIAN COOKERY BOOK: A Practical Handbook to The Kitchen in India (author unknown), published by: WYMAN & CO., HARE STREET CALCUTTA circa 1869. The recipe comes at the end of the section on PORTUGUESE CURRY (VINDALOO OR BINDALOO), so this is a Vindaloo curry paste or a curry paste from Goa.

Original Recipe


222.—Dal Pittas.


Prepare an ordinary pie-crust, and the dal chur churree, recipe No. 93; roll out the pastry, cut into
circles of the size of saucers, put into them a tbspful of the dal, and close them; fry in ghee of
a light brown colour. They should be eaten hot.

Modern Redaction



These, of course, are dal pithas, where the dough is typically made with rice flour and the pithas are steamed. Here, the standard European shortcrust dough is used and the pithas are fried in ghee.

Method:

Prepare the massor dal chur churi as per the recipe. As the dal is cooling prepare the pastry.

When the pastry is ready, roll out on a floured work circle and cut out rounds the size of saucers. Re-roll the scraps and make more rounds from these.

Fill each round of pastry with 1-2 tbsp of the dal. Fold over and cripm the edges. Repeat this process with the remaining dough and dal. Prick both sides of the pastry to make steam holes.

Put a wok or frying pan over medium heat. Add about 100g ghee and when hot use to fry the pithas on both sides for about 6-8 minutes until golden brown and warmed through.

Serve warm.

Find more Victorian Recipes Here and more Curry Recipes Here. For the original version of The Indian Cookery book see my The Indian Cookery Book main page.