Dind- Steamed Wheat Wrap with Split Chana Dal Stuffing

A classic Maharashtrian ( A state of India where I grew up) recipe which is made on the occasion of Nag Panchami. For me, I don't wait for any occasion to celebrate great food! I usually make these for breakfast on any relax weekends. The recipe is not too hard but it takes some time to prepare the filling that goes inside the wheat dough.

Ingredients-:

1. 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2. 1/2  cup jaggery, crushed or shredded
3. 1/2  cup split chana dal
4. 1 tbsp oil
5. pinch of salt
6. 1/4th tsp Cardamom powder
7. Earth Balance butter 
8. A few strand of saffron to garnish.

Procedure-:

For the Stuffing-:

1. Pressure cook the chana dal with 1:3 ratio. For 1/2 cup of chana dal add 1 and half cups of water. After the dal gets cooked strain it through the strainer and remove all the water from it.
2. In a pan mix in the dal and the jaggery and start cooking the mixture on a medium heat.
3. Keep stirring continuously as it can stick to the bottom easily. Mix it until the mixture becomes thick. Add cardamom powder. Mix and turn off the stove.

For the Dough-:

1. Add salt to the wheat flour. Heat the oil  and add very hot oil into the dough. You should see the flour getting frothy after you add the hot oil. Add water and make a little harder dough than you usually make for roti.

Putting things together-:

1. Divide the dough into nice round balls.
2. Roll into thin round shape.
3. Put about 1 tbsp of filling onto the rolled out dough.

    4.  Fold 2 sides of on to top of the filling.

    5.  Fold remaining 2 sides over the previous fold. Please see the picture below.

6.  I used electric steamer to steam the Dind, but you don't need to have steamer. You can simple put a big pan with some water in it. When the water comes to boil put a colander or any stainless steel pot  and line it with a thin cloth. Place the dind into the pan and cover and steam for about 15 minutes .

7.  Make sure that you don't put them on top of each other. Traditionally the ghee is used to top it off. It melts over the hot dind. But I tried pouring some earth balance butter since I was trying to find the vegan substitute and it tasted nice. Finally top it off with couple of strands of saffron to add some color...:)

Variation for the filling-:

1. You can add some chopped nuts into the filling . I like to add sliced almonds. They give a nice bite to the filling.
2. You can also try and add some shredded coconut. Lightly dry toast the coconut and then add it to the filling.

Have a great week ahead!