RAGI BOBBATLU

Courtesy: Arul Oli, sous chef, Hilton and Hilton Garden Inn, Bengaluru Embassy Manyata Business Park

INGREDIENTS

For the dough

1 cup ragi flour

½ cup warm water

Pinch of salt

1-2 tablespoons melted ghee

1 – 2 tablespoon flour (for dusting) ¼ cup ghee (for roasting)

For the sweet filling

½ cup chana dal (split Bengal gram) ½ cup jaggery, grated

¼ teaspoon cardamom powder 1 tablespoon ghee

METHOD

To make the dough, take a large bowl and mix ragi flour and salt, slowly add warm water, mixing well until a soft dough forms. Knead the dough for 5-7 minutes, adding more water if needed, until it becomes smooth and elastic. Add melted ghee and knead again for a minute. Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let it rest for 30 minutes. To make the filling, rinse the chana daal and pressure cook for 3-4 whistles or until it is soft. Mash the cooked daal into a coarse paste.

In a pan, heat ghee over medium heat. Add the mashed dal and cook for 2-3 minutes, with constant stirring. Stir in jaggery and cook until melted and well mixed with the dal, allowing it to simmer for 5-7 minutes with occasional stirring until the filling thickens. Add cardamom powder and mix well. Remove from heat and let it cool completely.

Divide the dough into equal-sized balls. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough.

Place a spoonful of sweet filling in the centre and fold the dough edges together to enclose the filling, then pinch the edges to seal the bobbatlu.

Roll the stuffed dough into thin bobbatlu.

Heat a griddle or tawa and grease it with ghee. Gently place the bobbatlu on the griddle and roast for 2-3 minutes per side, or until golden brown spots appear.

Apply a little ghee to the sides while cooking for a crispy texture.

Serve hot, drizzled with additional ghee.