Deep-Fried Chana Dal as Myanmar Delight
We grew up with the rice noodle in fish base soup (Mont-Hin-Nga) as every morning breakfast. It could be hard for us, residing in another country to get it easily. So we need to make some effort at the weekend to cook that savory noodle soup. As a topping for this dish, the crispy and crunchy Chana dal ( chickpea fritters) is also essential for most people. But some add other choices like vegetable tempura, crispy fish roe, and other version of their own. One thing I always remember that every time we cook Mont Hin Nga at home, our dad eats one full bowl with crunchy toppings first. Then he would ask for a small serving of that rice noodle without any topping which he mentioned as " Ta Pin Taing". At first, I did not know why he mentioned that but I realized that he could taste the soup and noodle all by itself without any other toppings. Actually, the meaning of " Ta Pin Taing" in Burmese is a lone lady dancer, all by herself. It was a kind of knowledgable word that he mentioned.
When we arrived in the USA, we could not get this chickpea fritter easily. Luckily there was one lady who sold this crispy topping and she is so famous within the Burmese Community. We would order by mail for a big bag of that favorite food as our treasure stick. That lady who lives in Califonia has now retired because her children are well educated with high incomes and let their mother rest at home. I tried other chickpea fritters but the taste and the crispiness can not beat her fine work, even in Myanmar.
So I tried so many times to make fritters that has a nearly similar taste and crispiness.
Frying 50 pieces is quite time consuming and some people never put effort to try and just buy ready-made fritters, but only happen in Myanmar. So I made just enough serving for my home and I grind the rest of the soaked chana dal to make Bayar Kyaw( Myanmar word), an Indian snack they usually call here as Pakora. In this recipe, you could try whatever crispy fritters you want, at your convenience.
Chickpea fritters ( 10 serving)
Ingredients
1 cup Chickpea ( split yellow chana dal)
1 Qt Canola oil or vegetable oil
2/3 cup Rice powder
1/3 cup Sweet rice powder (glutenous rice powder)
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
1/4 tsp Paprika
1/2 tsp Baking soda
Instruction
1. In the bowl, add the split pea or channa dal and wash and rinse with water 2 times. Then add soda and water into the bowl and soak the chana dal for at least 24hours.
2. Add the rice powder, Turmeric powder, Paprica, salt into the bowl, and add 2 cups of water. Then mix it thoroughly.
3. Add all the soaked peas mix well.
4. In the rondo or flat pan, add the oil and heat it with medium-high heat
5 Let the oil temp rach nearly 380 degrees.
6. Fry several fritters in the oil depending on the size of pan( place one scoop at a time of the watery batter-soaked pea mix).
7. When the fritters turn golden brown on both sides, strain it from oil and let it rest on paper towel rightaway.
We may grind this soaked chickpea in the blender and add seasoning like thinly cut shallot, green chilies, cumin 1tsp together with salt 1 tsp to make the Indian style pakora. we may add 1 tbsp rice powder and 1 tbsp besan powder to shape the batter into crispy chickpea balls. Deep fry it till golden brown and crispy.
It is really a great afternoon snack with coffee or tea.
