Dal Pakwan

Dal pakwan is the most popular Sindhi breakfast or brunch dish made on special occasions or weekends. This is a super filling and indulging breakfast that can be served as a meal (lunch or dinner) too. 

Jump to:

• What Is Dal Pakwan?
• ❤️ You’ll Love This Dal Pakwan Recipe
• 🧾 Ingredient Notes
• 👩‍🍳 How To Make Pakwan? (Pics)
• 👩‍🍳 How To Make Dal Pakwan? (Pics)
• 🍽 How To Serve Dal Pakwan?
• 💭 Expert Tips For Dal Pakwan
• 🥣 Storage Instructions
• 📋 Recipe Card
• ⭐ Reviews

What Is Dal Pakwan?

• Dal = lentil preparation. Chana dal (split bengal gram) is boiled and seasoned with very minimal spices.
• Pakwan = crispy, fried flatbread aka puri. It is made from all purpose flour and flavored with cumin seeds.

Dal pakwan is served with sides of green chutney, tamarind date chutney, and a sprinkle of freshly chopped onions.

Dal pakwan is a traditional Sindhi breakfast that is made on Sundays or special occasions or festivals like Diwali. 

But nowadays it is getting popular as a street food in India and you’ll find many vendors selling dal pakwan in the mornings and throughout the day. 

Every vendor and household has their own version of making dal for dal pakwan. Traditionally it is made from chana dal only. But some vendors use a mix of different dal like chana dal, moong dal, etc. 

❤️ You’ll Love This Dal Pakwan Recipe

Made with simple ingredients: Yes, you’ll need basic and most common Indian pantry staple ingredients to make this dal pakwan recipe. No fancy ingredients mean no extra trip to the store. 

Make ahead options:

• Make chutneys a day before and store them in the refrigerator. Or make them a way in advance and freeze them. 
• Make a large batch of dal and keep the leftovers for the next day's lunch (to pair with rice or roti). 
• Make pakwan a day or two before and store it in an airtight container in your pantry. It stays crispy and fresh, no worries.

Perfect for parties or gatherings: See the make-ahead options and prep accordingly. Keep one serving bowl of dal with small bowls of 2 chutneys and a bowl of onion. Keep pakwan on the side. Let the guests help themselves and enjoy dal pakwan.

🧾 Ingredient Notes

For Dal:

• Chana dal: This lentil is also known as split Bengal gram or split chickpeas. This takes a little longer to cook compared to other lentils like toor dal or moong dal. So it is recommended to soak the dal before cooking.
• Spice powders: You’ll need turmeric powder, red chili powder, and black pepper powder. 
• Tamarind: To make prep easy, I mostly use readymade tamarind paste. A jar of it is easily available in any Indian grocery store. Instead, you can use seedless tamarind, soak it in hot water, squeeze out the pulp, strain, and use.
• Cumin seeds: It is added in the tempering for dal. It adds flavor as well as helps in easy digestion.
• Green chilies: It is also added to tempering and helps to make dal spicy. Adjust the amount as per your liking spice level.

For Pakwan:

• All purpose flour: It is also known as maida in the Hindi language. To make it healthy, you can use whole wheat flour or a combination of all purpose flour and wheat flour. The pakwan made from wheat flour will have a slightly dense texture but still good.
• Oil: A little amount is added into the flour as a ‘moyen’. Plus, you’ll need a lot more for deep frying.
• Cumin seeds: It adds a nice flavor to pakwan. 

Toppings For Dal Pakwan:

• Green chutney: It adds a fresh, herby flavor with a spicy taste. It is made from cilantro and green chilies with a few spices.
• Tamarind date chutney: It adds a slightly sweet, tangy (chatpata) flavor. It is made from tamarind, dates, and jaggery.
• Onion: Freshly chopped red onion adds a nice fresh flavor with a crunchy texture.

👩‍🍳 How To Make Pakwan? (Pics)

1) Start by making the dough: Take all purpose flour in a bowl. Add salt, cumin seeds, and oil.

2) Mix thoroughly using your fingertips.

3) Add little water at a time and start kneading. Make a smooth yet slightly stiff dough. You can do this process in a kitchen stand mixer as well.

4) Cover the dough and let it rest for 15 minutes. After that knead again 2-3 times to smooth out. Then divide it into 14 equal portions. Work with one portion at a time, make a smooth ball, and flatten it between your two palms. 

5) Take one flattened disc on a rolling board and start rolling using a rolling pin. Make around a 5-inch round diameter circle. Do not use dry flour while rolling, if needed use a few drops of oil.

6) Using a fork start pricking all over the surface, this prevents the pakwan from puffing up while frying. Roll and prick a few pakwan similarly and lay on a large plate and keep it covered to prevent them from drying out.

7) Once you have enough rolled out, heat the oil on medium heat for deep-frying. Once the oil is hot enough for frying, gently slide one pakwan into the hot oil. 

8) Once it gets light brown color from the bottom side, flip and fry the other side. 

9) Once it is golden brown from both sides and crispy then remove and drain excess oil using a perforated spoon.

10) Place on a paper towel lined plate. Similarly, fry all pakwan. 

Let them cool down completely then you can store them in an airtight container.

👩‍🍳 How To Make Dal Pakwan? (Pics)

1) Take chana dal in a bowl, and rinse with water 2-3 times by massaging the dal using your finger or until the water is not cloudy anymore. Soak in enough water for 30 minutes. Then drain and discard the soaking water.

2) Take soaked, drained dal in a pressure cooker. Add fresh water, salt, and turmeric powder. Stir one. Cover the cooker with a lid and put the weight on.

3) Cook on medium heat for 4-5 whistles.
Instant pot: Manual 10 minutes

Once the pressure goes down by itself then open the lid. Chana dal should be cooked and soft but still has shape intact (not mushy). 

4, 5) Add red chili powder, black pepper, and tamarind paste. Mix everything really well.

6) Let it simmer on medium-low for 4-5 minutes. If dal is getting too thick then you can add some water.

7) To make the tempering, heat oil in a small tadka pan. Once hot add cumin seeds and let them sizzle a bit. 

8) Add green chili and saute for 30-40 seconds.

9) Add this to the simmering dal and turn off the stove.

10) Lastly, add chopped cilantro.

11) Mix and dal is ready for dal pakwan.

🍽 How To Serve Dal Pakwan?

Option 1: As shown in the first pic. Take dal in a small bowl. Top it with green chutney and tamarind date chutney. Sprinkle some onion. Take a piece of pakwan and scoop dal with that (like chips and salsa) and enjoy.

Option 2: Place a pakwan on a plate. Spread thick dal over pakwan. Drizzle both chutneys and sprinkle onion. Break bite size pieces and eat. I prefer the first option for dal pakwan as pakwan starts to get soft and soggy here in this second option. 

💭 Expert Tips For Dal Pakwan

• Do not overcook chana dal to mushy. Dal should be cooked to soft yet hold its shape.
• Dal consistency has to be thick and scoopable. Runny dal is good for eating as dal-rice but not for dal pakwan.
• Do not simmer the dal after adding tempering to retain its flavor and aroma.
• Pakwan dough must be medium-stiff otherwise fried pakwan may get soft after cooling down. 

🥣 Storage Instructions

• Pakwan can be stored for up to 1 week or more in an airtight container.
• Dal can be stored for 3-4 days in the fridge in an airtight container. 
• Dal can be frozen for up to 3 months. The only downside is that after defrosting it dal won’t hold its shape and the dal grain will get mushy. 

Did you try this dal pakwan recipe? I’d love to hear about it! Leave a review in the comment section below.

📋 Recipe Card