Babru

Step 1: Mix 10 ½ oz wholewheat flour (atta), 3 ½ oz plain flour, ⅛ oz instant yeast, 1 tsp sugar and ½ tsp salt. Add 1 cup warm water gradually and knead for 8 minutes into a soft, smooth dough. Cover and leave to rise for 1 hour, until puffy.

Step 2: For the chutney, soak 1 ⅜ oz seedless tamarind in 1 cup hot water for 15 minutes, squeeze and strain out the fibres. Simmer the pulp with 2 ⅛ oz jaggery, 1 tsp roasted ground cumin, ½ tsp black salt (kala namak) and ½ tsp ground dry ginger (sonth) over a low heat for 8–10 minutes, until it coats the back of a spoon. It thickens more as it cools.

Step 3: Drain 5 ½ oz whole black urad (kala maah) well and grind it in short bursts with 1 tbsp fresh ginger and 2 green chillies, using no more than 1–2 tablespoons of water, to a thick, coarse paste.

Step 4: Mix in 1 tsp cumin seeds, ¼ tsp asafoetida (hing), ½ tsp red chilli powder, 1 tsp ground fennel, ½ oz fresh coriander and ¾ tsp salt. A spoonful of the paste should hold its shape.

Step 5: Knock back the dough and divide into 10 balls. Flatten one to a 9 cm disc, put a heaped tablespoon of filling in the centre, pull the edges over and pinch to seal.

Step 6: Turn it seam-side down and press it out gently with your palm into a 12 cm round, about 5 mm thick. Don't roll hard or the filling breaks through. Repeat with the rest, keeping them under a cloth.

Step 7: Heat 3 cups vegetable oil in a kadai over a medium-high heat to 350°F; a pinch of dough should rise at once with lively bubbles. Oil that is too cool is the commonest mistake: the babru drink it up and turn heavy.

Step 8: Slide in one or two at a time and fry for 1–1½ minutes a side, pressing lightly with the spoon so they puff, until deep golden-brown. Drain on kitchen paper.

Step 9: Serve hot with the tamarind chutney poured over or on the side.