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Swale
Fried lentil-stuffed breads
स्वाले: puffed Garhwali fried breads stuffed with spiced ground lentils for weddings and festivals
In Garhwal, swale are fried in huge batches for weddings, for the bride's send-off parcel and for festivals like Basant Panchami, then eaten warm or cold over the next couple of days. Soaked urad or gahat dal is ground with ginger and spices and sealed inside wholewheat dough, then fried until the breads puff and blister. They travel well and taste good with raita or a hill pickle. The common mistake is overfilling, which tears the dough and makes the oil spit. Chef's tip: roll them gently from the centre outwards with almost no dusting flour, so the edges seal and the swale puffs evenly.
- Total time
- 70 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the dough
- 10 ½ oz wholewheat flour (atta)
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp mustard oil
- ¾ cup water
For the filling
- 4 oz urad dalsoaked 4 hours
- 1 tbsp gingergrated
- 2 green chillieschopped
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- ¼ tsp asafoetida (hing)
- ¾ tsp salt
For frying
- 3 cups mustard or sunflower oilfor deep-frying
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Mix 10 ½ oz wholewheat flour (atta), ½ tsp salt and 1 tbsp mustard oil, then add ¾ cup water a little at a time and knead to a firm, smooth dough. Cover and rest 20 minutes.
25 minStep 2: Drain 4 oz urad dal well and grind with 1 tbsp ginger and 2 green chillies to a thick, coarse paste using no water.
5 minStep 3: Mix in 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1 tsp ground coriander, ¼ tsp asafoetida (hing) and ¾ tsp salt.
1 minStep 4: Divide the dough into 12 balls. Flatten one into a 7 cm cup, put 1 tbsp of filling in the centre, pull the edges up and pinch to seal. Repeat.
15 minStep 5: Roll each ball gently to 10 cm, using a little oil rather than flour.
10 minStep 6: Pour 3 cups mustard or sunflower oil into a deep kadhai so it is no more than a third full and heat to about 350°F: a pinch of dough should rise at once with steady bubbles. Never leave hot oil unattended.
6 minStep 7: Slide in one swale, press gently with a slotted spoon so it puffs, then turn and fry until golden brown on both sides, about 2 minutes. Drain on paper.
20 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 330 kcal
- Protein
- 10 g
- Carbs
- 42 g
- Fat
- 14 g
- Fibre
- 6 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does swale take?
- About 70 minutes in total: 40 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of cumin seeds?
- Ground cumin, three quarters of the amount (add it with the other ground spices, not to hot oil first).
- What can I use instead of ground coriander?
- Coriander seeds, toasted and ground.
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