Everyone has this habit of making some sort of snacks during Iftar time. In our home, we try not to do it frequently. This year, since my brother’s family is with us, both of us try to experiment something or the other, but in limited quantities, so that there is something to eat for chai time, but not too much to be really heavy. Hehe… But we are always looking to make dishes that are not very time consuming and can be made in no time. So from today, I am scheduling three back-to-back easy snacks that you can make for your family for Iftar time, without spending too much time in the kitchen. I guess that does sound appealing… 🙂
Malabar has its own big share of interesting snacks. Even though I am not aware of majority of it, I have tried to cover all that I know in here. InShaAllah, hoping to explore and share more in the future, InShaAllah. Today I am adding one more to the never ending list of “Polas”. A pola is basically any cake that is made majorly with eggs. It can be sweet or savory, though usually it is on the sweeter side.
Some of the polas I already have on the blog are the ever famous Kai Pola, Podi Pola, one made with apple and another with carrot, finally my favorite which is of course the Erachi Pola. Today’s is one which has chana dal aka “kadala” has its main ingredient and due to this, is slightly on the denser side. However, this ingredient makes this pola utterly delicious and healthy too.
The ingredients are pretty straight forward. Just like all the polas, the use of eggs is the main requirement. The chana dal or bengal gram lentils are soaked to soften a bit and then pressure cooked till done. It is then drained and ground along with the remaining ingredients till it becomes a smooth paste. It is then cooked on low flame in a pan with ghee, till you have a nice set thick omelette. Since lentils in itself are known to be densed, this pola ends up being a little dense, and hence quite filling as well. Nevertheless, it is quite easy to make and delicious, so that serves the purpose. Off to the recipe…
Kadala Parippu Pola | Kadalakka Pola ~ Malabar Chickpea Lentil Egg Cake
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup chickpea lentil chana dal
- 4 large eggs
- 1 tbsp milk powder
- 2 tbsp sugar
- A pinch of salt
- A pinch cardamom powder
- 1 tbsp ghee
- 10 cashew nuts crushed
- 10-15 raisins
Instructions
- Soak the lentil for 2-3 hours. Pressure cook till soft. Drain and set aside.
- Blitz the cooked lentils along with ingredients from egg to cardamom in a blender, till the batter is smooth and fluffy.
- Heat ghee in a deep saucepan. Spread it all over. Fry the cashew nuts and raisins.
- Pour the batter over the fried dry fruits. Lower the flame and cook on low flame till the top is not sticky to touch.
- Flip onto a flat tray and then transfer to the pan to cook the top side for a couple of minutes. Switch off and serve warm with chai.