Bedmi Puri Recipe (Urad Dal Poori)

bedmi puri with a sprinkling of coriander leaves on a white plate.

5 from 4 votes

Bedmi Puri is a traditional North Indian bread, popular in the cuisines of Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. It is made with a dough of wheat flour, suji (rava) and ground urad dal (black gram) paste together with herbs & spices which is later deep-fried until golden and crispy. This Urad Dal Poori is typically served with a potato curry and a side of tangy pickles or chutney.

Prep Time35

Cook Time25

Lentil Soaking Time4

Total Time5

Course: Breakfast, Brunch

Cuisine: North Indian, Uttar Pradesh

Diet: Vegetarian

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Servings: Bedmi Puri

Calories: 175kcal

Author: Dassana Amit

Ingredients

For Dough

2 cups (240 grams) whole wheat flour (atta)
¼ cup sooji - finer textured (rava or cream of wheat)
1 tablespoon ghee or oil
1 teaspoon dry mango powder (amchur)
1 teaspoon salt

For Soaking Urad Dal

½ cup (100 grams) urad dal (hulled and split black gram)
1.5 cups water - for soaking lentils

To Roast Spices

1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
1 to 2 cloves
1 inch cinnamon
1 green cardamom
1 teaspoon ginger - chopped
½ teaspoon green chillies - chopped
⅛ teaspoon or 2 to 3 pinches asafetida (hing)
1 teaspoon red chilli powder
1 teaspoon dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi), optional

More Ingredients

½ cup water - for grinding urad dal
oil - for deep frying, as required

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Soaking Lentils

Rinse the urad dal a couple of times in water. Soak the lentils in 1.5 cups of water overnight or for 4 to 5 hours.
Later, drain all the water really well and set the soaked lentils aside.

Roasting Spices

On a low heat, dry roast/toast coriander seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, cloves, cinnamon and green cardamoms in a small frying pan for about 2 minutes or until lightly fragrant.
Stir often and ensure not to burn the spices.
Add chopped ginger and green chillies and sauté for a couple of seconds on low heat.
Turn off heat and add the asafetida, red chilli powder and dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi).
Mix well and let this spices and herbs mixture cool.

Making Urad Dal Paste

Add the soaked urad dal in a grinder or blender.
Next add the roasted/toasted spices and herbs.
Add water and grind to a semi-fine paste. Do not make the paste too coarse or too fine and fluffy.
Add this ground lentil paste to whole wheat flour in a large mixing bowl. Also add salt and dry mango powder.
If your whole wheat flour, has a lot of bran, first sift it a few times before combining it with the urad dal paste.
First mix and combine and mix the ingredients with a spoon.
Next add the fine rava/sooji and ghee.
Mix again and knead to a semi-soft dough. It has to be stiff and yet soft and pliable.
Do not add water while kneading dough.
If the dough looks sticky, then add some flour and knead again.
Cover the dough with a moist cotton napkin and set aside to rest for 30 minutes.

Assembling & Shaping

Heat oil as needed for deep frying in a kadai or wok.
Portion lemon sized balls from dough and roll them between you palms to make an even neat ball.
Flatten a dough ball with your fingers and spread oil on both sides of the dough ball.
With a rolling pin, roll to a 4 to 5 inches round disc or circle.
You could opt to roll the dough balls all at once. Cover them with a moist cotton napkin, before you fry them.
Alternatively you could roll the dough and fry the lentil puris side by side.

Making Bedmi Puri

Place the rolled dough gently into the hot oil. The oil should be moderately hot.
Let the puri begin to puff up. Gently press and nudge with a spider spoon or slotted spoon while frying so that the puri puffs nicely in the hot oil.
Carefully, turn over when one side is golden and fry the second side until golden.
Once the puri is evenly golden and fried perfectly, remove it carefully using a spider spoon or slotted spoon.
Drain the fried puri on paper towels. Similarly fry the remaining puri in batches. Remember to fry these puris in medium hot oil.
Serve Bedmi Puri hot or warm with your choice of potato curry. You can also serve the Urad Dal Puri with Chana Masala or with a side of lemon or mango pickle, or spicy chutneys.

Notes

Make sure to knead the dough to a semi-soft texture. A stiff and hard dough will make these puris hard. A soft dough will make them difficult to roll leading to an unevenly rolled puri, which further on frying will soak more oil. The puri also won’t puff and will have unevenly fried edges.
You can adjust the ground spices according to your taste buds.
Ensure to fry in medium hot oil. If the oil is warm, the puri will become soggy and loaded with oil. If the oil is very hot, the puri will brown more and the inside portion of the dough may remain undercooked.
Use any neutral flavored oil for frying.
The recipe can be scaled to make for small servings as well as more servings.
The approximate nutrition info is for one Bedmi Puri.

Nutrition