These dal fritters, commonly known as gateau piment (meaning chilli cake) in Mauritius, are a popular snack similar to falafels or Indian lentil vada. They are made smaller and with yellow split pea dal instead of chickpeas.
Prep Time20 minutesmins
Cook Time20 minutesmins
Soaking Time8 hourshrs
Total Time40 minutesmins
Course: Appetiser
Cuisine: Mauritian
Keyword: dal fritters, gateau piment
Servings: 20fritters depending on size
Author: Teenuja Dahari - veganlovlie.com
Ingredients
250gyellow split pea dalsoaked for at least 8 hours (preferably overnight)
50gwholemeal or white breadsoaked for 20 minutes, optional, see notes
1mediumonion chopped
1teaspoonfennel seeds
10curry leavesfinely chopped, or finely chopped spring onions
2small green chillies choppedoptional if you like it hot
Salt to taste
Vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
Soak dal for at least 8 hours or overnight.
Drain dal completely. Grind the dal to a paste in a food processor or blender to a combination of fine and not so fine consistency. There must be enough fines to bind the chilli cake together.
Squeeze out all the water from the soaked bread.
Add it to the mashed dal paste.
Add the rest of the ingredients – onions, fennel seeds, curry leaves, chillies and salt
Mix well. This is best mixed by hand.
In a saucepan, preheat oil on medium-high heat.
Drop the dough in small loose balls in the hot oil. Don’t compact the dough too much. Doing so will prevent the centre from cooking properly.Alternatively, if you want to make slightly larger fritters, you may put a little hole in the centre of the ball using your pinky finger or a chopstick. This will allow the centre to be properly cooked. This will require a little practice though as the dough is very loose and fragile.
Turn occasionally until golden brown. Adjust heat if necessary to ensure thorough cooking.
Remove and allow to drain on kitchen absorbent paper to absorb the extra oil.
Dal fritters are best served while still hot.
Notes
The soaked bread makes the fritters slightly lighter because of the yeast in the bread. Omit this if you would like a gluten free version.These dal chilli fritters can be served with hot bread, in a wrap with salad or just as a snack.Link to Dal Chilli Fritters recipe - https://veganlovlie.com/daal-chilli-cake/