Step by step cooking instructions for making dind

Preparing stuffing – filling – puran

• Wash and soak chana dal in water for about 30 minutes. This will reduce cooking time and also help in cooking chana dal soft.
• You may cook chanadal on the stove top in a pot or in a pressure cooker until it is soft. Pressure cooking is easier and you do not need to check frequently if the dal is done. On the stove top it will take about 30 minutes. In the pressure cooker it will need about 2-3 whistles. Let the cooker cool naturally.
• Grate or crush jaggery.
• Add the cooked chana dal in a sieve to drain all the water. You may use this water to make ‘katachi amti’.
• Add the drained chana dal and grated jaggery in a thick-bottomed pan. Keep the heat medium or low.
• Cook stirring frequently. The mixture easily sticks to the bottom so be careful.
• The mixture first become a little liquid when the jaggery melts but will thicken as it cooks further.
• Once the mixture becomes thick, switch off the stove.
• Add cardamom powder, nutmeg powder, chopped nuts and mix well.
• Cool the mixture.
• Divide and make into balls or oblong shapes.

Preparing the covering dough for dind

• Heat 1 tbsp oil.
• Mix together wheat flour, salt. Add the hot oil to this mixture and then mix.
• Make a stiff dough using water. Keep aside for 20 minutes.

Making dind – Steamed wheat flour wraps

• Knead the dough a little and make balls.
• Roll into a circle of about 3″ size.
• Place a puran stuffing mixture ball in the middle and fold like an envelope, square or rectangle.
• To do this, first fold the top and bottom sides of the circle over the stuffing.
• Then fold the remaining two sides and press very lightly to keep them together. This way no stuffing will come out.
• You may also fold it in half to make a half circle. Press the edges together well so that the stuffing does not come out.
• Roll and fill all the dind in the same way.
• Keep your steamer on the stove and heat water till it comes to boil.
• Reduce the flame to medium.
• Place a thin cloth on the plate which you are going to use for steaming. The cloth makes it easy to remove the dind.
• Instead of a cloth, you may grease the plate with a little oil.Place the dind, stuffed envelopes on the plate in a single layer.
• Do not put them in double layer, as they will stick when cooked.
• Keep the plate in the steamer.Close with a lid and steam for about 10 minutes.
• Dind is ready to serve. Serve hot or at room temperature.

To serve dind

• Make a hole/depression in the dind top. Add some ghee in the hole.
• You may serve dind hot or at room temperature.