India is a land of diverse cultures and so it’s not surprising that there is a festival to celebrate almost every other month. From Lohri to Basant Pachami, Holi to Baisakhi and so much more, one region or the other would be celebrating a festival throughout the year. For instance, April brings with it Ugadi (or Yugadi) - first day of the new year for states like Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, as per the lunisolar calendar. Every year, it falls somewhere in the middle of April, and on the same day, Maharashtra celebrates the festival of Gudi Padwa. This year, Ugadi falls on April 2, 2022.
Ugadi is one of the oldest Indian festivals, so it is also celebrated like it used to be in the ancient times. People wake up early, decorate the house with mango leaves and draw colourful patterns on the floor, called muggulu. They wear new clothes, donate to help the poor, visit temples, and prepare special food at home such as pachadi, boorelu and payasam, etc. Another special dish that is prepared on Ugadi is obbattu.
Bele Obbattu is a delicious sweet made during the festival of Ugadi. Bele means dal in Kannada, and the dish is prepared using toor dal or chana dal, varying from region to region. Here is an easy and healthy version of Bele Obbattu that is made using a natural sweetener instead of refined sugar.
Bele Obbattu Recipe By Swee10
Ingredients for the outer cover
· 1/2 cup maida or all-purpose flour
· 3 tablespoons cooking or coconut oil
· A pinch of turmeric powder
· Salt as per your taste
· Water as required (to prepare soft dough)
Ingredients for the stuffing
· 1/2 cup toor dal or chana dal
· 1 cup water (to pressure cook the dal)
· 1/4 cup Swee10
· 2 tablespoons grated coconut
· 2 cardamoms
Making the dough
· Take 1/2 cup of maida or all-purpose flour in an empty bowl.
· Add in salt and a pinch of turmeric powder.
· Add water and knead lightly (add water as required)
· Add 3 tbsp of oil and continue to knead until the dough becomes pliable.
· Cover the dough and keep aside. Let it rest for about 30 minutes.
Making the stuffing
· Rinse and take 1/2 cup of dal in a pressure cooker.
· Add a cup of water and pressure cook for 3 to 4 whistles.
· Once the pressure settles down, open the cooker and check if the dal is cooked well and drain the excess water off.
· Add the cooked dal, 1/4 cup of Swee10, 2 tbsp of grated coconut and cardamom in a grinder jar and grind to a smooth consistency.
· Grind at intervals by adding more water until the paste is really smooth.
· Transfer the paste to a pan and switch on the stove. Start stirring the stuffing/paste under medium flame.
· Continue stirring until all the excess water is dried (not too dry, as it will get hard once it is cool)
· Switch off the stove and keep the stuffing mixture aside until the stuffing is warm.
· Make medium sized balls and keep the balls aside.
Rolling the Obbattu
· From the already made dough, pinch a medium-sized ball.
· Gently flatten it with your fingers on a plastic sheet.
· Place the stuffing ball in the flattened dough.
· Bring together the edges and press them at the centre.
· Now flatten the centre and gently roll the stuffed ball.
· Place the stuffed ball on a rolling board and roll it into a thin large obbattu (add flour as required while rolling)
Cooking Obbattu
· Heat a pan or tawa and place the rolled obbattu on the tawa.
· Roast till you see bubbles and then flip (ensure the tawa is on medium heat)
· Spread some oil or ghee if you want and flip again.
· Spread some oil or ghee on this side too.
· Roast until you see golden brown patches.
· Enjoy Bele Obbattu with ghee.