Ingredients
For the Bara:
- 1 ½ cups lukewarm water
- 1 ½ tsp instant yeast
- 1 tsp sugar
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 ½ tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp turmeric
- Canola oil for coating the dough, rolling out the dough, and frying
For the Chana:
- 2, 540 ml tins of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- ¼ cup finely chopped chadon beni (substitute with cilantro if not available)
- 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp turmeric
- Kosher salt
- Water to cover
For the Pepper Sauce:
- 8 green scotch bonnet/habanero peppers
- 4 garlic cloves
- 2 tbsp chopped chadon beni (substitute with cilantro if not available)
- ¼ cup white vinegar
- Juice of 1 lime
- Kosher salt
- 1-2 tbsp water to loosen
Directions
- To prepare the bara, add the water, yeast and sugar to a small bowl. Mix and rest for 5 minutes until frothy.
- To a large bowl, add the flour, kosher salt, and turmeric. Whisk together. Then add the bloomed yeast, and mix together until a soft and sticky dough forms. Lightly knead in the bowl, and brush the surface with canola oil. Cover and rest for 1.5 hours or until double in volume. Then divide the dough into 12 equal-sized balls.
- Grease a baking sheet with canola oil, and place the dough balls on top. Cover the tray with plastic wrap, and rest for an additional hour.
- Pour 3 inches of canola oil into a deep pot/wok and heat to 350 degrees fahrenheit.
- Rub some oil onto a dinner plate. Place a dough ball in the centre of the plate, dip fingers in canola oil, and gently spread the dough ball into a 4 inch circle.
- Gently lower the flattened dough into the oil, cooking the dough for 5 seconds on each side. The bara should not have any colour on them, but the dough will be cooked through.
- Transfer the cooked bara to a large bowl lined with paper towel and immediately cover with a plate or tin foil to trap the heat. This will soften the bara and give it its signature chewy soft texture.
- Repeat the process with the remaining dough balls, stacking the bara one on top of each other.
- To prepare the chana, add the chickpeas to a large pot, and add enough water just to cover. Simmer for 30 minutes or until the chickpeas have softened. Then gently mash with a potato masher until slightly creamy in texture, adding more water to loosen if necessary.
- Then add the chadon beni, garlic, garam masala, black pepper, cumin, turmeric, and salt to taste. Cook for an additional 5 minutes.
- To make the pepper sauce, add the scotch bonnet peppers, garlic, chadon beni, vinegar, lime juice to a small food processor. Add kosher salt to taste, and blend until smooth, adding water to loosen the sauce if necessary.
- To serve, place one piece of bara on a plate. Top with the chana and a bit of the pepper sauce. Top with another piece of bara. Serve hot.