Across the highlands · 50 min hands-on · 8,7 h waiting · Vegan · Baking · For confident cooks
Babru
In German: Gefuelltes Bergbrot
For 4 servings · US units
Fried whole wheat breads stuffed with black gram, from Himachal Pradesh
Babru comes from Himachal Pradesh: small rounds of whole wheat dough wrapped around coarsely ground black gram and fried until golden. They're eaten there for breakfast or as a snack with tea, and traditionally they arrive at the table alongside Chana Madra. The black gram needs to soak overnight, but after that things move along quite quickly.
Ingredients
- 7 ozfor the filling; soaked overnight, coarsely groundA small pulse with a black skin and a white interior, sold whole, split or hulled; it cooks soft, creamy and slightly slippery, with an earthy flavour.Substitute: Whole mung beans come closest in flavour but turn out less creamy; beluga lentils look similar but stay grainy and do not thicken. Where the slippery binding is needed for a batter there is no good substitute, because no other common pulse provides it in the same way.Read more
- 10½ ozwhole wheat flourfor the dough
- ¾ cupWaterfor the dough, as needed until firm
- Saltfor dough and filling, to taste
- ½ tspBaking powderfor the dough
- 1 tspOilworked into the dough
- Neutral oilfor deep frying
- 1 pinchfor the filling (optional)Dried resin from the root of a giant fennel-like plant, usually sold as a yellowish powder. Pungent and sulphurous raw, it turns mellow and onion- and garlic-like when fried in hot fat.Substitute: There is no true substitute. A little garlic and some onion fried in the fat point in the same direction but bring more sweetness and their own character, and they miss the point where hing is meant to replace onion and garlic; when in doubt, leave it out, and the dish will be flatter but not wrong.Read more
Method
- Soak the black gramRinse the black gram well, then cover it with plenty of water and leave it to soak for 6 to 8 hours or overnight.
- Grind the filling coarselyDrain the black gram and grind it coarsely, adding as little extra water as you can. Season the mixture with salt and, if you like, stir in a pinch of asafoetida.
- Knead and rest the doughFor the dough, mix the whole wheat flour with salt, baking powder and oil. Add the water a little at a time and knead everything into a firm, smooth dough. Cover it and let it rest for 20 to 30 minutes.
- Portion the doughDivide the dough into about 12 balls, each roughly the size of a lemon.
- Fill the dough ballsFlatten each ball with your hands, place about a teaspoon of filling in the center, then draw the edges up over it and press them together firmly so nothing leaks out during frying.
- Roll out the roundsCarefully roll the filled balls out into rounds about 8 to 10 cm across. They can stay a little thicker than puri.
- Fry the babruHeat the mustard oil or neutral oil over medium heat. Slide the rounds in one at a time and fry them on both sides until light golden brown.
- Drain and serve hotDrain the babru on paper towels and serve them hot.
Tips and variations
If you'd like a lighter dough, swap some of the whole wheat flour for white flour (maida). For a finer filling, use skinned black gram and grind it to a smoother paste; some cooks also soak it in warm water. There's a sweet version without any filling, too: a yeasted whole wheat dough with jaggery, fennel seeds and grated coconut, left to rise for 4 hours, then shaped into small puris and fried. Babru are at their best straight out of the oil, classically with Chana Madra or simply with a cup of tea.
Allergens
Contains: Cereals containing gluten
Not every ingredient in this recipe has been checked, so nothing is promised as free from.
These notes follow from this recipe's ingredient list. Ready-made products and brands may contain further allergens — please check the packaging yourself.
Something not right?
This recipe was put together from independent sources and checked before publishing. Even so, a mistake can slip through — an amount that does not add up, a step that does not work as written. If you spot something, write to us: we will look into it and put it right.
