Spiced gram flour dumplings in a tangy tamarind sauce.
While dahi phulki (spiced gram flour dumplings in a sweet or savoury yogurt sauce) is common in most Pakistani or Indian households, imli phulki is less common. That makes me sad, because it’s soooo good! I love the sweet, spiced, tanginess of the tamarind water. A must-have at iftar in Ramadan!
I’ve never had this anywhere else (nor could I find something similar in a Google search) so I presume this is just another invention from my mom or grandma 😄
Imli Phulki
Course: Appetizers, SidesCuisine: PakistaniDifficulty: MediumServings
3
servingsPrep time
10
minutesCooking time
30
minutesTotal time
40
minutesIngredients
¼ cup besan (gram flour)
¼ tsp cumin powder
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp red chilli powder
⅛ tsp baking powder
1 cup water
2 tbsp tamarind pulp
2 tsp raw sugar
1 tsp ginger powder
½ tsp chaat masala
¼ tsp red chilli powder
salt to taste
Directions
- “Imli pani” (tamarind base)
- In a medium sauce pan add the water, tamarind pulp, salt, sugar, ginger powder, chilli powder, and chaat masala and bring to a boil.
- Stir to dissolve and then set aside to cool.
- “Pakora” (dumpling)
- In a bowl add the baisan (gram flour) and enough water to make a smooth batter. Beat the batter well with a spoon. Note: The consistency of the batter is crucial. It should not be too runny or too thick. Make it thick enough so it holds its shape during frying, but thin enough to be able to slide or easily pour off the spoon.
- Leave the batter to rest for 15-minutes.
- Add in cumin powder, salt, red chilli powder, and baking soda. Stir to combine.
- In a small frying pan add enough oil to shallow fry the pakora (the pakora should only be immersed halfway).
- Bring the oil to medium heat and use a teaspoon to pour the batter into the oil. Try to make the pakoras consistent in size so that they cook evenly.
- The phulkis/pakoras should start rising/puffing up almost immediately and tiny air bubbles (almost like Swiss cheese) should form all over it. This means the phulki is cooking well from the inside.
- When you see the sides turn light brown, use a spatula to gently flip the phulki over to cook the other side. This should only take a few seconds.
- Use a skimmer to fish out the cooked phulkis and drain the excess oil. You could freeze the phulkis at this point for later use.
- Fry the remaining phulkis in the same way. You may need to adjust the flame to control the heat and add more oil between each batch.
- Assemble
- Add the phulkis to the imli water and allow to soak for an hour or so. This should allow the phulkis to soak up the flavoured imli water.
- Taste and adjust seasoning.
Notes
- While frying the phulkis you may need to keep an eye on the flame. If the phulkis start to burn too quickly, reduce the flame to low. Alternatively, if the phulkis look a bit flat and aren’t rising, you may need to turn up the heat (only slightly).
- If your phulkis are flat, there could be multiple reasons for this:
– the batter is too thin
– the oil is not hot enough
– there isn’t enough oil in the pan to half-immerse the phulki.
