The Indian subcontinent · Volume 24, Nepal, Bhutan, Ladakh, Sikkim and Darjeeling
Bara
Kathmandu Valley (Newar)
An illustration of the dish, not a photograph of it cooked.
- Time
- Hands on 30 minutes · Waiting 8 hours
- Reviewed
- Not yet reviewed from inside the tradition
- Cooked
- Not yet cooked and reported
Newari bara, a savoury pancake of ground whole black gram, is sagun, good-luck ceremonial food, served at festivals and birthdays and, in its plain undressed form, offered directly to deities; the egg-topped and mince-topped versions are everyday variations on the same base.
As tradition built it
Makes about 8 pancakes. About 30 minutes, plus overnight soaking.
Ingredients
For the batter
- 200 g whole black gram (urad dal, skin on)
- 600 ml water, for soaking
- 100 to 150 ml cold water, for grinding
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp grated ginger
- 1 green chilli, finely chopped
- 1/2 tsp crushed cumin
- 2 tbsp chopped coriander
- a pinch a pinch of asafoetida
To cook
- enough for a generous film on the pan mustard oil or ghee
- 1 per pancake, optional eggs, for anda bara, optional
Method
- Soak the whole black gram in the water for at least 8 hours or overnight.
- Drain and grind to a thick, pourable batter with the cold water, a high-power blender does this in under a minute where a stone grinder traditionally took much longer.
- Season the batter with the salt, ginger, green chilli, cumin, coriander and asafoetida.
- Heat a well-seasoned tawa or heavy flat pan with a generous film of mustard oil or ghee, ladle on a portion of batter and spread thin, cracking an egg onto the centre if making anda bara, and cook until the base is deeply golden and the edges crisp, 3 to 4 minutes a side.
What a modern chef changes
A two-stage grind and a confit yolk
Method
- First, grind the soaked gram in two stages, a coarse first pass followed by a finer second pass on a portion only, folding the two textures back together so the finished pancake has both a fluffy interior and a slightly toothier structural backbone rather than one uniform crumb.
- Second, cook on a plancha or the flat side of a Big Green Egg's griddle at a precisely held 200°C rather than a variable domestic hob flame, for an even, controlled crust.
- Third, top with a confit duck egg yolk in place of the whole fried egg, the yolk's richness doing the same structural job the egg traditionally does but with a controlled, jammy texture a straight fry cannot give.
- Fourth, finish with a scattering of dehydrated, crisped urad dal, the same pulse the pancake is made from, fried and shattered over the top for a textural echo of the base ingredient in a second form.