Farata (Mauritian oil-free roti)
Teenuja Dahari’s oil-free Mauritian farata uses hot-water wheat dough, folded square parcels and a tawa to make six soft, layered flatbreads.
Dholl puri (Mauritian split-pea flatbread)
Dholl puri · Mauritian dholl puri
Kavi Hurrydoss’s Mauritian dholl puri encloses finely ground cumin-seasoned yellow split peas in wheat dough, then rolls and griddle-cooks each filled bread.
Mauritian filled flatbread
Kavi Hurrydoss's SBS recipe describes dholl puri as Mauritian street food: warm flatbreads filled with yellow split peas and served with curries, pickled vegetables called achards and chutneys. Unlike plain farata, this bread has a cooked pea filling sealed inside the dough.
The filling is cooked until the peas are just tender, drained thoroughly and ground with toasted cumin until fine and powder-like. The source emphasizes a dry filling, which can be enclosed in dough without making a bulky pocket. This is one documented Mauritian recipe and serving style; it does not define every local formula.
Preparing the pea filling and dough
Soak the peas overnight in the refrigerator, then drain and rinse them. The cited recipe requires the soak; University of Maine Extension's overnight method also refrigerates soaked legumes. Boil the peas in fresh water until just tender. The SBS recipe gives no boiling duration, so use the stated texture cue rather than adding an unsupported time.
Toast the cumin in a dry pan and grind it finely. Drain the tender peas very well before processing them with the cumin; season the powder-like mixture with salt. For the dough, mix plain flour with turmeric and two pinches of salt, add the warm water and knead until smooth. Cover with a damp cloth and rest for 20–30 minutes.
Filling, rolling and griddle cooking
Divide the dough into portions of about 60 g. Make a hollow in each, add pea filling and seal the dough around it. Roll the filled balls very thin on a floured surface, keeping the pieces you are not using covered. If the filling is wet or coarse, it may break through the thin dough; the recipe's powder-like filling keeps the parcel compact.
Heat a lightly oiled frying pan over high heat. Cook each bread for about 2 minutes on one side, brush the exposed surface with a little oil, then turn and cook the second side for about 2 minutes. Serve warm with curry, achards and chutney.
Safety and scope
Do not taste the uncooked flour dough. Keep the overnight pea soak refrigerated, and cook the peas before blending and stuffing. The source gives no storage duration, so this recipe makes no shelf-life claim.
History
SBS classifies Kavi Hurrydoss’s dholl puri as Mauritian and describes the filled flatbreads as a street food served warm with curries, achards and chutneys. This recipe cooks yellow split peas, grinds them with toasted cumin and seals the filling inside wheat dough. The available sources support this Mauritian preparation and use but do not establish its first date or a single origin.
Ingredients
Scaling: source batch only
Cumin seedsToast in a dry pan and grind.
7.4 mL½ tbsp as recorded
Yellow split peasSoak overnight; drain and rinse before boiling.
250 g
Amount not stated
To taste for the pea filling, plus two pinches for the dough.1000 g
1 kg.2.5 mL½ tsp as recorded
Warm waterAdd to flour to make dough.
400 mL
Vegetable oilFor brushing the pan and dough before flipping.
Amount not stated
As needed; amount not specified.Method
Risks and precautions · Standard risk
Raw flour and dough
Raw flour may carry harmful bacteria; do not taste uncooked dough.
Hazard sourceSoaked split peas
The recipe calls for an overnight soak; University of Maine Extension's overnight-soak method says to refrigerate the beans while soaking.
Hazard sourceKeep the overnight soak refrigerated, then drain and rinse before boiling in fresh water.
Control sourceDo not taste raw dough; wash hands, utensils and surfaces after handling raw flour and dough.
Control sourceDrain the cooked peas well and grind them finely; the source describes a powder-like filling, not a wet purée. It does not give a numerical dryness test.
Serve the filled breads warm. The recipe does not give a storage duration.
- The day before cooking, cover the yellow split peas with water and soak them overnight in the refrigerator. Drain and rinse before use.
- Toast the cumin seeds in a dry frying pan. Grind them finely in a mortar.
- Boil the drained peas in fresh water until just tender. Drain them very well, then blend with the ground cumin in a food processor until the mixture is fine and powder-like. Season to taste with salt.
- In a large bowl, mix the flour, turmeric and two pinches of salt. Add the warm water and mix to a smooth dough. Knead for about 5 minutes, cover with a damp cloth and rest for 20–30 minutes.
- Divide the dough into pieces of about 60 g. Make a deep hollow in the centre of each piece, add some pea mixture, then bring the dough around it and seal the filling inside.
- On a floured surface, roll each filled ball into a very thin round. Keep the unworked pieces covered while rolling.
- Lightly brush a frying pan, ideally non-stick, with vegetable oil and heat it. Cook one dholl puri over high heat for about 2 minutes on one side. Brush the upper surface lightly with oil, turn the bread and cook the other side for about 2 minutes. Repeat with the remaining breads.
- Serve warm with curries, achards (pickled vegetables) and chutneys.
Conditions
Active time15 min
Places
Mauritius
Documented preparation · Country evidenceKavi Hurrydoss's SBS recipe documents a Mauritian preparation; no locality or origin is claimed.
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Sources
SBS FoodInspiration · Method · Identity · Geography · History
Dholl puri recipeSBS identifies Kavi Hurrydoss's dholl puri as a Mauritian flatbread and describes serving it warm with curries, achards and chutneys as street food.
The source gives 250 g yellow split peas soaked overnight; ½ tablespoon cumin seeds; 1 kg plain flour; ½ teaspoon turmeric; 400 ml warm water; salt; and vegetable oil.
The source directs to toast and grind cumin; boil split peas until just tender, drain and blend to a powder-like mixture; knead the dough for about 5 minutes and rest 20–30 minutes; stuff approximately 60 g dough balls; roll very thin; and griddle-cook over high heat for about 2 minutes on each side, oiling before turning.
SBS lists 20–30 serves, 15 minutes preparation, 1 hour 20 minutes cooking and overnight soaking; it does not state the number of individual breads or a pea-boiling duration.
University of Maine Cooperative ExtensionSafety
How to Store and Cook Dried BeansIts overnight-soak instructions say to cover beans, refrigerate for 6–8 hours or overnight, then drain and rinse. The article notes that dry peas and lentils do not require soaking, but this recipe's author specifies an overnight soak.
U.S. Food and Drug AdministrationSafety
Handling Flour Safely: What You Need to KnowRaw flour may contain harmful bacteria; do not taste raw dough and clean hands, utensils and surfaces after handling.