Fermented rice and urad dal fritters flavoured with ginger, green chilli and black pepper — the most eaten breakfast snack of the coastal districts of Odisha. Sold from morning at tea stalls and temples.
Ingredients
1 cup raw rice — soaked 4 hours
1/2 cup urad dal (split black gram without skin) — soaked 4 hours
1 tsp ginger paste
2 green chilli — finely chopped
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp black pepper — coarsely ground
a pinch of asafoetida
salt to taste
oil for deep frying
Method
Soak rice and dal: Wash rice and urad dal separately. Soak each in 2 cups water for 4 to 6 hours.
Grind the dal: Drain the urad dal. Grind in a mixer with 1/4 cup water for 4 to 5 minutes until a very smooth, thick, white, fluffy paste forms. Remove to a bowl.
Grind the rice coarsely: Drain the rice. Grind in the mixer with 1/4 cup water for 2 minutes — the rice paste should be slightly coarser than the dal paste, with some texture remaining.
Mix together: Combine the dal paste and rice paste in a bowl. Mix well. The batter should be thick — thicker than dosa batter.
Ferment overnight: Cover and leave in a warm place for 8 hours or overnight. The batter will become bubbly and slightly sour from natural fermentation.
Add spices and seasoning: Add ginger paste, finely chopped green chilli, cumin seeds, black pepper, asafoetida and salt to the fermented batter. Mix well.
Check batter consistency: The batter should be thick enough to hold a shape when dropped from a spoon — like a thick porridge that falls off the spoon in one thick mass. If too thin, add 2 tbsp rice flour.
Heat oil: Heat oil in a kadai on medium. Test: a drop of batter should rise slowly within 3 seconds.
Fry the bara: Drop tablespoon-sized portions of batter into the hot oil. Each bara will be slightly irregular in shape — this is normal. Fry on medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes, turning twice, until deep golden brown on all sides.
Drain and serve: Drain on paper towels. Serve hot with coconut chutney or tamarind chutney.
Note: Chaula Bara (chaula = rice, bara = fritter) is the breakfast preparation that starts the day across coastal Odisha — sold at tea stalls, near temples and at morning markets. The combination of rice and urad dal in the batter is the same as idli-dosa batter but the bara uses a thicker, less fermented version and is deep-fried rather than steamed or griddled. The black pepper is specifically Odia.