Crispy fried puri bread served with spiced chana dal, tamarind chutney and green chutney. The classic Sindhi breakfast, sold from street stalls in Karachi and Hyderabad Sindh.
Dal pakwan is the most iconic Sindhi breakfast, a plate of crispy fried puri bread (pakwan) served with a bowl of spiced chana dal, tamarind chutney, green chutney and chopped onion. The pakwan is thinner and crispier than a regular puri, rolled very thin and fried until it shatters. The dal is chana dal (split chickpeas) cooked soft with turmeric, cumin and ginger, loose enough to spoon over the broken pakwan. The combination of crisp bread, soft dal and sharp-sweet chutneys is a textural and flavour contrast unique to this dish. Sold from street stalls across Karachi, Hyderabad (Sindh) and Sukkur, dal pakwan is the Sindhi morning, eaten by hand, the pakwan broken and dipped into the dal.
A shard of shatteringly crisp fried bread dipped into soft, warmly spiced chana dal, a drizzle of sharp tamarind chutney, the textures contrasting: crisp, soft, wet, dry. Each bite a perfect combination.
The technique has two components: the crispy pakwan and the soft dal. The pakwan dough is wheat flour, semolina (for crispness), oil and salt, kneaded firm, rested, rolled very thin (1mm), and deep-fried at 180 degrees C for 1 to 2 minutes until golden and crisp. The semolina is what keeps the pakwan crispy longer than a regular puri. The dal is chana dal, soaked and cooked with turmeric, ginger, cumin and salt until soft but not mushy, loose enough to spoon. Served on a plate: the pakwan broken, dal spooned over, chutneys drizzled on top.
Variations
Some add boiled egg or potato to the dal. A sweet version with sugar is for children.
On the Palate
Where Dal Pakwan sits in the Pakistani flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 6How it's made
5 steps · 30 min
- 15 min
Make pakwan dough: 300g flour, 50g semolina, 2 tbsp oil, salt and water to a firm dough; rest 30 minutes.
- 28 min
Roll very thin (1mm); cut into 12cm rounds; deep-fry at 180 degrees C until golden and crisp.
Watch outThe semolina in the dough is what keeps the pakwan crisp — fry until deep gold and rigid, not just pale and set.
- 38 min
Soak 200g chana dal 2 hours; cook with turmeric, ginger, cumin, salt and water until soft but not mushy.
Watch outCook the chana dal until soft but the grains still hold — mushy dal turns to paste and loses the point of the dish.
- 45 min
Make tamarind chutney: simmer 100g tamarind pulp with 50g sugar and water until thick.
- 54 min
Serve: break pakwan on a plate; spoon dal over; drizzle chutneys; top with chopped onion.
