Bajare ka pua

Bajare ka pua is one of those things that Mummy made and I always enjoyed but never got around to cooking it on my own. Bajare Ka Pua also turned out to be one of the last things Mummy made that we were fortunate enough to try. It is always going to hold a special place in my heart for that reason.

Best way to describe a pua is to call it a sweet fried bread. It has the sweetness from gur (jaggery) and slightly bitter (but sweet) after taste from the millet flour. In winter months, when millet flour is available, Mummy made the puas to be enjoyed by us kids and my father. She had a special snack cupboard in the house where all the special treats were kept. One of my favortie thing to do when I visited her was to check the snack cupboard. It was a delight to find some of the items I had not tasted for a long time.

So how did I got around to making the pua? 1st March was the festival of Holi and I wondered about what to prepare. I decided to make puas. I felt nervous because even though Mummy had described the recipe to me several times, she had not provided exact measurements. I think for experienced cooks of her generation, it seemed silly to note down measurements. My notes of her recipe ran something like this

Cook jaggery in water. Take millet flour and add 'Moan' (Moan is hindi for adding oil, butter or ghee to the flour and rubbing it with your hands). You dont need as much moan as you need for 'Mathari' (Mathari is a savoury fried pastry prepared using white flour). Add the jaggery liquid and sesame seeds to the flour and prepare the dough. Prepare pua with your hand, heat it on low heat on a griddle on both sides and then fry.

Do you see the problem? I dont know how much oil to add to the flour except that I remember being told that you need to add enough oil to the flour so when you take some flour in your palm and make a fist, the flour should hold together. I added amounts for oil and jaggery based on what I thought made sense and to my surprise, puas turned out quite decent.

Here is a list of ingredients and amounts.

2 cups millet flour
2 tbsp oil + more for frying
Jaggery close to the size of a small orange
3/4 cups water
2-3 tbsp sesame seeds

1. Cook Jaggery in water till it dissolves
2. Add 2tbsp oil to the flour and rub with your hands till evenly mixed
3. Prepare dough so it forms a neat ball. Add more water if needed
4. Heat the griddle on low heat
5. Heat oil in a frying pan on medium-high heat
6. Form a small ball using 1.5-2 teaspoon of dough and flatten the dough in between your palms forming a disk of 1 to 1.5 diameter.
7. Heat the disk on the griddle on both sides (approximately 30 seconds on each side) - This technique of preheating and slightly cooking the disks prevents them from falling apart during the frying process.
8. Fry the disk in the oil till brown.