Bara (Nepal)

World-Bites (42) / Bara

Nepali food, especially ethnic Newari food is rich in varieties of appetizers, snacks or hors d'oeuvres. Many of these appetizers may be fried and may not be comparatively lower in fat than western appetizers heavy on butter. Bara (Black Lentil Deep Fried Patties) is one of the favorite Nepali appetizers.

Ingredients

1 cup Black lentil
1 table spoon ginger paste or ginger juice
1/4 tea spoon asafetida (Hing)
1/2 tea spoon Cumin Powder (Jeera)
Oil enough to deep fry
Salt to taste

Preparation

1 Soak black lentil in water overnight or until the black coating is easily removed.
2 Remove black coating by rinsing with water.
3 Grind into a paste with minimum water.
4 Add all the spices to the lentil and mix well.
5 Heat the oil for deep fry.
6 Make a patty shape out of lentil in a plate. Make a hole in the patty like that in donut.
7 Carefully put it in the hot oil and cook golden brown in both sides.
8 Serve hot or cold.