My memories of my summer vacations in the 1990s consist of some delicious summer fruits and light dishes like Dalia porridge, simple crispy ghee toasts, dal chawal and bottomless steel jugs of chilled roohafzha, lassi, rasna, thandai and nimbu paani. Summer vacations also meant trips to my Nani’s house in Delhi where my brother and I had the ever so entertaining company of our 3 cousins.
Each morning we would wake up and find my Nani in her crisp cotton dhotis, reciting hymns softly while Nana ji would be reading the newspapers after his breakfast. My Mama (maternal uncle) would be peeling a handful of Gurbandi almonds soaked overnight for us to gorge on.
And a walk to the kitchen would reveal my Masi (maternal aunt) stirring a huge pot of Dalia porridge anda tall loaf of bread ready to be made into a crispy ghee toasts whenever we were ready to eat.
A small house full of 5 boisterous kids meant that my Nani and her lieutenants had to pull up their socks and run the household as efficiently as possible. But they always made it seem so effortless.
Nostalgia in a Bowl!
The Dalia porridge was something they made often on weekdays and we slurped and polished off big sweet bowls in no time. To complement the sweetness was a lovely crispy Ghee soaked toast that was sprinkled with salt. The melted ghee made the toast extremely comforting and rich and to this day, I prefer a ghee toast over a butter toast.
The harsh summers of Dubai made me reminisce about how we dealt with the blazing hot Delhi summers in the 90s without any air conditioners in our home. And now I had finally set out to recreate this Ghee toast and Dalia breakfast meal for myself after 20 years!
I had not bought Dalia ever since I set up a kitchen of my own. I used to eat Dalia at my parents home but we didn’t make it very often. Here in the supermarkets I found Bulgur instead of Dalia and tried making the same porridge. You can use either Dalia or Bulgur to make this easy porridge.
Now Dalia is different from Bulgur. Bulgur is made from parboiled groats of durum wheat and is popular in middle eastern cuisine in dishes like Taboulleh and pilafs. It also comes in finer textures than regular Dalia.
Dalia, on the other hand, is just broken/cracked wheat. It is not parboiled like Bulgur but tastes very similar. I have found Bulgur cooks much faster than Dalia.
Food Historian K.T. Acharya describes Dalia as a by product of the milling process and does not limit the term to one grain like wheat. He mentions that this by product of the milling process was ingeniously put to use in making laddus, idlis, porridges and gruel.
Dalia is full of fibre, has low glycemic index, rich in Vitamin B6 and is especially great for people who are watching their weight.
I’m writing the porridge recipes for both Bulgur and Dalia depending on what you get your hands on. Dalia is best cooked in a pressure cooker while Bulgur can be cooked in an open pan.
Here’s how I made this yummy Dalia Porridge with a side of Crispy Savoury Ghee Toasts
Ingredients
For Dalia Porridge
1/4 cup Broken Wheat Dalia or Bulgur
a teaspoon of Ghee (optional)
3 cups of water
1 cardamom
a pinch of cinnamon powder
2 cups of low fat milk (or non dairy milk)
2 tablespoons powdered Jaggery or Sugar (adjust according to taste)
A handful of Crushed Almonds
A handful of raisins
For Ghee Toast
Whole wheat bread or any bread of your choice
a few tablespoons of Desi ghee
Salt to taste
Method
Pressure cooker method for Dalia
First place a pressure cooker on medium high heat and add a teaspoon of ghee (if using). Measure the Dalia next and add to the pressure cooker. Next, roast the Dalia on medium heat for 3-4 minutes till you can smell the nutty aroma. You can add some crushed or whole almonds at this stage or later.
After this add 3 cups of water and follow by adding crushed cardamom and cinnamon powder. The quantity of water used for Dalia is usually 6 times because Dalia expands as it cooks. Such liberal amounts of water prevents the Dalia from being too dry.
Put the lid on the pressure cooker and reduce the heat to low. Do not forget to reduce the heat otherwise Dalia particles come out from the whistle creating a mess in your kitchen!
Pressure cook for 7-10 minutes on low heat (no need to wait for the pressure cooker to whistle). Take the pressure cooker off the heat now and let the pressure release naturally.
After 5-10 minutes, open the pressure cooker and add a few chunks of jaggery or a few teaspoons of sugar according to your taste. Follow by adding milk according to the desired consistency and cook this porridge on low heat for another 7-10 minutes. Add washed and drained raisins to the cooker now.
In a small pan, dry roast crushed almonds for 2 minutes and then add to the porridge. Finally, cook for another 2-3 minutes and then pour into deep bowls using ladles.
Open Pan method for Bulgur
Start by placing a sauce pan on medium high heat. While the pan heats up add ghee. If you’re not using ghee, move on to measuring the bulgur to dry roast it with some almonds. Roast for 2 minutes and add 2 cups of water. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Next, add milk, raisins, cinnamon, cardamom and jaggery/sugar and let it simmer for 5 more minutes.
Serve hot with the side of a crispy salty Ghee Toast.
Here’s how you make a good crispy Ghee Toast
Place a regular heavy tawa or cast iron pan on medium low heat and wait for a couple of minutes for it to heat up.
Pour a teaspoon of ghee on the hot tawa and spread it carefully to coat the center of the tawa/pan. After this, place a slice of bread in the centre of the tawa and press using a spatula. Pressing helps the bread to soak the ghee and also pushes the bread to the hot tawa and turn crispy.
Cook one side for about 2 minutes on medium low heat and then prepare for turning.
Pour another teaspoon or a maybe just a few drops of ghee on the top side and turn using a spatula. Press down the bread again for cook for another minute till it turns crispy and brown.
Finally, take off the heat and sprinkle salt on the toast according to taste.
Serve these Ghee Toasts hot with the Dalia Porridge.
A perfect combination of sweet and salty, healthy and hearty, this Dalia Porridge and Ghee toast breakfast is the perfect breakfast for your kids or just you. It is easy to prepare and packs a punch of nutrition at the same time.
The ghee toast can be eaten as a snack with tea time. You can even smear a chutney on the ghee toast to add more flavour.
I love to have the ghee toast smeared with some garlic red chilli chutney that my mom makes.
- 1/4 cup Broken Wheat Dalia or Bulgur
- a teaspoon of Ghee (optional)
- 3 cups of water
- 1 cardamom
- a pinch of cinnamon powder
- 2 cups of low fat milk (or non dairy milk)
- 2 tablespoons powdered Jaggery or Sugar (adjust according to taste)
- A handful of Crushed Almonds
- A handful of raisins
- Whole wheat bread or any bread of your choice
- a few tablespoons of Desi ghee
- Salt to taste
- Place a pressure cooker on medium high heat and add a teaspoon of ghee (if using). Measure the Dalia and add to the pressure cooker. Roast the Dalia on medium heat for 3-4 minutes till you can smell the nutty aroma. You can add some crushed or whole almonds at this stage or later.
- Add 3 cups of water and follow by adding crushed cardamom and cinnamon powder.
- Put the lid on the pressure cooker and reduce the heat to low. Do not forget to reduce the heat otherwise Dalia particles come out from the whistle creating a mess in your kitchen!
- Pressure cook for 7-10 minutes on low heat (no need to wait for the pressure cooker to whistle). Take the pressure cooker off the heat now and let the pressure release naturally.
- Open the pressure cooker and a few chunks of jaggery or a few teaspoons of sugar according to your taste. Follow by adding milk according to the desired consistency and cook this porridge on low heat for another 7-10 minutes. Add washed and drained raisins to the cooker now.
- In a small pan, dry roast crushed almonds for 2 minutes and then add to the porridge. Cook for another 2-3 minutes and then pour into deep bowls using ladles.
- Place a sauce pan on medium high heat and add ghee or dry roast the measured bulgur with some almonds. Roast for 2 minutes and add 2 cups of water. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Add milk, raisins, cinnamon, cardamom and jaggery/sugar and let it simmer for 5 more minutes.
- Place a regular heavy tawa or cast iron pan on medium low heat and wait for a couple of minutes for it to heat up.
- Pour a teaspoon of ghee on the hot tawa and spread it carefully to coat the center of the tawa/pan. Place a slice of bread in the center of the tawa and press using a spatula. Pressing helps the bread to soak the ghee and also pushes the bread to the hot tawa and turn crispy.
- Cook one side for about 2 minutes on medium low heat and prepare for turning.
- Pour another teaspoon or a maybe just a few drops of ghee on the top side and turn using a spatula. Press down the bread again for cook for another minute till it turns crispy and brown.
- Take off the heat and sprinkle salt on the toast according to taste.
- Serve warm Dalia Porridge with crispy salted Ghee Toasts!
- The quantity of water used for Dalia in the pressure cooker method is usually 6 times because Dalia expands as it cooks. Such liberal amounts of water prevents the Dalia from being too dry.
Try this recipe and tell me how you enjoyed this delicious Dalia and Gorgeous Ghee toast!
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