Dhal Puri

About This Recipe

Dhal Puri is arguably the most iconic street food in Guyana, a soft, pliable flatbread stuffed with a fragrant layer of ground split yellow peas seasoned with cumin, garlic, and shadow beni (culantro). It is a direct descendant of the dal puri brought from the Bihar region of India by indentured labourers in the 1800s, but it has evolved into something distinctly Guyanese in texture, flavour, and how it is eaten — wrapped around curried chicken, pumpkin, baigan (eggplant) choka, or whatever curry is on hand. The combination of soft flatbread with a hearty curry filling is one of the great simple pleasures of Caribbean food.

Ingredients

Serves 8

• 400 gall-purpose flour
• 1 tspbaking powder
• ½ tspsalt
• 1 tbspvegetable oil
• 250 mlwarm water (approximately)
• 250 gyellow split peas
• 4 clovesgarlic
• 1 tspground cumin
• ½ tspground turmeric
• 2 tbspshadow beni (culantro) or fresh cilantro, finely chopped
• 1 tspsalt (for filling)
• oilfor greasing tawa/griddle

Instructions

1. 1

   Cook the split peas

   Rinse split peas and boil with turmeric in plenty of water for 20–25 minutes until just soft but not mushy. Drain well.

2. 2

   Grind the filling

   Place cooked split peas in a food processor with garlic, cumin, shadow beni, and salt. Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse sand — not a paste. Taste and adjust seasoning.

3. 3

   Make the dough

   Mix flour, baking powder, salt, and oil. Add warm water gradually, kneading into a soft, smooth, non-sticky dough. Divide into 8 balls. Cover and rest 30 minutes.

4. 4

   Stuff the dough

   Flatten each ball into a disc. Place 2–3 tablespoons of split pea filling in the centre. Gather the edges up over the filling, pinch to seal, and re-roll gently into a ball.

5. 5

   Roll and cook

   On a lightly floured surface, roll each stuffed ball into a thin, even round (about 25 cm diameter). Brush a tawa or heavy griddle with a little oil and heat over medium-high. Cook each roti 1–2 minutes per side until light golden spots form and it is cooked through. Keep warm wrapped in a cloth.

Variations

• •

  Aloo Puri: substitute mashed spiced potato for the split pea filling.

• •

  Serve with curried channa (chickpeas) for a popular Guyanese vegetarian combo.

• •

  Vegetarian: swap the protein for roasted king oyster mushrooms, smoked tofu or cooked chickpeas — adjust seasoning slightly upward to compensate.

• •

  Spicier: add a finely chopped fresh chile or a teaspoon of crushed Aleppo/Urfa pepper to the aromatics for warm, layered heat instead of a single sharp hit.

Storage

Stack cooked dhal puris, wrap in foil, and refrigerate up to 2 days. Reheat in a dry pan or oven. The split pea filling keeps in the fridge for 3 days.

Frequently Asked Questions