Dhal puffs

Serves 6-8

Dhal puffs are great for an emergency snack or a party (Jason Lowe)

These delicious little bread-based snacks are relatively quick to make as you only have to prove them once. The dough is made from the pizza base recipe on the previous page.

Freeze them either uncooked or lightly cooked and finish them off in the oven for an emergency snack moment or party.

80g butter or ghee
2 medium onions, peeled and finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 green chilli, trimmed and finely chopped
1tsp cumin seeds
1tsp ground cumin
1tsp black mustard seeds
1tsp fenugreek seeds
1tsp ground turmeric
10 curry leaves
150g yellow dried split peas, soaked for 2 hours in cold water
350ml vegetable stock
3-4tbsp chopped coriander
½ x pizza dough with one prove (see previous recipe)

To serve

80g butter, melted
1-2tsp black mustard seeds
1-2tsp cumin seedsf

To make the dhal, melt the butter or ghee in a pan and gently cook the onion, garlic, chilli and spices for 3-4 minutes without colouring. Drain and rinse the peas and add to the pan with the stock. Season and simmer for 30-40 minutes, stirring every so often, until the lentils are tender, the liquid has been absorbed and the consistency is risotto-like.

Stir in the coriander and leave to cool.

Preheat the oven to 220C/gas mark 7.

On a lightly-floured table, roll the dough out to about 3mm thick. Leave it to rest on the table for 5 minutes before cutting into roughly 4-5cm discs. Put a teaspoon of the dhal into the centre of each, brush the edges with water then bring the edges together to make a ball, reshaping them if necessary.

Place them on a lightly-oiled baking tray with the join side down and make a small slit in the top with the point of a small knife to expose the lentils. Brush with melted butter and scatter over the mustard and cumin seeds. Bake for about 12-15 minutes, or until golden. Serve warm.