Ubbati (Lentil Stuffed Sweet Flatbread) is a soft, melt in mouth, flaky, stuffed sweet south Indian flatbread filled with a scrumptious chana dal-jaggery mixture.

This lentil stuffed flatbread/paratha or "ubbati" as we call it is a sweet or dessert that is mostly made during festivals like Diwali, Holi or even weddings in the Mangalore/Udupi area of southern India in the state of Karnataka…that special!

Having grown up enjoying this delicious traditional sweet delight made by my Mom, I feel no one can make it better than her!

But when the craving for some freshly homemade ubbati hits, no one can stop me from making it myself; hence the cooking frenzy and these ‘no occasion needed” ubbatis!

These delightful stuffed ubbatis are best enjoyed warm either plain or drizzled with a dash of ghee or clarified butter!

My family (well all of them!) love it smeared with ghee but me; I prefer it plain, warm and no ghee for me. So guys, it is a treat for vegans too!

UBBATTI (Lentil Stuffed Sweet Flatbread)

Long overdue on my blog this quintessential sweet chana dal stuffed paratha (called ‘UBBATI” in Konkani, the Mangalorean language I speak) is one every amchi or Konkani speaking GSB (Gowda Saraswat Brahmin) from Karnataka drools over whenever someone mentions it!

Puranpoli from Maharashtra or Obbattu/Holige from Karnataka (made mostly by Kannadigas or Kannada speaking population) are different variations of this stuffed sweet paratha.

Although I do have a similar ubbati in my blog "Cashew/Kaju Ubbati", it is a riff on the delicious, authentic chana dal ubbati but equally tempting!

All these years, my mother was the one making these delightful, addictive ubbatis for us as well as for our extended family (in large batches too!), but now, I have taken up the mantle of making these to keep the tradition going.

She is 88 and has almost forgotten how to make it and too weak too.

So, I decided to take the plunge and try making them and treat her to ubbati made by me…an ode to her cooking and love that she has showered on us all her life.

(Another specialty of hers is "Saat",a flaky, Mangalorean sweet or pastry. No one has been able to make them like her so far, although I tried and nearly nailed ite!)

Well, once they were ready after an agonizing wait of almost the whole day (well making almost 60 of them!), my hubby and my Mom gave me a thumbs up as they had come out amazingly soft, flaky and with just the right sweetness in every bite! Almost like my mother’s.

I wonder why I did not try making these earlier too!

All you got to do is make the filling or stuffing of pressure cooked chana dal mashed and cooked until almost dry with some jaggery and coconut along with a dash of cardamom powder.

This is then stuffed in thinly rolled turmeric tinged flour dough and dry roasted on griddle until you see brown spots on both sides.

The best part is, you can make the stuffing and the outer covering ahead of time, refrigerate and make as many as you want whenever you need fresh ubbatis.

But make sure to thaw and bring both to room temperature before making ubbatis.

So, what are you waiting for? Do try this; "sort of a long procedure but well worth it" our Mangalorean special Ubbati!

INGREDIENTS YOU WILL NEED TO MAKE UBBATI:

Flour – Traditionally, we have always made ubbati with plain flour/maida/all purpose flour. So I am keeping it that way here too!

Turmeric powder – this is needed for that gorgeous yellow color of ubbatis that we grew up drooling over and enjoying.

Sweeteners – My mother always used a mix of white sugar as well as jaggery, so I have kept that combination too. You can use all jaggery or all white sugar if preferred.

Coconut – Most ubbati recipes do not use coconut, but like I said, my mother recommended I use freshly grated coconut for a lovely tropical sweetness and flavor. Coming from the coastal town of Mangalore in the southern state of Karnataka where you will see coconut trees everywhere, we end up using coconut in most of our dishes! But use freshly grated (or frozen) coconut only.

Chana dal (split Bengal gram dal/yellow chick peas) – this is the main ingredient in the stuffing.

Cardamom powder – like all Indian desserts, this too needs a whiff of freshly ground green cardamom powder for that distinct exotic aroma.

Oil – Needed for the outer covering, I have used vegetable oil here.

HOW TO MAKE SOFT, DELICIOUS UBBATIS (these make approximately 60; you can halve the recipe to make about 30):

Like I said, it involves 3 steps.

Make the outer covering.
Prepare the sweet chana dal filling.
Roll the outer covering, stuff with filling, roll again and dry roast on pan.

You got to make the outer covering first as it needs some rest time.

So, to make the outer flour dough;

In a small bowl, stir 2 teaspoons of turmeric powder, 2 teaspoons of powdered sugar in ½ cup of water; set aside.

Keep ½ cup of oil ready in a bowl. You will be adding this in stages to the dough.

Now, to make the dough, in a mixing bowl, stir 2 cups flour and 2 tablespoons oil from the ½ cup of oil kept aside.

Mix well to form a bread crumb like mixture.

Add the turmeric powder slurry to the flour and mix to form a soft, smooth dough, adding more water if needed.

Now, comes the unique part.

Add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil at a time to the dough (from the remaining ½ cup set aside), mixing and kneading every time until all the oil is absorbed.

Once absorbed, add 2 more tablespoons of oil and continue until all the oil is used up, all the oil is absorbed and a soft dough has been formed.

Now, time to knead it well for at least 8 to 10 minutes.

You will find that the dough has become elastic and it is easy to stretch the dough.

At this stage, cover and set aside to rest for at least an hour.

Meanwhile, make the filling:

Wash, drain and pressure cook 2 cups of chana dal in plenty of water in a pressure cooker for 15-20 minutes on medium low or until soft and just tender. It should mash up when pressed between your fingers.

Drain thoroughly and when warm, blend in a high powered blender or your food processor along with 1 cup of plain sugar, 1 cup of jaggery powder and 1 cup of grated coconut.

Don’t forget to add ½ to 1 teaspoon of freshly ground cardamom powder.

Blend well to form a smooth paste without any bits of chana dal seen.

Remove this paste to a deep, wide saucepan and cook on medium low heat, stirring often/continuously to form an almost thick mass which has started to separate from the pan.

This may take 15 to 20 minutes or so.

Once the filling has started to form and move as a single mass, remove from heat and cool completely.

Once it is at room temperature, it is ready to be formed into balls, stuffed and roasted to make ubbati.

TIME TO ROAST THE UBBATI:

When ready to make ubbati, make balls of the chana dal filling.

You will notice the oil has separated from the dough after resting. Knead the dough again to incorporate all the released oil.

Make small dough balls. The dough will be soft and elastic.

The size of the dough balls should be smaller than that of the filling.

Pinch some dough to form a small ball,; it should be smaller than that of the filling.

Dust the dough ball with flour and gently roll it on a silicone mat or rolling board to a very thin 3 inch disc.

Place the filling in the center.

Bring the sides over the filling and pinch together; remove excess dough and roll into smooth balls again taking care to see that the filling is fully covered by the outer covering.

Make as many as you need at a time. Set aside the rest of the dough and filling, covered.

Heat a cast iron pan/griddle.

Start rolling the filled dough balls gently, using some flour to dust and roll to a thin disc taking care to see that the filling does not come out.

When fully rolled, gently transfer to the hot pan.

Reduce heat to medium to medium low and dry roast on both sides.

(When you see some bubbles at the top, gently flip over to cook the other side).

If rolled properly, then you will see it rises and puffs up beautifully.

No need to drizzle any oil at all.

When fully cooked on both sides (you will see light brown spots all over), remove gently and place on a wide platter to allow to cool.

Continue making as many ubbatis as you need the same way.

This batch makes approximately 60 ubbatis (I was making this for my extended families too!).

You can halve the recipe to make 30.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS:

Ubbati is best eaten freshly roasted and warm.

If you like ghee, then drizzle some over the ubbati and enjoy soft, melt in mouth ubbati, a scrumptious south Indian sweet stuffed flatbread!

These ubbatis can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for a day or two. But make sure they are completely cool before storing.

For longer shelf life, store in the refrigerator or even freezer.

I kept a few to enjoy fresh and froze the rest of the ubbatis (after sharing with my extended family) wrapped in foil and placed in an airtight Ziploc.

To enjoy freshly made like Ubbatis, reheat them for a few seconds in the microwave before smearing ghee (optional) and enjoying!

Whenever I need to serve ubbatis, I microwave a couple for just 10 seconds (depending upon the wattage of your oven) and serve hot or warm to my family with a side of ghee if needed.

So, I hope I have tempted you enough with my post to make your own.

I was wary too all these years but I think, looking at the way my family is enjoying it; I have nailed the recipe and method!

Enjoy Foodies! Do try and make these for a special occasion or just like that!

Happy cooking/Eating!

Here are some more south Indian desserts/sweets you may want to check out:

Now, time to SAVE/PRINT this traditional south Indian Ubbati Recipe to make in your kitchen:

UBBATI (Lentil stuffed sweet flatbread)

Soft, melt in mouth, flaky, stuffed sweet south Indian flat bread filled with a scrumptious chana dal-jaggery mixture. This lentil stuffed paratha or ubbati as we call it is a sweet or dessert that is mostly made during festivals like Diwali, Holi or even weddings…that special!

Course Dessert

Cuisine Indian, South Indian

Servings 30

Ingredients

FOR UBBATI FILLING:

2 cups chana dal Bengal gram dal/Split Chickpeas
1 cup grated coconut fresh or frozen
1 cup white sugar
1 cup jaggery powder
½ to 1 teaspoon green cardamom powder

FOR OUTER COVERING OF UBBATI:

2 to 2 ½ cups maida/all purpose flour
2 teaspoons haldi/turmeric powder
2 teaspoons powdered sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
Extra flour for dusting

Instructions

Full Step-by-Step Pictorial recipe is in post above. Do check it out.
Now, to the method. Both the outer covering and the filling should be made ahead of time.
Both can be stored in the refrigerator until the time you make fresh ubbatis but preferably, it is better to make (especially use up the outer dough) the same day.
The filling can be made and stored in the fridge for at least a week.
Make the dough the day of making ubbatis.

NOW, TO MAKE THE CHANA DAL UBBATI FILLING:

Wash 2 cups of chana dal, drain and add to a pressure cooker.
Add enough water to come at least 2 inches above the dal.
Pressure cook for 15 minutes or until the dal is well cooked and mashes up when pressed between your fingers.
Drain all the water using a colander.
Transfer the drained chana dal into a food processor or high powered blender jar.
Add the sugars (1 cup each sugar and jaggery powders) along with 1 cup grated coconut and 1 teaspoon green cardamom powder.
Process or blend to a smooth paste.
It helps to make this in batches.
When fully blended to a smooth paste, transfer to a deep saucepan.
Cook on medium to medium low heat, stirring and scraping often especially the bottom and top sides of the chana dal mixture.
When most of the moisture is gone and the chana dal filling mixture starts to separate from the pan as a single mass, remove from heat.
Cool completely.
This is the ubbati filling.

TO MAKE THE OUTER UBBATI COVERING:

In a bowl add 2 cups of maida or APF flour.
Add 2-3 large tablespoons of oil (from the total 1/2 cup of oil needed) to this and mix well to form a crumble like mixture.
In a small bowl, mix 2 teaspoons haldi/turmeric powder and 2 teaspoons of powdered sugar in ½ cup of water.
Mix well.
Add this water to the crumbled oil-flour mixture.
Mix to form a soft dough. Add more water if needed.
Now, from the remaining ½ cup of oil, add 2 tablespoons of oil at a time to the dough, kneading and mixing it in well until all the oil is absorbed completely.
Continue this process adding 2 tablespoons at a time, until all the oil (from the ½ cup) has been absorbed fully.
Now, knead the dough well for 5-8 minutes until elastic, smooth and soft.
Set aside in the bowl, covered for at least an hour or even more (3-4 hours) to rest. This is very important.

TO MAKE UBBATIS:

When ready to make ubbati, make balls of the chana dal filling.
You will notice the oil has separated from the dough after resting. Knead the dough again to incorporate all the released oil.
Make small dough balls. The dough will be soft and elastic.
The size of the dough balls should be smaller than that of the filling.
Dust the dough ball with flour and gently roll it on a silicone mat or rolling board to a thin 3 inch disc.
Place the filling ball in the center.
Bring the sides over the filling; pinch to seal, remove excess dough and roll into smooth balls again taking care to see that the filling is fully covered by the outer covering.
Heat a cast iron pan/griddle.
Start rolling the filled dough balls gently, using some flour to dust and roll to a thin disc taking care to see that the filling does not come out.
When fully rolled, gently transfer to the hot pan.
Reduce heat to medium to medium low and dry roast on both sides.
(When you see some bubbles at the top on one side, gently flip over to cook the other side).
If rolled properly, then you will see it rises and puffs up beautifully.
No need to drizzle any oil at all.
When fully cooked on both sides (you will see light brown spots all over), remove gently and place on a wide platter to allow to cool.
Continue making as many ubbatis as you need the same way.
Store leftover dough and/or filling in airtight containers in the fridge to make later.
Enjoy soft, melt in mouth south Indian style sweet ubbatis plain or for a richer and authentic experience, drizzle some ghee over the top and enjoy!
Happy Cooking/Eating!

Recipe Notes

This lot makes about 60 ubbatis! You can halve the recipe to make a smaller batch.
Adding coconut is optional but gives it a lovely flavor.
You can use all plain white sugar or all jaggery instead of half and half of each.
While reheating ubbatis (makes them soft like just made!), just microwave for just a few seconds, depending upon the wattage of you microwave oven. Smear or drizzle ghee (if not vegan) and enjoy!
Enjoy and Happy Cooking/Eating!

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