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Seyal phulka
سيال ڦلڪو (seyal phulka): leftover chapatis simmered in a tangy Sindhi tomato and onion sauce
Nothing gets thrown away in a Sindhi kitchen, and yesterday's phulka become this morning's seyal phulka, a breakfast found in homes from Karachi's Gulshan to small towns along the Indus. Seyal is the Sindhi way of cooking in a thick sauce of onion, garlic, tomato, green chilli and plenty of coriander, and the torn chapatis soak it up to become soft and savoury at the centre while their edges keep a little chew. It is eaten straight from the pan with a glass of sweet tea or a spoonful of plain yogurt, and people tend to make it on lazy weekend mornings. Over-simmering is what ruins it, because the bread turns to porridge within minutes. Chef's tip: let the sauce reduce until it is thick before the chapatis go in, then toss them for no more than two or three minutes.
- Total time
- 20 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 2
Ingredients
For the seyal
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 /2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 onionfinely chopped
- 3 cloves garliccrushed
- 2 green chilliesfinely chopped
- 3 tomatoesgrated, skins discarded
- 1 /4 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 /2 tsp red chilli powder
- 1 /2 tsp salt
- ¾ cup water
- 4 tbsp fresh corianderchopped
- 4 day-old chapatis or phulkatorn into 4 cm pieces
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil in a wide frying pan over a medium heat and add 1 /2 tsp cumin seeds.
1 minStep 2: Add 1 onion and fry for 4 minutes until soft and just golden, then stir in 3 cloves garlic and 2 green chillies for 30 seconds.
4 minStep 3: Add 3 tomatoes, 1 /4 tsp ground turmeric, 1 tsp ground coriander, 1 /2 tsp red chilli powder and 1 /2 tsp salt and cook for 5 minutes until thick and the oil begins to separate.
5 minStep 4: Stir in ¾ cup water and 2 ¾ tbsp fresh coriander and bring to a simmer; it should be a thick, pourable sauce.
2 minStep 5: Add 4 day-old chapatis or phulka and toss gently for 2–3 minutes until they have soaked up the sauce but still hold their shape.
3 minStep 6: Scatter with 1 ¼ tbsp fresh coriander and serve at once, with yogurt for those who want it.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 330 kcal
- Protein
- 8 g
- Carbs
- 45 g
- Fat
- 13 g
- Fibre
- 6 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does seyal phulka take?
- About 20 minutes in total: 5 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 2 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- What can I use instead of cumin seeds?
- Ground cumin, three quarters of the amount (add it with the other ground spices, not to hot oil first).
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
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