Bara – How to Make a Deep Fried Newari Cuisine

Bara is one of the most confused about the Newari Dishes as it is a name that is often given to Wa: Now there are two fundamental differences between these two dishes – Bara is deep-fried, Wa: is not and Bara is shaped like a Doughnut and Wa: is shaped like a patty. If you want to know more about Wa: and How it is made, we have linked the article/recipe of Wa: at the end of this article

Ingredients of Bara

Black Gram Beans 3 cups/200 grams
Coriander (optional)
Gralic Paste – 1 tablespon
Salt 1 teaspoon
Oil 1/2 lr
Water 1 bowl

Note* this recipe is for the serving of 4 portion with 50 gram per person or 2 Bara per person of 25 grams each.

How to make Bara

To make a Bara, the simple instruction is to soak black gram beans, deskin it grind them into a paste, make a doughnut shape, and then deep fry it. As with Wa: Salt is optional here along with coriander but coriander is recommended.

Total Time: 1 day and 20 minutes

Step 1 Soak and Deskin

– Soak the Black Gram Beans overnight or for about 8 to 10 hours.
– Deskin the beans by gently grinding them gently with your hands.

Step 2 Turn the Beans into Paste

After you soak and deskin the Beans, you then grind them into a paste. Be sure to not make the paste too fine. If the paste is too fine, it will have a dry texture which is not something that you want. After you have a bean paste, mix in the garlic and ginger paste.

At this stage, you can grab some chopped coriander and mix them in as well.

Step 3 Make the Shape

After you make a paste from the Beans, wet your hands in a bowl of water, take some paste and then turn it into a flat disk. After that poke a hole in the middle.

Step 4 Deep Fry

Once you have made the shape, deep fry it for 10 minutes on medium heat. Your bara is ready

Step 5 Remove excess Oil and Serve

After you take it out, use some tissue papers or old news papers and lay down the bara for a few minutes to drain excess oil and serve it on a plate.

Final Thoughts

Bara can be considered as a lesser-known but still famous cousin of the Wa: who people get mixed with. The first few steps of making both of these classic Newari Dishes are literally the same so we can see where the confusion comes from as well.

This deep fried dish is both used in religious ceremonies and used as a snack as well and is usually eaten along with a soft or a mild sauce or a hot soup.

Thank you for reading till the end, and as always if you have any suggestions for us, feel free to leave them down in the comments below.