SINDHI SEYAL DABROTI.. 2 WAYS.

SINDHI SEYAL DABROTI.. 2 WAYS.

This is a Sindhi dish which apart from Sindhi curry chawal, dal pakan…  most non-Sindhi people are familiar with. It’s one of the most indigenous ways to use up bread that’s gone dry, or even leftover phulkas.

Growing up in Pune, this was made at least once a week for breakfast—mostly on Saturdays, as my amma and baba would love it. ( grandparents). Easy to make and eat 😊

Mummy made three types of seyal:
One using basar tamata (onion and tomatoes)
Another using sao masala (a green masala made with coriander, green chillies, garlic, etc.)
And a third one, seyal in aur, using mustard seeds and kokum

Mummy used kokum to reduce the amount of tomatoes while still retaining the typical tangy taste of the dish.
Sometimes she would mix leftover phulkas with bread and serve it with Sindhi papad. That was it—a delicious breakfast sorted.
This tradition has been carried forward by my sister. Nowadays, I rarely make seyal for breakfast 😊 It’s become more of a filler dish for dinner or when I have guests over. Yes, I do dress it up a bit—sometimes adding cheese or a tadka. Mummy would do no such fancy stuff. She would simply put the seyal directly onto steel plates and serve it—basically pan to plate, no fuss.

SEYAL DABROTI IN AUR
I have used bread crusts leftover after making sandwiches.
Ingredients:
200–250 g bread crusts (or regular bread or pav)
2 tomatoes, blended
2 tbsp garlic, finely chopped
2 green chillies, sliced into thin rings
2–3 kokum, soaked in water
2 sprigs curry leaves, finely chopped
Coriander leaves
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
Salt to taste
Method: Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, and curry leaves.
Add the chopped garlic and sauté until it just starts to turn golden.
Add the kokum, tomato puree, coriander leaves, turmeric, and salt. Cook until the oil separates.
Add 1½ cups of hot water. Once the gravy starts boiling, add the bread crusts. The bread will quickly soak up the gravy. Add more bread if required.
Lower the flame, cover, and cook for a few minutes until the bread has fully absorbed the gravy.
Serve hot with papad.

SECOND RECIPE
SEYAL DABROTI WITH BASAR TAMATA (ONION-TOMATO) – WITH A TWIST
This is a tweaked fusion recipe given to me by my friend—and my daughter’s mother-in-law—Monica. The base remains the same, but here yogurt is the game changer.
Ingredients:
6–8 slices bread
1 cup yogurt
½ tsp turmeric powder
½ tsp red chilli powder
Salt to taste
For the tomato masala:
2–3 tomatoes, chopped
2 onions, finely chopped
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp jeera
½ tsp turmeric
1 tsp red chilli powder
2 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp garam masala
Coriander leaves, finely chopped
Salt to taste
Tempering:
1 tsp mustard seeds
About 20 curry leaves, finely chopped
1 tbsp oil
Topping:
Sev
Grated cheese (optional)
Method: Prepare a basic tomato masala by sautéing onions in oil with jeera until just soft. Add tomatoes, turmeric, chilli powder, garam masala, coriander powder, and salt. Cook until soft and slightly thick. Finish with chopped coriander leaves.
In a bowl, mix yogurt with salt, turmeric, and red chilli powder. Lightly dip the bread slices in this yogurt mixture.
In a baking dish, spread some tomato masala, then layer the yogurt-dipped bread. Repeat the layers (about two layers of bread). Top with grated cheese if using.
Bake at 180°C for about 20 minutes, until the flavours combine and the top sets.
Prepare a tadka by heating oil and adding mustard seeds and curry leaves. Pour this over the baked dish.
Serve warm—soft, tangy, spicy, and crunchy all in one