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Surinamese Bara

Name: Surinamese Bara
Total time: 90 min
Yield: Serves 8
Cuisine: Suriname
Ingredients: 200g All-purpose flour; 100g Yellow split peas; 4g Dry yeast; 1 tsp Cumin powder; 1/2 tsp Turmeric; 2 cloves Garlic; 3 Green Onion; 1 tsp Salt; 200ml Water; To taste Oil for frying; To taste Chili sauce

Snack

⏱ 90 min

👥 Serves 8

Difficulty ⭐

Spiced split pea batter fried into rings — a Surinamese snack of Indian descent.

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📖 The Story Behind This Dish

In the 19th century, many indentured laborers came to Suriname from India, and their descendants, called Hindustanis, make up a large share of the population. Bara is a batter of ground yellow split peas mixed with cumin, turmeric, and green onion, left to rise, shaped into rings, and fried. Eaten with hot sauce, it's a stall staple.

🌆 Where it's eaten: At a market stall in Paramaribo, fresh fried ring-shaped bara pile up and are wrapped in paper with red chili sauce.

🥕 Ingredients (serves 8)

All-purpose flour 200g
Yellow split peas 100g
Dry yeast 4g
Cumin powder 1 tsp
Turmeric 1/2 tsp
Garlic 2 cloves
Green Onion 3
Salt 1 tsp
Water 200ml
Oil for frying To taste
Chili sauce To taste

👩‍🍳 Instructions

Soak the split peas overnight, drain, and blend into a smooth paste.
Add the flour, yeast, spices, grated garlic, chopped green onion, and salt and mix with water into a soft dough.
Let rise 1 hour.
With wet hands, take some dough, flatten it, poke a hole in the center, and drop into 170°C oil.
Fry until golden on both sides and serve with chili sauce.

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