Dhokar Dalna | Popular Bengali Recipe
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Bengali
Serves: 6-8 servings
Ingredients
For dhoka (dumplings):
  • Chana dal / Gram dal – 1 cup
  • Matar dal - ½ cup (if you don’t have matar dal, substitute it with ½ cup of chana dal)
  • Green chili – 2
  • Ginger paste – 1 tsp
  • Salt to taste
  • Mustard oil for frying
For gravy:
  • Potato – 4. small, cut into small cubes
  • Mustard / vegetable oil – 3 tbsp
  • Hing / asafoetida - ¼ tsp
  • Dry red chili – 2, broken
  • Cumin seeds - ½ tsp
  • Ginger paste – 1 tbsp
  • Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
  • Cumin powder – 2 tsp
  • Coriander powder - ½ tsp
  • Red chili powder - ½ tsp
  • Sugar - ½ tsp
  • Garam masala - ½ tsp
  • Salt to taste
Instructions
For dhoka:
  1. Soak both the dals separately for at least 8 hours. Then rinse them thoroughly and add to the grinder. Add green chili, ginger paste and salt to the lentils and grind them using as little water as possible until you get a smooth paste.
  2. Heat 2 tablespoons of mustard oil in a non-stick kadhai/wok. Pour the paste to the wok and keep stirring them keeping the heat on low until most of the moisture evaporates from the paste and it comes together like a dough. This step is quite tricky which is why you have to be a little careful here. The paste must not turn too hard, it should retain a kneadable consistency.
  3. Grease a large flat plate with oil all over. Choose a plate with high sides.
  4. Remove the dough from wok and put it on the greased plate. When the dough is cool enough to handle, press them onto the plate by patting lightly with your fingers and covering the base of the plate. Try to make a disk of uniform thickness.
  5. Grease a knife with oil and cut out dumlings of diamond or square shapes. Carefully release them from the greased plate and set aside.
  6. Heat about ½ cup of mustard oil in a wok. Once the oil is hot, add the dhoka pieces one by one and fry them until golden on both sides. Do this in batches, otherwise they may break. Keep the fried dhoka on absorbent kitchen towel while you make the gravy.
For gravy:
  1. Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a wok/kadhai. Temper the hot oil with hing, dry red chilies and cumin seeds. Saute them for half a minute on medium heat until fragrant.
  2. Then add the potato cubes and fry them until golden brown on all sides.
  3. While the potatoes are frying, make a spice paste by adding ginger paste, turmeric powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, red chili powder and ¼ cup of water in a small bowl. Whisk everything well to break any lumps.
  4. Once the potatoes are nicely fried, add the spice paste to the wok. Saute the spices on high for 2 minutes or until all the water is absorbed and oil starts to release from it.
  5. Then add about 1 & ½ cup of water. Add half a teaspoon of sugar and salt to taste. Bring the water to rolling boil.
  6. Then drop the prepared dhokas into the gravy, reduce the heat to low and let them simmer for 5 to 8 minutes. Also note that the dhokas will soak up a lot of gravies once they cool down. So keep gravy accordingly.
  7. Finally sprinkle the garam masala and turn the flame off. Serve the hot dhokar dalna with white rice. Enjoy!
Recipe by Everyday Indian Recipes at http://everydayindianrecipes.flavorquotient.com/dhokar-dalna/