Bengali Cuisine :
The moment you hear bengali cuisine , rasgulla comes to my mind. There are varieties of delicious milk based sweets . Each one has its own distinctive taste. There is an emphasis on fish, meat, vegetables, and lentils with rice as a staple. Bengal has been famous for its food since ages.Some facts about Dhokar Dalna:
- The word ‘dhoka’ means ‘betrayal’, so this dish is common on days when families eat a vegetarian fare. They trick themselves into believing the lentil cake, made flavorful with spices, coconut, peanuts, etc., is actually meat.
- It is a no onion no garlic dish.
- Dhokar Dalna is a typical Bengali treat.
- Soaked Bengal gram is ground coarsely with spices, dry roasted into a paste, then cut into diamonds and fried. This is the dhoka.
- This can be served as a snack with Tea.
- It can be served with rich gingery gravy too.
DHOKAR DALNA (DURGA PUJA SPECIAL)
Popular delicacy from the Bengali Cuisine during Durga Puja
Equipment
- Wide Bottom Pan
- Spatula
- Pan for Frying
Ingredients
For Dhoka /Lentil Cake
- 1 Cup Split Bengal Gram / Chana Dal
- 1/2 Cup Freshly grated Coconut
- 2 Inch Fresh Ginger chopped
- 4 Nos Green Chillies
- 1 Tsp Cumin Powder
- 1/4 Tsp Turmeric / Haldi
- 1/4 Tsp Asafoetida / Hing
- 1.5 Tbsp Mustard Oil
- Salt to taste
- 1/4 Cup Roughly Crushed Roasted peanuts
- 1 Tsp Sugar
- Any Odorless Oil for greasing +Shallow frying
For Gravy:
- 2 Nos Potatoes cut into 1 Inch Cubes
- 2 Tbsp Mustrad Oil
- 1 No Bay Leaf
- 4 No Cloves
- 3 No Green Cardamom
- 2 Inch Cinnamon Stick
- 2 No Tomatoes cut into 1 Inch cubes
- Salt to Taste
- 1 Tsp Red Chilli Powder
- 1 Tbsp Ginger Paste
- 1/2 Tsp Turmeric / Haldi
- 3/4 Tsp Cumin Powder / Jeera Powder
- 1 Tsp Coriander powder / Dhania Powder
- 1/2 Tsp Garam Masala
- 1 Tsp Ghee
- 1/2 Tsp Sugar
- 1/2 Cup Fresh Coriander Finely Chopped
Instructions
For Dhoka / Lentil Cake:
- Soak Channa dal for 6-8 hours or overnight.
- Blend soaked channa dal , green chillies , ginger , salt and 1/4 cup of water to a fine paste.
- Heat some oil in a pan. Add freshly grated coconut and roast till it turns colour.
- Now add the ground chana dal mixture and mix well.
- Add cumin powder , turmeric , salt , sugar ,roasted peanuts and hing and give it a nice mix for about 2 minutes
- Turn of the heat and transfer the mixture to a greased plate. Flatten the top and set aside to cool completely.
- Cut into diamond shape and carefully demould. Dhokar is now ready.
- Heat enough oil in a pan to shallow fry the dhokar. Slowly shallow fry them in batches untill all the sides are nice and golden brown.
- Transfer them on to a kitchen towel to drain excess oil.
For Gravy:
- Heat Mustard oil in a pan .
- Add cloves, green cardamoms ,cinnamon stick and bay leaf and saute for a few seconds
- Now add potato cubes and roast until they are nice golden brown.
- Add tomatoes and salt and mix well. Now add ginger paste,chilli powder , cumin powder, coriander powder ,and garam masala and mix well.
- Add about 1.5 cups of water and cook for 10 minutes.
- Add the shallow fried dhokar to the gravy .
- Now add sugar and ghee and cook for another 2 minutes.
- Turn off the heat.
- Garnish with finely chopped fresh coriander and serve .
Notes
- You can make dhokar in advance and deep freeze it.
- You can adjust the chillies as per your spice tolerance
- Have patience when you cut the dhokar and de mould it.
- Mustard oil is a must in this recipe. I have used sunflower oil for frying the dhokar.
I love the simplicity of this curry. Have been meaning to try this ever since I have read about it. Lovely simple recipe to follow
It is so much like our paruppu urundai kuzhambu.
What an interesting curry Preethi. Reading all the ingredients, dhokar dalna is a must try recipe. So flavourful and tempting too.
It has been ages since I made Dhokar Dalna! Dhokar dalna is definitely delicious and definitely a crowd-pleaser. Will make it again soon. Thanks.
Dhokar dalna sounds flavoursome and filling. I had read about it long back but soon forgotten. I must try this dish sometime soon Preethi.
Preethi, the description of this recipe itself is so cool. Imagine a dish to make believe it is meat. I will love to this.
I love the story behind the name of the dish! The Dhokar Dalna looks perfectly turned out and very delicious. I love this dish, and now, with your detailed recipe, I can try it out at home any time.
Dhokar Dalna looks so tempting di. What a fiery color it has. Just love to have this flavourful curry with some luchi right now
I liked the name.. with all the spices going into making this , it must be surely a delicious treat for vegetarians.. a must try curry for this festive season.
Dhokar dalna looks so tempting Preethi. Loved your detailed recipe. Adding peanut in dhoka is new to me. Sounds interesting. I would love to try your version.
Dhoker Dalna dou ds absolutely flavorful with all those spices going in. Would love giving it a try.