DHOKAR DALNA (DURGA PUJA SPECIAL)

Today I am sharing a very delicious recipe from the land of Bengal. As we are all celebrating Navratri ,May Maa Durga bless us all. Dhokar Dalna (Durga Puja Special) is a vegetarian delicacy from Bengali cuisine. We love the bengali sweets too. Serve Dhokar dalna with mishti pulao or niramish kichuri on special ocassions.

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)

Preethi Prasad
Popular delicacy from the Bengali Cuisine during Durga Puja
5 from 10 votes
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Course Side Dish
Cuisine Indian
Servings 4 People

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

  1. You can make dhokar in advance and deep freeze it.
  2. You can adjust the chillies as per your spice tolerance
  3. Have patience when you cut the dhokar and de mould it.
  4. Mustard oil is a must in this recipe. I have used sunflower oil for frying the dhokar.
Keyword BENGALI CUISINE, DHOKAR DALNA, DURGA PUJA SPECIAL, NO ONION NO GARLIC RECIPE, VEGETARIAN
DHOKAR DALNA (DURGA PUJA SPECIAL)
https://preethicuisine.com/niramish-aloor-dum-no-onion-no-garlic-recipe/

10 thoughts on “DHOKAR DALNA (DURGA PUJA SPECIAL)”

  1. 5 stars
    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.

  2. 5 stars
    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.

  3. 5 stars
    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.

  4. 5 stars
    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.

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