Dhoka'r Dalna and the Deathly Hallows
Cooking has not been on my mind lately. I must admit that all I have been thinking of in the last few weeks is the release of the last Harry Potter book - The Deathly Hallows. My husband does not understand what this series has to captivate me so, he keeps harping on the fact that it's a'Kid's book for crying out loud' but I manage to ignore him compltely at such times :-)
For the Dhoka:
1 cup chana daal soaked overnight
1 tsp ginger paste
1/4 tsp tumeric (or as needed)
1/2 tsp jeera powder
1/2 tsp dhania powder
1/2 tsp kalonji (also called kala jeera or nigella seeds)
3 tbsp oil
Grind the daal without adding any water. Beat it a few times extra to ensure the dhoka's are soft (kind of like what you'd do for making dahi wadas).
Now mix this paste with the other ingredients except oil and kalonji.
Heat oil in a pan, add kalonji and wait for it to start sputtering.
Add the dal mixture and keep stirring till daal mixture starts to solidify and is at almost dough like consistency and be somewhat sticky. By this time the color of the daal should also be much darker than when you started off.
Take out and spread immediately on a flat dish (A pie dish works perfectly), press it to make it flat and smooth on top. After it cools completely and cut into the shape of your choice (I made barfi like diamond shaped pieces)
Deep fry the dhoka pieces and keep aside. In our home, most of the pieces were eaten this way.
Raw Dhoka's made with Daal:
For the Dalna:
1 medium potato sliced
2 tbsp jeera powder
1 tsp dhania powder
1 - 1.5 tbsp ginger paste
1 tsp red chilly powder
1 medium tomato chopped
1 bay leaf
1 tsp Bengali garam masala (clove-cinnamon-cardamom powder)
1 - 2 tsp sugar (I think sugar in USA is less sweet, so if making in India use less sugar than I did)
2 tbsp oil
1 tbsp ghee - optional but will make it much yummier :-)
salt and turmeric to taste
Heat the oil and put in the bay leaf.
Then add potatoes and tomatoes. Stir for 5 min.
Add jeera and dhania powder, ginger paste, turmeric, red chilly powder and salt. Keep frying till oil separates from the masala (potatoes will likely be half done by then).
Add the sugar and about 1 cup water.
Add the dhoka pieces, garam masala and cook covered till the potatoes are fully cooked.
Add the ghee and mix well.
There should be quite aq lot gravy when you remove from heat/. Botht he potatoes and the dhoka will absorb the gravy with time to give you a thick gravy which covers all the pieces evenly.
The final dish:
I have always felt most traditional Bengali recipes are very non-vegeratian biased. I must admit this recipe proved me wrong. I really thought it was delicious. Do try it, one can vary the dalna to suit their own tastes!
An interesting variation of this dish which I have never had before has the dhoka made of eggs. Check out Dimer Dhoka here.
Labels: Ma, Vegetarian
14 Comments:
Oh, that dhoka'r dalna looks so appetizing! My friend Sujayita made this for me once, and I enjoyed it so much. Will wait patiently for your recipe :)
From what I have read, Bengali widows were forbidden to eat meat, onion., garlic but being such talented cooks, they managed to make the most delicious dishes under the contraints. It is most interesting.
SJ,
OMG...same thing here.. I just can't wait anymore .. I am getting too impatient.. luckily for me .. all my sisters are jazzed up too.. as well as my close friends.. Hell, I even started to read all the books one more time just to get into the groove and start guessing the plot of book-7... Yes.. i agree with you.. her work is not literary master piece but she weaved a world of fantasy that is sooooo adorable .. and soooo addictive :) :)
Oh...and that looks sooooo yummyyy!! Thanks for sharing the recipe...and anytime you want to yak about HP .. i am here :D :D
Cheers,
Mythili
Nice post and a lovely blog there! :)
The Dhokla's are inviting me :)
I always use the MTR Dhokla mix, but I guess I can make some of my own!
Thanks for sharing the recipe!
And Thanks for dropping by, and I was happy to see that u share ur bday with J, and I guess, next time i'll bake a cake for two of u :)
And I see that u are a harrypotter fan just like me, even I ordered the 7th book, and just waiting for its release.... I was guessing that happypotter would die, but becoz of the readers request, JK must have kept the character alive!
Just saw the Order of Phoenix yesterday, not as good as the book!
ha ha ha...i can really empathise with u SJ. ppl r going crazy for the new release and have got very high expectation as usual:)
but u cant give HP as excuse for not blogging n cooking....he he he...
Sj,my kids are waiting too for HP book drop off on the 21st but they are glad this is last book! They lost interest after the 5th book.
Dhokar Dalna looks delicious.
Hi Snig
Waiting for the recipe. Brought back all memories of my mum's Dhokar dalna!!
will mail soon.
M
Your Dhoka looks so perfect !!! Somehow mine doesn't hold such good shape.
Did you see the movie ? I am finding Harry Potter a bit dark these days, so have decided to not watch the movie. But the book will be read of course
Do you bake the dhoka or fry it ? Its a quite a job, isn't it ?
Hi!! I found your blog through your comment at Sandeepa's . Yay I feel so happy!! Your dhokar dalna looks fantastic. I have try your recipe. It was one of my favorites from my Ma but I have never tried it, but now I will. But for that, please post the recipe soon.
I have already pre-ordered Harry potter and am really itching to read it. My vote is that Snape will turn out to be good.
the name and the dish sound so good.
it looks so beautiful. will try out sometime.
wow, new here. would love to have you participate.. there is lots of time and if u run out of time. i shall extend it then..
This looks so delicious. Please please post the recipe soooon :)
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