Dhokar Dalna

Ingredients:
(for Dhoka) 

1. 200 g chhola'r dal (soaked overnight)
2. 20 g mustard oil
3. 100 g water (for grinding dal)
4. 20 g ginger paste
5. Chilli powder(according to taste)
6. 1 tsp cumin powder
7. ½ tsp turmeric powder
8. ¼ tsp hing powder 

(for Curry)

1. 80 g mustard oil
2. 5 pcs dried red chillies
3. 5 pcs cardamom
4. 1 pc cinnamon
5. 50 g ginger paste
6. 8 g cumin powder
7. 5 g coriander powder
8. ½ tsp garam masala
9. 5 g turmeric
10. 3 g kashmiri red chilli powder
11. ¼ tsp hing
12. 50 g tomato puree
13. 12 g salt
14. 30 g sugar
15. 400 g hot water

 RECIPE:
Soak chhola'r dal in water overnight. Grind the dal, coarsely, in small batches with salt, sugar, and water. Heat the oil in a pan.Then add ginger paste, and fry that for 20 seconds. Add cumin powder, turmeric and hing, and fry again until the raw smell of the spices goes away.Add ground chhola'r dal. Continue cooking the dal, whilst scraping the bottom of the pan continuously to prevent sticking. Once the mixture changes colour and gathers in a dough-like ball, transfer it to a flat, greased surface. While the Dal is still hot cut it in diamond shape dhokas. Fry on medium heat until it turns evenly brown. Dhoka is ready. Keep it aside and go for the curry.
Heat mustard oil until smoking lightly and pale yellow. Temper it with dried red chillies, cardamom, cinnamon. Add ginger paste, cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric, kashmiri red chilli powder and hing, and fry the spices until their raw smell goes away. You may need to add a splash of water whenever the pan dries out. Also add the salt and sugar, and after cooking these for a minute, tomatoes and slit green chilies. Add 400 g hot water to form the curry. Once it comes to a boil, lower the dhoka one by one. Allow everything to bubble on medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes for the gravy to thicken. Don't reduce the curry too much, as it will thicken as the dhokas absorb some of the liquid. Finish with adding the garam masala.

by Aishik Sikdar