Dhokar Dalna -- a lesson in Lentil Cakes

Spiced Lentil Cakes in a gravy

I am a lot like Big Sis S(BSS) or is it the other way round ? Whatever it is we both try to avoid things that are hard. Force us in a difficult situation and we will be fine coping with it and coming out stronger but given a choice we will try to avoid the difficult route.

Take BSS. She started Piano lessons some time last year. She loved it, practiced with diligence, sailed through her lessons as if she was a musical genius and played at the drop of a hat. Things started changing couple of weeks back. She started giving excuses around practice time, musical enthusiasm hit all time low and a marked drop in excitement on lesson days was noticed. A talk with her Piano teacher revealed what I already knew. Lessons had gotten harder and as Little Miss BSS was not able to sail through them as easily as on a cloud, she was no longer as enthusiastic about them.

We had a little talk, that kind of thing comes easy to me, I love it when I am at the giving end of such talks. Things seems to be better now, it is not that hard to motivate a 6 year old after all.

Take Me next. Dhokar Dalna, the master piece of Bengali Cuisine has eluded me all these years. I love Dhokar Dalna, to eat that is, to cook, I always dismissed it as "too difficult". Ok, I think I did it just once but that just reinforced my belief that it took too much time and oil to be deemed worth repeatable in my kitchen. However BSS's example triggered me. If that little girl could go back and do her "Lets Rock" or whatever sheet music several times over, I could at least try Dhokar Dalna once more.

So I made it today, I wouldn't say total success, there are these small nuances that need to be taken care of next time. I am yet to get the right texture for the lentil paste to make the cakes and some of my dhokas or lentil cakes were cracking which shouldn't happen. But I think I did conquer my fear. After all my three decades and more of existence has taught me that "Done is better than perfect"(quoted from Scott Allen), at least some times.

Dhokar Dalna, is one of the pillars of Niramish(Vegetarian) Bengali Cuisine, just like Shukto. The lightly spiced lentil cakes or dhoka are fried and then simmered in a gravy made with tomatoes and ginger, spiced with cumin and coriander. This dish traditionally is a purely satvik dish, sans any onion or garlic like most Bengali Niramish(vegetarian) dishes. Bengali widows were not allowed to eat onion or garlic and the Bengali vegetarian cuisine is mostly their contribution, that explains why it is satvik.

The dhokas are such a delight and the gravy is so fragrant that you wouldn't even miss onion or garlic in here. Enjoyed best with plain white rice, the dhoka sure brings joy, though it actually means "to cheat".

Get this recipe in my Book coming out soon. Check this blog for further updates. 

Read more...

Dhokar Dalna

To Make the Dhoka or the Lentil Cakes

Soak 1& 1/2 cup of Cholar Dal/Chana Dal/Bengal Gram in water overnight

Drain the water and grind
the lentils + 6 green chili + little salt
to a fine paste. Add little water as required for grinding

Heat Oil in a Kadhai/Frying Pan. Temper the Oil with
3/4 tsp of Whole Cumin seeds/Jeera,
a pinch of Asafoetida/Hing,
1/2 tsp of sugar,
and 1& 1/2 tsp of Ginger paste.

Add the lentil paste/ground dal to this and cook until the mix comes off the sides clean. The dal should be cooked so that is moist and soft but not runny or hard. Note: This step is really tricky.You need to stir vigorously else the paste will stick to the sides and you need to be careful to remove the moisture without making it hard. Add little oil as needed to avoid sticking.

Smear a flat plate with oil and pour the soft dal mix on this. While it is warm, pat lightly with your hands to form a flat, slightly raised round structure

With a knife make squares or diamond shapes

Heat some more Oil and fry the lentil cakes till golden brown on both sides. Take care that they do not break

To Make the Gravy

Heat Oil in a Kadhai or any other thick bottomed pan

Fry 1 potato chopped in eights till golden, remove and keep aside.

Temper the Oil with
2 small Bay leaf/Tej Patta,
3/4 tsp of Cumin Seeds/Jeera
and a pinch of Asafoetida/Hing

Add 1 tomato finely chopped and 1 tsp of freshly grated ginger. Saute till tomato is reduced to a pulp and there is no raw smell.

In 1 tsp of Yogurt, mix
1/2 tsp of Corriander Powder, 1/2 tsp of Roasted cumin Powder(or Regular Cumin Powder) 1/2 tsp of Red Chili Powder
and a little turmeric to make a fine paste.
Add this paste to the Kadhai. and fry the masala at low heat.

Add the potatoes and about 1&1/2 cups of water. Add salt to taste and cover and cook till potatoes are done.

Adjust for any seasonings, add a little sugar. Add about 1/4 tsp of Garam Masala and 1/2 tsp of Ghee and gently mix.Now gently slide in the pieces of dhoka or the fried lentil cakes. Simmer for couple of minutes to let the dhoka soak up the gravy. Note:If like mine some of your dhokas are cracking do not add them to the gravy, rather place them on the serving dish and pour the gravy on them.

Serve with hot white rice.


Other Dhoka Dalna around the Blogosphere with little variations:

Dhokar Dalna but with onion and garlic -- from One Hot Stove

Dhokar Dalna from Ahaar

Dhokar Dalna from SJ

Indrani's Dhokar Dalna

Sudeshna's Dhokar Dalna

Winter Wonderland

Spring, where art thou ?

Pudina Dhaniya Chicken -- Chicken in Mint Corriander Sauce

Sometimes readers will leave a comment asking "How much salt?". A weighted question with no answer that I know of. Honestly, I don't know how much salt. My salt adding tactics while cooking is start with less salt --> taste --> add a little more --> taste again -->...repeat steps till equilibrium is reached.... Yes do that and do not dip the same spoon again and again without rinsing and same goes about your finger, ok not the finger maybe.

Talking about salt did you know that every winter the salt dumped on US roadways is 13 times more than that used by the Food Processing Industry. Yes, the salt that prevents your car from skidding is actually seeping into groundwater supplies and into lakes and streams thus disrupting aquatic plants and animals. So is there an alternative that is as cheap ? Not really unless you accept more judicious use of the salt like salting only the main roads and highways and using sand on the inner roads. Or salting just before the storm hits rather than later. Or just staying indoors until the snow melts and it is Spring.

Now to the chicken which is a direct influence of the Chicken Hariyali Kabab recipes from Aayi's Recipes

That recipes is perfect and any normal person would not have messed with it.

Me, I am "Cuckoo", as Big Sis S says. I wanted to make a Chicken with Mint and Corriander, wanted a gravy based dish and loved the Hariyali Kabab recipe. So then this followed. The chicken is first cooked exactly as in Hariyali Kabab and then the gravy follows. If you don't want the gravy stop when the chicken is done, eat them all up, lick your fingers and then lament the loss of the gravy.

If you want a minty gravy, go ahead and make the gravy. Depending on your taste, increase or decrease the amount of mint and corriander in the gravy. In lack of a better name I just call it Pudina Dhaniya Chicken or Chicken in Mint & Corriander Sauce.


Read more...






Influenced by this Chicken Hariyali Kabab Recipe

Pudina Dhaniya Chicken/Chicken in Mint & Coriander Sauce

What You Need


Chicken ~ 2 lb skinned and cut in small pieces

To make a Masala for Marinade

Chopped Corriander Leaves ~ 1 cup
Chopped Mint Leaves ~ 1/2 cup
Green Chili ~ 4 (add more depending on your heat level)
Ginger ~ 1" peeled and chopped
Garlic ~ 4 fat cloves

Clove ~ 4
Cinnamon ~ 2" stick
Black Pepper Powder ~ 1 tsp

Thick Yogurt ~ 1/2 cup
Salt ~ to taste

For Gravy

Onion ~ 1 cup of finely chopped red onion
Garlic Paste ~ 1 heaped tsp

Kasoori Methi ~ 1 tsp crushed between your palm
Red Chili Powder ~ 1/2 tsp
Salt ~ to taste

Oil ~ for cooking

To make into a Masala Paste for Gravy

Chopped Corriander leaves ~ 1/4 cup
Chopped Mint leaves ~ 1/2 cup
Poppy Seeds ~ 1 tbsp
Cashew ~ 2 tbsp
Little water


How I Did It

Cooking the Chicken

Make a thick Paste with all ingredients listed under Masala For Marinade. Marinate the washed and cleaned chicken pieces with this spice paste for 2-4 hrs. or even overnight. The least I have done is 1 hr.

Remove the chicken pieces from the marinade, shake off any excess and arrange the pieces on a baking tray. I drizzle a little oil on the pieces before they go into the oven.

Preheat Oven to 350F. Bake the chicken for 20-25 minutes. If you DO NOT want to proceed to gravy then cook till chicken is done. Note: These are my Toaster Oven settings

Making the Gravy

While the chicken is in the oven, make a wet spice paste with all ingredients listed underMasala Paste for Gravy.We will add this masala paste to the gravy later.

Heat Oil in a saute Pan

Add the chopped onion and fry till onion is soft and translucent

Add 1 tsp of garlic paste and saute till fragrant.

Add the masala paste(that you made) and saute for couple of minutes. Add the remaining marinade(from the chicken) if any and cook the masala till you see oil seeping out from the edges

Crush the Kasoori Methi between your palms and add it to above. Saute for a minute. Add 1/2 tsp of Red Chili Powder. Adjust Chili Powder according to taste.

The chicken is done by now so add the chicken pieces to the pan and mix in with the spices. If there is liquid drippings in the baking tray do not add all the liquid now.

Cook the chicken with masala for a minute or two and then add the liquid drippings from the bake tray. Add little water as needed for gravy. Adjust for salt and seasoning and cook till the gravy thickens and is just enough to coat the chicken.

Once the chicken is done sprinkle some black pepper powder to give a nice heat effect.