Dhokar Dalna - A Savory Bengali dish

This dish has been an all time favorite of my father in law and he made sure I had a taste of its authentic version during my stay at my in laws place in West Bengal. This dish is very common in Bengali household and each house has it’s different version.  The base or Dhokar is almost like Dhokla which is a very common Indian snack.  Dalna is gravy which in this dish is a bit thin as the dhoklas tend to absorb liquid.

Preparation time- 10 min

Cooking time- 45 min

Yield- 4 people

Ingredients-

Chana dal / Bengal Gram - 1 cup soaked overnight

Ginger – 1”

Tomato- 3

Green chili- 4

Eno – 1 sachet

Salt- as per taste

Turmeric powder- 1 tsp

Panch phoron – ½ tsp

Mustard oil- 1 tbsp

Bay leaf-1

Soybean oil- for frying

Dried red chili- 2

Sugar- ½ tsp

Water- 2 cups

Method- 

Grind the soaked Chana dal with half ginger and green chili. Make a smooth batter but not loose batter. Grease the steamed tin and pour the batter. Add salt, turmeric  and ENO.  Mix quickly and place it in the steamer. Cover and steam for 20-25 minutes. Remove from steamer and keep aside. Invert it onto a flat tray and cut small square pieces. Be careful as they are not only hot but also can break very easily. Heat the oil in a pan and fry them carefully lifting and rotating using a tong. Fry till crisp light brown and place them on kitchen towel so get rid of excess oil. Grind tomato, ginger and green chili to a smooth paste. In a separate pan heat mustard oil, add panch phoron, sugar, bay leaf, dried red chili, sauté and then add turmeric powder, mix and then add the pureed tomato paste. Sauté and let it cook for 5 minutes. Add water, salt and let it simmer for 7 minutes. Add the fried dhokar’s to the gravy and cover it. Cook for 2-3 minutes and it’s done.