Indian Recipe : Dhokar Dalna

This recipe is from Bengal, India

Ingredients:

• 200 g chana dal (bengal gram - split)
• 1 tbsps jeera
• 1 tsp ghee
• 2 bay leaves
• ½ tsp saunf (fennel)
• 3 cardamoms
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 2 tbsp coriander seeds
• 50 g ginger
• 1 tsp khuskhus
• 2 tomatoes
• 6 cloves
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 dalchini stick

Directions:

1. Soak chana dal (bengal gram - split) overnight. Then grind dal with a little water and a pinch of salt to a fine paste.
2. Grind coriander, jeera and khuskhus with a little water to form a paste. Add ginger and grind a further 1 minute. Dry grind cardamom, cloves and dalchini separately.
3. Grease a round deep baking dish and pour the ground dal. Steam it in a pressure cooker for about 10 to 15 minutes without weight. Pierce a fork or a knife to check if it comes out dry. Remove and keep aside.
4. Chop tomatoes finely. Heat enough oil in a kadai to deep fry. Cut the cooled dal cake into cubes (1" square" and fry in oil till golden brown. Set aside and remove the used oil.
5. Heat 2 tbsps oil. Put in the chopped tomatoes and ½ of the ginger paste along with chili powder, turmeric, jeera, khuskhus and coriander gravy. Stir fry for 2 minutes.
6. Put dhoka into the gravy. Add just enough water to barely cover the cubes of dhoka. Add salt to taste. Cover and cook on slow fire till a thick gravy remains and the dhokas are cooked soft.
7. Add pure ghee and the remaining ginger paste just before removing from fire. The powdered garam masala are to be sprinkled as a garnish just before serving.