Bengali traditional recipes
“DHOKA DALNA”
Ingredients :
Chana Dal: 200 gr
Onion : 1 large
Chilli Powder : 1/2 tablespoon
Salt : 1/2 tablespoon
Oil: 2 cups
Onion : 2 small paste
Turmeric ; 1 tablespoon
Chilli (Green paste) : 1/4 teaspoon
Sugar : 1/2 tablespoon
Tomato : 2 chopped
Ghee : 1 tablespoon
Garam masala(the mixture of cardamom - black and green, cloves and cinnamon) : 1 tablespoon
Preparation :
Soak the dal in water overnight. Sieve out the water. Grind dal to a fine paste , preferably in a
mixie. Add the spices and chilly paste with the dal. Heat oil in a deep-bottomed pan . Add dal
paste and deep fry. Pour the mixture over a saucer smeared with oil or ghee. Iron the surface
evenly. Let it cool off. Cut the cake in diamond shapes. Heat the oil in a deep bottomed pan and
fry the diamonds well. Free them from excess oil. Add the paste of spices comprising ginger,
onion, turmeric and chilli. Add salt, sugar and tomato. Stir the whole mixture thoroughly . Add
some water to make it a thick curry. Add fried diamonds to it and cook for a few minutes.
Sprinkle drops of ghee and pasted garam masala over the top. Serve it hot.
PHULKOPIR VADA
Ingredients:-
Cauliflower - 1.
Besan - 1cup.
Oil-1 teaspoon.
Water.
Posto (poppy seeds)- 1/2 teaspoon.
Chili powder-1/2 teaspoon.
Salt to taste.
Oil for deep-frying.
Baking soda (optional)- a pinch.
Preparation : 1. Cut the cauliflower into medium sized pieces. Boil them so that they become soft on the
exterior but remain hard inside.
2. Pour besan in a large bowl and add 1 teaspoon oil. Mix thoroughly.
3. Add water and make batter with a relatively thick consistency.
4. Add the posto, chili powder and salt and whip batter well.
5. Dip the cauliflower pieces in the batter and deep-fry them.
Aloo Postho(poppy seeds)
Method: 1. Grind half a cup of postho (in spice/coffee grinder)
2. make paste of the ground postho in water
3. Dice 3-4 potatoes
4. Slice one onion
5. In a pan heat 3 tablespoons of oil
6. Fry onions until soft
7. Add potatoes and 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
8. Stir fry for a few minutes
9. Add ground postho paste, stir
10. Add salt to taste and a cup of water
11. Bring up the heat to get it boiling
12. Cover pan, lower heat, simmer til dry, stir occasionally
13. Before removing from the heat sprinkle mustard oil
14. Serve with rice and dahl (serves 4-6)
Variations:- You can use jhinge (or zucchini) with potatoes too to make ``jhinge postho''.
Replace 4 potatoes with one or two onions to make ``piyanj postho''. Making postho with potatoes, onions
and bori's will give you ``bori postho''. Replace the bori's with small besan bora's and you've made ``bora
postho''. Leave out potatoes and onions altogether and add some green chiliies and onions while grinding
the postho, make a paste and then cook the same way in oil as above to get ``baati postho'' . If you fry the
postho some more after the water has evaporated at the end of cooking, you get ``bhaja postho''. If your
postho paste is thick and course you can also make ``postho bora'' by moulding it into little cakes and
frying them in hot oil. You can add postho to greens to make ``shak postho'' too. Finally, if you like you
can make a paste of ground postho, spices, chilli, onion and mustard oil - place in a small bowl and place
it in the pan you are cooking rice in during the last ten minutes of cooking this rice and when the rice is
done you have a mildly cooked delicious ``kancha postho'' to eat with it.
Mochar Dalna Recipe
Ingredients:
• 1 medium size Mocha (banana flower)
• 25 gm Grated Coconut
• 1/2 tsp Garam Masala
• 20 gms Cumin Seeds
• 50 gm Refined Oil
• 2 Green Chillies
• 4 Red Chillies
• 6 Bay Leaves
• 2 tsp Ghee
How to make Mochar Dalna:
• Cut the Mocha into fine slices and keep into water for 2/3 hours.
• Now wash the Mocha properly at least 2-3 times in water.
• Heat oil in a frying pan; add bay leaves, cumin seeds and red chillies to it.
• Put the sliced Mocha in the oil and keep frying till it turns into brown color.
• Now add the grated coconut and fry the mix for 5 minutes till it turns into a bit reddish color.
• Add sliced green chilies and salt with 1-1/2 cup of water to the above.
• Cover the pan and let the dish cook for 5 minutes.
• Finally add ghee and garam masala and put off the flame.
• Mochar Dalna is ready to serve.
