Dhokar Danla (Gram Flour Cake Curry )

Hi, since lots of my vegetarian friends wanted a veg dish this is especially for them.

The name of the dish might sound funny but it’s an amazing dish. This is a Bengali delicacy and is very typical vegetarian dish served in most of the Bengali families. This is a pure veg dish and can be eaten by Jains also as it does not have onion & garlic. Nonetheless the taste is not at all compromised.

Ingredients

For the Cake

Gram Flour                               :                       1cup

Turmeric                                   :                       ¼ tsp

Chili Powder                             :                       ½ tsp (or as per your taste)

Coriander Powder                     :                       ¾ tsp

Cumin Powder                          :                       ½ tsp

Assafoetida (Hing)                     :                       1/8 tsp

Salt                                           :                       to taste (but ensure little less)

Sugar                                        :                       ¼ tsp

Soda Bicarb                              :                       1 pinch

Garam Masala                           :                       ½ tsp (Please click on the link for the                                                                            recipe)

Water                                        :                       Read the recipe below

For the Gravy

Tomato                                      :                       1 large (grind to paste)

Ginger Paste                               :                       ½ tsp

Turmeric                                     :                       ¼ tsp

Chili Powder                               :                       ½ tsp (or as per your taste)

Coriander Powder                       :                       ¾ tsp

 Cumin Powder                           :                       ½ tsp

Whole Cumin                              :                       ½

Assafoetida (Hing)                      :                       1/8 tsp

Salt                                             :                       to taste (but ensure little less)

Sugar                                          :                       ¼ tsp

Garam Masala                             :                       ¾ tsp (Please click on the link for the                                                                            recipe)

Oil                                              :                       3-4 tbsp.

Method

Cake

Mix all the Cake ingredients together except for the water. Add water slowly so that you can reach the cake batter consistency, Beat it well. If you are using hand blender beat it for good 2 minutes. The batter should be smooth. Now oil a baking tin that fits in your pressure cooker or rice cooker. You can cook this in any appliance that has steam cooking.

Place the tin in the cooker and let it steam away for good 15-20 minutes. If you are doing it in a pressure cooker please do not use the whistle.

Once the cake is cooked, let it cool and then remove it in the same way you remove a cake from the tin. Make diamond shape slices and keep it aside.

Heat a non-stick pan and put ½ tbsp. oil. When the oil is heated you put the slices of cake and just fry them to slight brown. Keep the flame high as you just need to brown them and not cook. You might need to add more oil as the cake slices soak them very fast. So do not add too much of oil in one go. No need to deep fry. In this whole process of frying you might need maximum 1 tbsp. or 1 ½ tbsp. oil.

For the Gravy

Make a fine paste with tomato and ginger. Add rest all the gravy ingredients into it and run the grinder just 1 speed. All the ingredients will mix together.

In the same pan where you fried your cake slices, add rest of the oil.

Add the whole cumin seeds, let it splutter

Now add the tomato paste you made and reduce the flame immediately. You will get an amazing aroma of assafoetida (Hing)  along with the other spices. Keep frying it. Add water to the grinder where the paste was made and keep adding that water. Once you see the oil has come up add 1 – 1 ½ cup of water and let it come to a boil.

Just before serving line the fried cakes into your serving bowl and pour the boiling gravy on top of it. Let the dish stand for 5-10 mins and enjoy this dish with steamed rice or crispy paratha

Please note do not soak the cakes for long prior to serving or else it will all smash into a porridge.

P.S. You can add green peas or potato also to the gravy.

Thank you and enjoy a good pure vegetarian dish.

Bhindi Masala

Hi All

I am back again…have been away for many days….

Today I am going to share a recipe which I learnt from my colleague’s mom. I have learnt it some 12-13 years back but have not forgotten the recipe and I enjoy my Bhindi/Okra this way only. This dish used to be a delicacy in our office and yesterday when I reminded all my friends about it, they all got nostalgic about it. J So I thought of sharing the recipe with all

Ingredients

Bhindi/Okra                          :               500 Gms.

Tomato                                :               1 large

Potato                                  :               1 large

Turmeric powder                  :               ½ tsp.

Chili Powder                         :               1 tsp.

Coriander Powder                 :               ¾ tsp.

Dry Mango powder               :               ¼ tsp. (Amchoor)

Salt                                      :               to taste

Oil                                       :               2 tbsp.

Method

Wash and dry the bhindi/okra. Cut the two ends and slit it lengthwise in the middle till ¾ of the length.

Slice the potato and tomato in medium thickness.

Heat the oil in kadai/wok and add half the oil and fry the bhindi/okra till they turn brown and wilt slightly. Take it out and keep it aside. Add rest of the oil (as I remember aunty used to add lots of oil for the taste but weight watchers can reduce but please do not make this dish in drops of oil) and add the potatoes. Fry on medium heat till it gets brown edges. Now add the all the dry ingredients and fry for few seconds and add the tomatoes and cover it and let it cook on low flame. Uncover it and check the tenderness of the potato and by now the tomatoes must have become mushy. Once you see the oil leaving the gravy add the bhindi and mix it with the masala. Cover and cook for another 5 minutes for all the masala to incorporate. Serve hot with chapattis or parathas.

This dish is dedicated to all my friends with whom I have had one of the best time of my life...

Love

Arpita

Jhinga Postu (Ridge gourd with Poppy Seeds)

Hi All

It’s been a while, I have posted something vegetarian for my friends. You all must have heard about aloo postu (potato in poppy seeds) which is a famous Bengali vegan dish. Today, I am going to post something different with posto (poppy seeds). This is for people who want to avoid potatoes totally. This is made with ridge gourd which is known as Todi in Hindi, dodka in Marathi and jhinga in Bengali.

Ingredients

Ridge gourd                                                      : 250 Gms

Poppy Seeds (khus Khus)                                   : ¾ cup

Green Chili                                                        : 5 nos

Kalonji                                                               : ½ tsp.

Oil                                                                     : 3 tsp.

Salt                                                                    : as per taste

Turmeric powder                                                : ¾ tsp.

Method

Soak the poppy seeds for ½ hr. and wash it clean through a sieve. Then put it in a grinder, add one green chili and little water to make a smooth paste. Please do not omit the chili since it makes the poppy seeds (khus khus) go little bitter without it. Ensure there are no grains in the paste. Grind it really well.

Peel the ridge gourd clean and chop them in cubes, ensure they are not too small. Ridge gourd leaves lots of water and will become totally mushy once cooked. So ensure they are medium sized.

Now heat the kadai/wok. Add the oil and let it heat. Add the kalonji and once it starts spluttering add the ridge gourd. Add turmeric powder, fry it till it starts wilting. Now add the Poppy seeds’ paste and keep frying. DO NOT add salt at this stage. Let the water evaporate as much as possible. When the mixture starts sticking to the wok/kadai wall add the salt. Mix it well, add ¼ cup water, and add the whole green chili (you can split it if you want hot or leave it whole without the stock). This gives a flavour to the dish. Once it become thick remove from heat and enjoy it with steamed rice. It will not become too dry since ridge gourd is high in water content.

Enjoy your meal and do give me feedback once you have tried.

Love

Arpita