Desi Fiesta

Indian Cooking Challenge

Dhokar Dalna ( Bengali gravy )

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This  Post is for Indian cooking challenge , For Jan month Srivalli had chosen this very traditional Bengali curry . I was so happy to make this as I wanted to make this curry from long time. Nabanita had challenge this delicious curry to south team members in SNC and wanted to try them since then but couldn’t make it but Now here I am with this delicious curry. This is an very traditional bengali curry which is named “Dhokar Dalna” – Dhokar means Lentil cakes and Dalna means the gravy. This delicious curry is purely satvik with no onion and garlic used and a yummy option for vegetarians . This Curry is served with warm rice but we enjoyed them with hot phulkas , they tastes so delicious.

Dhokar dalna is lentil cakes which are deep fried and simmer in a curry with tomato base and flavored ginger, coriander , cumin. They are served with warm rice . The taste is so yummy as is that you will not miss the onion and garlic in them . Thanks to valli for suggesting this delicious curry for this month..

bengali recipes
Bengali gravy

Adapted from Sandeepa

For Dhoka or the Lentil Cakes

11/2 cup Cholar Dal/Chana Dal/Bengal Gram ( Soaked  in water overnight )
6 No Green chillies
Salt to taste
3/4 tsp Cumin seeds / Jeera
A pinch of Asafoetida
1 1/2 tsp Ginger paste
Oil to fry + 1 tbsp 

For gravy

1 No bay leaf
1/4 tsp Cumin seeds
A pinch of Asafoetida
1 No Tomato ( Chopped)
1 tsp Yogurt 
1 No Potato ( Chopped)
1/2 tsp Coriander pd 
1/2 tsp Cumin pd
1/2 tsp Red chiili pd
1/4 tsp Turmeric
1/4 tsp Garam masala
1/2 tsp Ghee
 2-3 tsp Oil 

Method

  • Soak the channa dal for 3 – 4 hours / over night . Drain the water and grind the lentils  with  green chillies  and little salt
  • Grind them to a  fine paste. Add little water as required for grinding
  • Heat 1 tbsp Oil in a Kadhai, add Cumin seeds/Jeera, Asafoetida/Hing, and Ginger garlic paste.
  • Add the ground dal to this and cook until the mix continuously till the mixture comes out clean from the corners . 
  • The dal should be cooked in such away that it is moist and soft but not hard.
  • Note: You need to stir the vigorously else the dal paste will stick to the sides of the pan and  be careful to remove the moisture without making it hard. Add little oil as needed to avoid sticking.
  •  Grease 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 while lifting the un fried lentil cakes as they might break.

To Make the Gravy

  • Heat Oil in a Kadhai / sauce pan fry  the 1 potato chopped in eights till golden, remove and keep aside.
  • In a another pan heat 3 tsp oil , add Bay leaf/Tej Patta, Cumin Seeds/Jeera and  Asafoetida/Hing
  • Add ginger paste , saute for a while .
  • Then add  finely chopped tomato . Saute till tomato is mushy and the raw smell goes off.
  • In  Yogurt  add  Coriander Powder,  Roasted cumin Powder(or Regular Cumin Powder), Red Chili Powder
  • and  turmeric to make a fine smooth mixture.
  • Add this yogurt mixture to the sauted tomatoes. and fry the masala at low flame
  • Add the fried potatoes and about 11/2 cups of water. 
  • Add salt to taste and cover and cook till potatoes are done.
  • Adjust the masala as needed, add a little sugar. 
  • Add about  Garam Masala and Ghee and gently mix.
  • Now slowly slide in the pieces of dhoka or the fried lentil cakes. 
  • Simmer for couple of minutes to let the dhoka get soaked up the gravy. 
  • Note:If 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 or roti.

Utanki – Andhra Spl (Sweet crispy rice roll)

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This  Post is for Indian cooking challenge , For November month Srivalli had chosen this very traditional andhra spl sweet crispy rice roll which is called as utanki . This is so simple to look but is the most trickiest one . I tried my best to get the perfect shape but was noth happy with the way they looked . Even though I was not happy about the shape it tasted just yumm and we enjoyed this snack. Thanks to Srivalli for choosing this very new and traditional recipe for this month.

Even though the process is long it is worth trying it once in a while . This snack was super crispy and so delicious sweet . The only thing is it is most trickiest to make as we will have prob in forming the strings at the first but as you try and practice you can achieve the perfect shape. For first trial I think it was worth trying but i had only 2-3 some what perfect shaped Utanki. There are so less ingredients and very easy preparation now the tricky part is only when we fry and perfect consistency of the batter matters to make it looks perfect. I had tried my best so here comes the recipe.

Adapted from Divya
           
Ingredients

Rice- 2 1/2 cups
Sugar- 1 cup ( adjust according to your taste)
Milk-1 cups
Oil- for deep frying

Method

  • Soak the rice overnight and drain the water using a strainer .
  • Grind the rice in a blender  to make a fine powder. 
  • Sieve the powder to remove coarser grains. 
  • If there are  any coarse grains collect them and grind them again.
  • The powder should be smooth in texture.
  • Now in a bowl add sugar, milk and rice flour mix well till sugar melts.
  •  Keep it aside for 3 to 4 hours to ferment . I kept it over night.
  • Then take that  mixture into Indian grinder or a blender, again grind them it for till smooth . The batter should not be too thin or thick, it has to be medium. 
  • One way to check this is put your hand into the batter and take it out. Then batter should form like a string from each finger.Now transfer into a bowl.
  • Heat oil in a sauce pan / wok .
  • Now dip the hand in to the batter, and move the hand in anti clock wise for 3 to 4 times or till a disc. 
  • The batter should fall in strings if it falls like boondi don’t worry continue doing it as this need a lot of practice . Rotate the hand 3 to 4 times till o form a thick layer of strings.
  • Let it fry for 2 minutes till the color changes to light brown.Turn into other side till color turns to light brown (Don’t let it fry more time then it will become very dark)
  • Remove the rice crispy roll from oil and place on paper to remove excess oil. 
  • Then immediately fold that roll in a rolling pin.

Tips

  • I made only half the quantity from the above recipe . If the batter is thick, the strings will fall as thick balls and you won’t be swirl like how it is shown in the pictures.
  • The process very  quick , so be ready with your spatula, another ladle along with your rolling pin, to roll it quickly to form the spirals.
  • Allow the rolls to cool then enjoy this sweet snack .

Chatti Pathiri ( Kerala sweet lasagna )

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This  Post is for Indian cooking challenge which I have joined recently. I was so eager to join the group and this will be my first challenge am glad that i have tried this  delicious sweet from kerala this month . Chatti pathiri is a malabar / North kerala speciality sweet which is layered pancakes with nut stuffing in it. Chatti pathiri  is also made with non veg filling but here is the veg recipe for this traditional kerala fav . This was so heavenly to taste , My H and I  loved the taste and the filling part was so yummy :). Thanks to ICC group for suggesting this delicious malabar spl sweet.

This layered pastry made in Malabar region of Kerala and are enjoyed by muslim and christian community a lot . The filling includes poppy seeds , nuts , black sesame and  coconut . This authentic sweet is prepared for any festive occasion and they are simply yummy if you are craving for some sweet badly . Lets move the recipe of this traditional and delectable sweet. 



Recipe source: Slice of my life 


Ingredients

For Pathiri’s

1 Cup Flour/ Maida
Pinch of Salt
1 Tbsp. Oil
1/3 Cup Warm Water

For Filling


1/2 tin Condensed Milk
3 Tbsp. Cashew Nuts, chopped
3 Tbsp. Raisins
3 Tbsp. Almonds, chopped
4 Tbsp. Black Sesame Seeds
6 Tbsp. Coconut Powder
1 1/2 Tbsp. Cardamom Powder

For Coating


1 Cup Coconut Milk  ( I used the store bought one and diluted it with water)
2 Tsp Cardamom Powder
3 Tbsp Sugar (as per taste)
2 Tsp Ghee

Method


For Pathiris

  • In a bowl mix in the flour, salt and oil together and gently mix with fingertips till it forms a crumbly texture.
  • Add warm water slowly to knead smooth dough as chapatti. Cover and keep aside for 30 minutes. 
  • Divide the dough into 6 -8 equal portions and roll it out into thin chapatti. ( I got 6 pathiris from the dough)
  • Heat the griddle or tawa and cook like a tortilla not fully done. Keep this pathiris aside.

For Filling

  • In pan roast the sesame seeds, cashews, almonds and raisins together with 2 tsp. of ghee until to golden brown. 
  • Now add coconut powder and sauté until to slightly color change.
  • Combine roasted nuts, cardamom powder and condense milk together in separate bowl and filling is ready to further use.

For Coating

Combine Coconut milk, cardamom powder and powdered sugar together in bowl and keep aside.

How to Assemble

  • Take a  baking/ cake pan (round) or a deep skillet and spread couple of tsp.  ghee / clarified butter all around. Keep one pathiri as the first layer.
  • Spread the nut  and condense milk filling on the top of pathiri. Dip the second pathiri or flat bread in the coconut milk mixture, coat well and place it on top of the filling.
  • Spread the nut mixture again and repeat this until all the pathiris, the coconut milk mix and the nut mixture is used up and pathiri being the top layer.
  • Pour the remaining coconut milk mixture on top of pathiri (a generous amount) so that it drains on all the gaps on sides and form a thin layer on top.
  • This is important to keep the Chatti Pathiri moist. If you run out of the coconut milk mixture after coating, make more and mix with sufficient sugar and cardamom and pour on top.
  • Bake in oven for about 15 minutes or until the top of pathiri turns golden. Alternately you can do what I did, which is to cook it on a stove top in a non-stick deep skillet or deep pan or even a tawa . I turned the cake pan on the tawa and cooked it on one side for  few minutes in low flame and using two ladle on top and another on the bottom flipped it .Be careful while flipping them and cook it both sides.
  • Flipping of such a heavy set block of flat breads with filling is a mean feat.  The flipping becomes a bit easy when the lowest layer of flat bread/pathiri is a little hard.
  • When both the sides have cooked well, it is easy to slide it out of the pan into the serving plate.
  • After it is cooled down a little,  drizzle some condensed milk and decorate it with glazed cherries.
Linking it to Indian cooking challenge