Hing er Kochuri ar Dokaner Chola’r Daal (Asafoeida flavoured stuffed Indian fried bread and Bengal gram curry with potatoes)
11:49 AM
crav·ing
Noun
A powerful desire for something.
Synonyms
longing - desire - lust - thirst - hunger - eagerness
Craving is a simple word but can drive you to nuts if it
decides to settle in. Like my 4 and half year old it could be really nagging at times and refuses to give in if you don’t give it enough importance to satiate your
taste buds with what it is craving for. Trust me, Its not everyday that you
crave things but when you do its better to go that little extra mile to have
it.
For quite some time I was craving for that simple breakfast
of hing er kochuri and mishti dokaner alu die cholar dal, which is very common
in my hometown Santiniketan. You go to any sweet shop before 10 in the morning
and you will get crispy flaky asafetida flavoured fried bread with a ladle full
of sweetish Bengal gram dal curry. All you need is to tear a small piece of
that kachori, dip it in that bhaja masala scented dal and have it…pure bliss in
every mouhfull.
Remember the sweet shop I talked about here, they used to
prepare awesome Kachoris when we were growing up. The shop has closed down a
decade ago and my next best bet these daysis a quaint little sweet shop in Shaktigarh called
Lyangcha bhawan.
For all of you who do not know, Shaktigarh is a small town
on the National Highway 2, before Burdwan. This town is famous for Bengali’s
favourite sweet Lyngcha. A deep fried cylindrical sausage shaped dark brown
mishti made of fresh cottage cheese and milk solids and then dunked in cardamom
laced sugar syrup. This mishti has a thick brown outer layer and soft pillowy
inner that makes every Bengali dream of having a break there on the roadside
shops of Shaktigarh. The whole stretch of the highway in this town is dotted
with numerous sweet shops with the word Lyngcha in its name. In the first half
of the day they prepare Kochuri and cholar dal as breakfast for all the passengers and passersby.
Every time we need to go home we take this route just to have
these amazing out of the oil flaky and spicy kachoris with the lentil curry.
The curry is simple. Boiled Bengal gram or chana dal cooked with cubed potatoes
(with skin) and flavoured and tempered with plenty of panchforon, lightly
pounded with skin ginger and bhaja masala. Dunking the flaky fried breads in
this dal is a simple pleasure and for quite sometime I was looking forward to
repeat that experience.
But here in Kolkata I just dint know where to go to get
them. Us with our hectic weekday morning schedules and lazy bum weekends just
don’t go out much looking for breakfasts. So when the craving settled in and
refused to go away, being true to myself I drove the husband crazy and sent him
to the nearby sweet shops including the very famous ones in search of kochuri-cholar dal. But
every time I opened the packets, I was disappointed to see the potato curries.
Lets not delve into discussing the tasteless, unsalted or overtly hot curries
but it made me miss the whole affair much that I so craved for.
So on our Birthday this Mahalaya (yes we share our birthdays
too J)
I decided to recreate the magic at home and so glad that I did. It was amazing
if I can say so myself.
Hing er Kochuri
(makes 15-17)
Ingredients:
For the stuffing:
Biuli dal/ Urad lentil: ¾ cup
Green chillies: 1
Ginger paste: 2 tsp
Asafoetida/hing: 1/3 tsp (or more)
Cumin seeds: ½ tsp
Salt
Turmeric
Oil: 1 tbsp
For the roasted spice powder
Fennel seeds: ¾ tsp
Bhaja masala: 1 tsp (recipe here)
For the dough:
Atta or whole wheat flour: 2 cups
All purpose flour: 1 cup
Salt: 1/3 tsp
White oil: 3 tbsp+1 tsp
Water
Oil for deep frying
Method:
Soak the urad lentil for 4-5 hours.
Drain the water and grind it to a paste (smooth but with few
bits of dal in it) with the green chili. Try not to add any water while grinding or you will have to cook it longer.
Dry roast the fennel seeds on low flame till aromatic and
pound it to a coarse powder.
Mix in the fennel powder and adjust the salt. Cook for 2
more minutes and then switch off the flame. Mix in the bhaja masala and bring
everything together.
The stuffing is ready.
Take the whole wheat and all purpose flour in a wide vessel
or plate and sprinkle the salt. Pour the oil and bring everything together. Add
little bit of water at a time and start kneading the dough. Keep on adding
water till you get a nice pliable non sticky dough. Knead it for 4-5 minutes
till the dough springs back when lightly pressed. Smear the 1 tsp oil on it and
cover. Keep aside for at least 30 minutes.
Take a golf ball size dough and roll between your palms to
make a smooth
round ball. Flatten it little and then make a dent in the center
(please follow the method described HERE) and place a marble size or little
bigger piece of stuffing. Bring the sides together to cover the stuffing and
roll to make a smooth ball. Repeat with the rest of the dough. Keep tightly
covered.
Heat enough oil in a kadhai or a deep pan for frying the
kachori.
Lightly oil your rolling surface and the rolling pin. Place
the stuffed ball on it and lightly oil. Press to make it flat and then start
rolling it carefully. Make a 3-31/2” round disk of each ball and fry them
immediately.
The temperature of the oil is very crucial. Let it heat up
first and check by dipping one side of a kachori. If it bubbles up or sizzle
hen the oil is ready. Keep adjusting the flame to keep the heat proper.
Carefully slide one kachori inside and with a slotted
spatula gently press in the middle. The kachoris will fluff up to give you that
flaky texture. Fry tilll golden or light brown on each sides. Take out and
serve hot.
Alu die cholar dal
Ingredients:
Bengal gram lentil or chana dal: 2 cups
Potato: 2 medium
Ginger: 2” piece (wash with skin and then lightly pound it
in a pestle)
Panchforon: 1 tsp
Dry red chillies: 3
Salt
Turmeric
Sugar: 1 tsp
Oil: 2 tbsp
Roasted powder:
Panchforon: 11/2 tsp
Dry red chillies: 2
Clove: 2
Cinnamon: ½” piece
green cardamom: 1
green cardamom: 1
Method:
Soak the lentil for at least 2 hours. Then pressure cook it
with 2 cups of water, pinch of turmeric and ½ tsp chopped or pounded ginger on
high flame for one whistle. Keep the lid on for 5 minutes and then using a big
spatula gently release the steam. The idea here is not to overcook the lentil to
mass. Alternatively you can cook it in a kadhai till soft but not mushy.
Wash the potatoes under running water and soak for 10
minutes. Scrub the skin to get rid of any dirt. Cut them in small ½” cubes.
Dry roast the spices under Roasted powder on low flame till
they are aromatic and pound to a coarse powder. Keep aside.
Heat the oil and lightly fry the potatoes with a pinch of
salt and turmeric. Take out and keep aside.
Temper the same oil with panchforon and dry chillies. Let it
splutter and turn brown (approx. 30-45 seconds) and then add the pounded ginger.
Cook with a pinch of salt for a couple of minutes and then add the boiled
lentil. Tip in the fried potatoes, turmeric and mix. Add ½ cup water, adjust
salt. Cover and let it simmer on medium till the potatoes are cooked through and
the dal is thick. Lightly mash few pieces of potatoes with your spatula.
Sprinkle the roasted spice powder and sugar. Adjust the
taste and serve hot with kachoris.
Since it was our birthday I had to cook some rice pudding (Payes).
Since it was our birthday I had to cook some rice pudding (Payes).
Enjoy your heavenly breakfast or brunch and thank me
later!
Events:
Sending this to MLLA:64 being hosted at spicy food, originally started by Susan.
to another event hosted by Spicy food called it's birthday party time.
to festive treats hosted at cuisine delight.
Events:
Sending this to MLLA:64 being hosted at spicy food, originally started by Susan.
to another event hosted by Spicy food called it's birthday party time.
to festive treats hosted at cuisine delight.
Posts
30 comments
Loved the recipe, loved the photographs and above all I loved the props!!! All in all it;s a great post sayantani :)
ReplyDeleteKochuri and cholar daal,omg makes me hungry again, just finished my dinner and am hungry here.
ReplyDeleteVery delicious, your clicks make it more tempting..
ReplyDelete`Healthy dishes.. looks fantastic..thanks for visiting my site & lovely comment..
ReplyDeleteApurbo!
ReplyDeleteShoktigorer lyangcha...pl amar monta r kharap kore diyo na...missing Kolkata :(
very very delicious kochuri and cholar daal looks super inviting and tempting me !! :)
ReplyDeleteMarvellous! Dekhei mon ta kirokom hu hu kore uthlo. Dakshineshwar/Adyapeeth e ei combo ta onekbaar kheyechhi. Nicely explained recipe. :)
ReplyDeletewow this daal has to be made asap in my kitchen as well. Hing kachori we already do with rasse wale aloo or kaddu ki subzi.
ReplyDeleteLovely pictures as always.
Lovely clicks, and the entire platter looks inviting and delicious.
ReplyDeleteThat is a nice meal. Love the clicks.
ReplyDeleteish ki darun, bear amar craving hochee Sayantani :-) Ebar ami desh ee giye Shantiniketan giyechilam ek weekend er jonyo Langcha Ghor er kochuri kheye eshechi anek :-)
ReplyDeleteAmazing looking poori's love the complete meal..
ReplyDeleteThat's a rich breakfast....love both the recipes...though we make bengal gram and potato curry...this version sounds delicious.....love the pics....and write up on craving....
ReplyDeleteSo want to come right away and have them...stunning clicks
ReplyDeletePoojor onek subhecha Sayantani. amar i lobh lege jachey. have to make the kochuri soon!!!!
ReplyDeleteDrooling....ki lobh je dilam. Love the new look of your blog, pujor saje darun. Khub bhalo katuk tomar pujo.
ReplyDeleteA comfort food cannot be described any other way. Looks yummy and liked a pictures a lot.
ReplyDeletethats a delicious meal. a friend had told me about hing kachori just recently. have to try it in my kitchen. the chola dal is a favorite and the combo with the kachori is awesome.
ReplyDeletelovely click!!! Drooling!!
ReplyDeleteBELATED BIRTHDAY WISHES! NICE POST AS USUAL.
ReplyDeletebelated birthday wishes to both of you. as usual lovely post.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous pictures! You made me hungry, loved your blog.
ReplyDeleteI love Bengali food, I've been making them at home also, this is going be on the menu soon, very tempting Sayantani..
ReplyDeleteWooow,both are new to me and yours pics tempt me that I must try very soon,bookmarked :)
ReplyDeleteHi Sayantani, just loved reading through this post. Kachori and chana dal is unusual for me but looks so good.
ReplyDeleteBTW, was following your cake recipe, would love to know what oven you use ? Boz I am also looking for one.
TIA
Sangeeta
Thanks a lot Sayantani for stopping by my space and sharing your comment. I'm a huge fan of your blog and a comment from you was like the best b'day present :-) Loved your post here!
ReplyDeletefabulous pictures dish looks fantastic
ReplyDeletehi sayantani,
ReplyDeletesearching for the recipe of kachori i just got to know about your blog..just a wonderful place to find everything right from recipies to crafts..and satti kore 'gorom gorom kachuri' khabar lobhei ami amar bari jai shaktigorh hoe by bus..tomar ei 'kochuri blog'setai mone korie dilo. thanks a lot.
hi sayantani,
ReplyDeletesearching for the recipe of kachori i just got to know about your blog..just a wonderful place to find everything right from recipies to crafts..and satti kore 'gorom gorom kachuri' khabar lobhei ami amar bari jai shaktigorh hoe by bus..tomar ei 'kochuri blog'setai mone korie dilo. thanks a lot.
Thanx
ReplyDelete