Bengalis love hinger kachuri and chholar dal

Chana or gram or chick peas can be used to create the beautiful dish of chana dal. It is made all over the country but, the Bengalis have perfected the art and any girl can win over any boy if she is adept at kneading the flour into a dough and stuffing it suitably with a concoction that has the pungent hing or asafoetida mixed into the filling.
The filling is usually of boiled biuli or udad dal that is dried in a pan and spices added to enhance the taste and flavor. Once fried, these tiny balls of flattened dough swell up and attract the food lovers.

Bengalis refer to chana dal as chholar dal – it can be cooked as ordinary dal and garnished with coconut cubes and red chili fried in mustard oil. This out-of-this-world stuff when poured in the container of the cooked dal spreads a heavenly aroma that is difficult to resist.
Such chholar dal tastes great with hinger kachuri – in some parts of Kolkata, locals depend on this combination for breakfast and the shopkeepers have a hard time to cater to the demands. The hinger kachuri gets its name from hing or asafoetida which is a must that is added to the dough. Once the kachuris are deep fried and served with the accompanying chhoar dal, it transforms into a feast meant for the King.
Of course, the unique taste that one would relish in the shops can never be replicated in the kitchen – the environment has a major role to play. Many might scoff at the surroundings and harbor fears of falling sick, but, there are many ardent followers who would travel miles to get to the outlet of his choice and eat his favorite hinger kachuri with chholar dal. (to be continued …)


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