Bengali’s favorite dhokar dalna

Dhokar dalna is a dish loved by Bengalis and, while chana dal can be converted into any number of mouthwatering recipes, the dhokar dalna is in a world of its own – it remains unruffled by the innumerable items that keep sprouting all around it clamoring for attention.
Dhokar dalna, undoubtedly, rules the roost and holds a pride of place in the Bengali cuisine – the place it occupies cannot be taken by any other.
The person who created this wonderful dish is not known, neither is there any explanation of why it is called dhokar dalna. ‘Dhoka’ stands for ‘bluff’ and ‘dalna’ usually means a thick sort of spicy gravy. This part of the nomenclature is understandable but not the ‘dhoka’ part!!

Anyway, preparing this delicious dish is a tedious affair. There are a number of steps involved right from soaking the chholar dal in water and, later, making a paste out of it. To get the proper taste, the paste used to be made on a grinding stone but, with the advent of the food processors, the activity can be offloaded to the gadget. Only – care should be taken to ensure that the paste remains a bit coarse.
Then follows adding spices and drying the paste so that it lends itself to be suitable molded by laying it on a plate and cutting into diamond shapes. Some like it square, others rectangles - the shape does not matter. The next step is to fry these squares or rectangles or diamonds to a brownish color. And, then preparing the gravy and putting the fried dhokas into the gravy.
From the above it is clear that it requires time, patience and, of course, the ability to prepare the dhokar dalna. But, the homemakers of today are busy with their activities of running the house alongside taking care of the children and working in the office. They may have the inclination but do not have the time. They must, at times, feel the absence of elderly ladies in the family. Therefore, when the palate wants the taste of dhokar dalna, they make a beeline for some restaurant.
Incidentally, the basic ingredient of dhokar dalna is the dhoka and, there are shops in Kolkata that sell these packets of ready-mix. There are the ‘best by’ dates indicated and all one needs to do is to prepare the gravy, add the dhokas and enjoy. (to be continued …)
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)


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