‘Dhoka’ Is A Delicious Bengali Dish That You Can’t Stop Eating Till You Burp

Most of us know that dhoka is the Hindi word for cheating. And we all had that pyar mein dhoka or dosti mein dhoka’s (cheating in love or cheating in friendship) heartbreaking sensation at some point of our lives. Dhoka is something which nobody loves to receive, except the Bongs. In Bengali, dhoka is not ‘betrayal’ but an edible, absolutely finger-licking dish.  Dhokar dalna or dal cake curry recipe is easy to make and since its veg, can be enjoyed by anybody. So, without wasting any further time, let’s get straight to the recipe!

Ingredients For Making The Dhoka Or Dal Cake

To make the paste for the dal cakes, we will need the following:

• 200 grams chhola dal (soaked overnight)
• 1 tablespoon maida
• 20 grams of roasted peanuts
• 20 grams grated coconut
• 20 grams of ginger paste
• 1 tablespoon cumin powder
• 1/4th tablespoon hing (asafoetida)
• 1 tablespoon turmeric
• 12 grams of sugar
• 6 grams of salt
• 10 grams green chillies
• 20 grams of vegetable oil
• 120 grams of water

How To Make The Dhoka Paste?

1. Soak the chhola dal overnight. Strain the water and thoroughly grind the dal. You can use a mixer grinder to grind the dal. To this mixture, add salt, suger, water and two green chillis ( You can also add the green chillis before grinding the dal).
2. In 20 grams of hot vegetable oil, fry the grated coconut for thirty seconds. To the fried coconut, add ginger paste and fry these again for around twenty seconds. On top of this mixture, add turmeric, cumin powder and hing  ( maintain the order) and fry until the smell of the spices fade.
3. Now, add the mixture of point 1 and chopped peanuts to the coconut mixture ( point 2). Continue cooking the mixture on low frame, ensuring that it doesnt stick to the bottom. When the mixture starts changing colour and becomes dough-like, transfer it to a greased plate and pour it flat.
4. When the mixture is still hot, cut it into diamond or square-shaped cakes.

5. Fry the cakes in medium heat at 180°C until they are evenly brown.

When the cakes are ready, transfer them to a dry vessel.

Your dhoka cakes are finally ready! If you don’t want to take the hassle of making the mixture, you can also use a readymade mixture easily available in the markets and also online. All you need to do is fry the mixture and transfer it into a flat plate. The rest of the procedure is the same. Once the dal cakes are prepared, we need to proceed to make the curry.

Also Read: 6 Lesser-Known Bengali Dishes That Will Transport You To The Lanes Of Kolkata

Ingredients For Making The Curry

• 80 grams of mustard oil
• 5 pieces of bay leaves
• 5 pieces of dry red chillies
• 6 pieces slit green chillies
• 1 cinnamon
•  5 pieces of cloves
• 5 pieces of cardamom
• 60 grams grated coconut
• 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
• 300 grams potatoes
• 50 grams of ginger paste
• 50 grams diced tomatoes
• 8 grams of cumin powder
• 5 grams of coriender powder
• 5 grams of turmeric
• 3 grams Kashmiri red chilli powder
• 1/2 tablespoon garam masala
• 1/4th tablespoon hing
• 15 grams ghee
• 30 grams sugar ( you can reduce the quantity as per taste)
• 12 grams salt
• 400 grams hot water

How To Make The Dhoka’s Dalna Curry?

1. Heat the mustard oil until it turns pale yellow. Add bay leaves, dried red chillies, cardamom, cloves, cumin seeds and cinnamon to the oil and sauté for three to four seconds.
2. To the above, add pototo cubes and fry them until about four minutes, until they become golden brown.
3. On the fried potatoes, add the grated coconut and fry for around thirty seconds.
4. Add ginger paste and fry again.
5. Add turmeric powder, cumin powder, coriender powder, Kashmiri red chilli powder, garam masala and hing. Fry everything until the raw smell of the spices fade away. If the pan seems to dry out, add splashes of water to moisterise. Add salt and sugar.
6. To the above spices, add tomatoes and slit green chillis and sauté.
7. To the above mixture, add 400 grams of hot water. When the water starts boiling, add the dhoka cakes one by one. Leave the curry on medium heat for three to four minutes until the gravy thickens. Remember not to thicken the curry too much as the dhokas are enjoyed juicy.
8. In the end, add ghee, and if you want you might top the curry with dhania leaves.

Also Read: Top 8 Street Foods In Kolkata To Die For

Now you can serve the amazing dhoka’s dalna ( or dhokar dalna) with rice, pulao, rotis or parathas. Your guests will utterly love this drool-worthy dish. Dhokar dalna won’t give you dhoka at all, we can assure you that. Meanwhile, you can enjoy the virtual tour of Kolkata from the comfort of your home: