DURGAPOOJA RECIPES
Durga pooja is a four day festival which is celebrated with much pomp and splendour in West Bengal. During this festival Goddess Durga is worshipped.
The festival is celebrated with fasting, feasting and worshipping. It is a time of great celebration in this day when special dishes like sweets are prepared. Of course, Bengal is famous for sweets.
They are also known for some delicious delicacies unheard of in the other parts of the country. Here is a list of some recipes which are commonly prepared for Durga Puja celebrations.
DHOKA DALNA RECIPE
Ingredients
Chana dal
200 gm
Onion
1 large
Chilli powder
1/2 tbsp
Salt
1/2 tbsp
Oil
2 cups
Onion paste
2 small
Turmeric
1 tbsp
Chilli (Green paste)
1/4 tbsp
Sugar
1/2 tbsp
Tomato chopped
2
Ghee
1 tbsp
Garam msala
1 tbsp
Method
- Soak the dal in water overnight. Sieve out the water.
- Grind dal to a fine paste , preferably in a mixie. Add the spices and chilly paste with the dal.
- Heat oil in a deep-bottomed pan . Add dal paste and deep fry.
- Pour the mixture over a saucer smeared with oil or ghee. Iron the surface evenly. Let it cool off.
- Cut the cake in diamond shapes. Heat the oil in a deep bottomed pan and fry the diamonds well.
- Free them from excess oil. Add the paste of spices comprising ginger, onion, turmeric and chilli.
- Add salt, sugar and tomato. Stir the whole mixture thoroughly . Add some water to make it a thick curry.
- Add fried diamonds to it and cook for a few minutes.
- Sprinkle drops of ghee and pasted garam masala over the top.
- Serve it hot.
NARIKEL MOCHA
Ingredients
Banana bud
1
Coconut milk
1 cup
Oil
1/2 cup
Poppy seeds grounded and pasted
1/2 tbsp
Cumin powder
1-1/2 tbsp
Green pepper
4
Salt to taste
Onion chopped
1 cup
Panch phoron
1 tbsp
Corainder seeds grounded and pasted
1 tbsp
Bay leaf
1
Turmeric
Method
- Free all flowers from the bud. Chop them well after picking out the sticks and transparent petals from them.
- Boil them in a pan with turmeric and drain out the water.
- Heat oil in a deep bottomed pan. First fry onion until it turns brown. Set aside the fried onion.
- Pour in green pepper, poppy-seed paste, part of coconut milk and panch phoron. Fry them dry with all spices.
- Add the picked and chopped and boiled banana flowers. Stir them thoroughly. Add salt to it.
- Pour in the rest of the coconut milk. Cover the pan.
- Cook it over low heat for 10 minutes.
- Sprinkle onions before taking it off the oven.
- Serve hot.
DAL PANCHRATAN
Ingredients
Mixed Dals
1/2 cup
Oil
1-1/2 tbsp
Onion finely chopped
1 large
Ginger chopped
3 cloves
Corainder powder
1/2 tbsp
Turmeric powder
1/2 tbsp
Red chilli paste to taste
Salt
1 tbsp
Garam masala
little
Lemon juice
1-2 tbsp
Fresh corainder finely chopped
1 tbsp
Sugar
1 tbsp
Salt to taste
Method
- Pick , wash and soak the dals all together in 4 cups water. it would be best if you let them soak for about an hour.
- If you soaked them overnight that would be perfectly fine too. Heat the oil in a pan. As soon as the oil heats up , drop in the onion.
- Fry golden brown. Add the other six ingredients. Stir and fry for 1 minute.
- Scoop out the dals from the water in which they were soaked with a large spoon or your hand.
- Drop into the cooker Fry till the dals start sticking to the bottom.
- Add the water in which the dals were soaked. close the cooker and let it come to maximum pressure.
- As soon as it whistles, turn down the heat, and keep on the fire 14 minutes. Let the pressure reduce on its own.
- Open the cooker and check that the dals are tenderized and the whole is well blended.
- Stir together and boil away any excess liquid.
- Just before serving, stir in the garam masala, lime juice and fresh coriander.
PHULKOPIR VADA
Ingredients
Cauliflower
1
Besan
1 cup
Oil
1 tbsp
Water
Posto (poppy seeds)
1/2 tbsp
Chilli powder
1/2 tbsp
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying
Baking soda (optional)
a pinch
Method
- Cut the cauliflower into medium sized pieces. Boil them so that they become soft on the exterior but remain hard inside.
- Pour besan in a large bowl and add 1 teaspoon oil. Mix thoroughly.
- Add water and make batter with a relatively thick consistency.
- Add the posto, chili powder and salt and whip batter well.
- Dip the cauliflower pieces in the batter and deep-fry them.
LUCHI / PURI
Ingredients
Wheat Flour
500 gm
Refined oil or ghee
2 tbsp
Salt to taste
Warm water to knead the flour
Oil to fry
Method
- Knead 500gms of flour, 2 tablespoon of oil & salt according to taste with warm water.
- Make small doughs.
- Flatten them into round circular form.
- Fry them one by one. Serve hot with other side dish.