CURRY AND SPICE: TATKA CHANA O MUSHURIR DAL ER DHOKAR DALNA

This CURRY was done sometime last May, then I forgot all about it. Yesterday, I was scrolling the Google Photos and found this FRESH PANEER / HOMEMADE COTTAGE CHEESE & RED LENTIL MIXED SAVOURY CAKE CURRY / TATKA CHANA O MUSHURIR DAL ER DHOKAR DALNA PHOTO; if we can call it so. DHOKA is a BENGALI style cooked LENTIL cake. I do browse my earlier blog posts from the previous years and find in them a lot of flaws; I mean, the recipes are okay but the pictures clicked are horrid and who told me to write so big irrelevant stuffs, anyway? Yet, when I see the number of visitors in each of my posts in those days, I cannot stop envying myself. They flocked in few thousands; now look at me! They reduced to a minimal number. Yet, I cannot be what I am not. How can I go against my nature and be communicative, participate in discussions, take part in contests, go out of my way and share other's works in my space? I find business associations very complicated and not my cuppa. I am about six years in to FOOD BLOGGING; yet did not not get who is whose friend, which post I should like and comment when.

All this while, I knew what catches my eyes should get a hit; then, I learnt social media does not go by this simple rule. What I could do is try to understand what SEO, SERP are, how to use them to get my blog noticed among so many. Till date, I do not know the meaning of "algorithm", how it works. Earlier, I noticed some days, visitors from RUSSIA, GHANA, CZECH REPUBLIC, SLOVAKIA, ETC. visited in flocks; did not understand which recipes they were browsing. After the new BLOGGER feature came around, I can see those who flocked from the far off nations are not to be seen. My own motherland does not have any interest in me, they had shown so long I blogged only about paneer, baingan, kofta and likewise. Bengal itself does not allow me, they have their own reliable people who work as a group and hardly will allow anyone else to be seen. A couple of times it felt, people known to me have pressed the report button in different food groups, so that Facebook restricts me from posting my recipes in groups for a period. Yes, it strongly felt so. In a way, I feel happier now being myself, not being considered a threat to anyone. Sitting all day at home to post my stuffs at a specific gap is not my cuppa. The "bots" are very much responsible for my diminishing visits.

Anyway, because I could get rid of the number of visits per day mania, I can live my life! Yesterday, I was walking towards the Indian Market area to have "puttu & jilipi"; stopped midway and had a chicken biryani & blueberry syrup drink. Tomorrow, I shall visit the Bangladeshi shop for a boyal / wallago cat fish, then walk little further to have "puttu & jilipi." I really wished to do a fish share today, in fond memory of a very fine, internationally acclaimed, Bengali actor Soumitra Chaterjee. And why not? We have so grown up watching him; moreover our place of birth is same. Then, I felt let me do a VEGETARIAN FOOD share. This TATKA CHANA O MUSHURIR DAL ER DHOKAR DALNA may not be an authentic BENGALI RECIPE, but all the ingredients used are Bengali. In all, it is Bengali in essence and done in the lines of DHOKAR DALNA. We can call today's share FUSION BENGALI FOOD. You see, 2020 has seen many a deaths, even untimely deaths. Soumitra Chatterjee left us last week, a couple of notables did leave also in the same time period. Then, we cannot pay homage to each one, each time. I can only do it when I feel connected to the one who leaves us. That does not mean, I am not honouring the others. It means I have not learned about all the areas in my life or took interest in or I am culturally backward!

INGREDIENTS :

MILK : 500 ML

RED LENTIL : 1/2 OF A MEDIUM TEA CUP

CHOPPED GREEN CHILLI : 1 TBSP

LEMON JUICE : 4 TBSP

CUMIN SEED : 1/4 TSP + 2-3 PINCH

BAY LEAF : 1

GINGER PASTE : 2 TSP + 1 TSP

CUMIN POWDER : 1 TSP

CORIANDER POWDER : 1/2 TSP

RED CHILLI POWDER : 11/2 TSP

ASAFOETIDA : 2 PINCH

TURMERIC POWDER : 1/2 TSP

CINNAMON POWDER : 1/4 TSP

GREEN CARDAMOM POWDER : 1/4 TSP

CLOVE POWDER : A PINCH

SUGAR : 1 TSP + 1 TSP

SALT : AS REQUIRED

GHEE / CLARIFIED BUTTER : 2 TSP

OIL : 3 TBSP

PROCEDURE :

Wash & soak the mushurir dal / split, de-skinned red lentil in a bowl for an hour.

Meanwhile, we will do the paneer / chana. We will take the milk in a vessel, switch on the gas oven and bring it to boil.

Once the milk has boiled for 4-5 minutes at low heat, we will add the lemon juice mixed with 2-3 tbsp of water to the milk and stir.

As it curdles, we will switch off the gas stove and strain it with the help of a fresh piece of white cloth. We will tie the cloth and hang for half an hour.

Because we are not making rasgulla, we need not be particular. Then we will take the paneer on a plate.

We will strain the dal; do a paste of it in the blender.

We will heat 1 tbsp of oil in a wok and temper it with 1/4 tsp of cumin seeds & the washed, chopped green chillies.

We will stir it for 1/2 a minute and add 1 tsp of ginger paste. We will stir it for a minute.

We will add the lentil paste and a little of turmeric, salt & 1 tsp sugar.

We will stir cook for 2-3 minutes and add the fresh paneer and a little of cumin powder. We will mix the entire thing well and cook for 3-4 minutes more.

We will transfer it to a container and let it rest for 1/2 an hour.

We will cut it into desired shapes! We will heat the oil and fry them lightly.