Masoor Dal Bhorta
Masoor Dal Bhorta is a famous Bengali Vegan delicacy cooked with Red Lentil and selected spices. This dish is quite popular in Bangladesh as well as in India and we serve it with Panta Bhat mostly.
Servings 4 People
Calories 276kcal
Cost Rs 100
Ingredients
- 150 g Masoor Dal Red Lentil
- 3 Onion
- 10 cloves Garlic
- 2 Dry Red Chilies
- 3 Green Chilies
- ½ Tsp. Turmeric Powder
- 1 Tsp. Salt
- 3 Tbsp. Mustard Oil
Instructions
Boiling the Dal:
- Take Masoor Dal, aka Red Lentil, and wash the Dal 2-3 times with water.
- Soak the dal for 15 minutes before cooking. This step is optional. You can use the dal instantly after washing. However, soaking helps in cooking quickly.
- Take Dal in a heavy bottom Pan (preferably Kadhai).
- Keep the flame medium while cooking.
- Add ½ cup water to cover the Dal and mix with a ladle.
- Now add ¼ cup of water to the dal.
- There should be water above ½" of the Dal.
- Boil the dal on medium flame and remove the impurities with the help of a spoon.
- After 5 minutes add ½ Tsp. Salt and ½ Tsp. Turmeric Powder as well.
- Mix properly and cook till the Dal soaks the entire moisture.
- Cook for around 7 minutes on medium flame.
- Stir in between.
- The Dal will be dried and properly cooked after 7 minutes.
- Once done, switch the flame off.
Spice Mix
- Now heat 1 Tbsp. Mustard Oil in a pan.
- Fry 1 and a half dry Chili.
- It would take 1 minute to fry the chilies.
- Take the chilies out in a bowl.
- Once the chilies are cool enough to be handled with an empty hand remove the stem (ideally after 5 minutes) and add ½ Tsp. Salt to it.
- Crush the chilies and mix with the salt.
- In the pan, on medium flame, add 10 cloves of garlic and fry for 3 minutes.
- Transfer the garlic to the bowl containing the chili.
- Now add 1 Tbsp. Mustard Oil to the pan.
- Heat the oil and add Chopped Onion (from 1.5 Medium sized Onion)
- Fry the onions for 4 minutes or till those turn translucent in color.
- Instead of softly fried onion, you can use Onion crisp or Piyanj Beresta.
- In Cox's Bazar (Bangladesh), you will find Dal Bhorta cooked with onion crisps in roadside restaurants. Onion crisp works when you make bhorta in the bulk or have less time to cook.
- We prefer using softly fried onions instead of crisps.
- Once done, switch the flame off.
- Now roast a Green Chili.
- This is optional but highly recommended as it gives an amazing aroma and flavor to Dal Bhorta.
Mixing Bhorta with spices
- By this time the cooked Dal will be cooled
- Add Fried Onion to the Dal and fried Chili and Garlic as well.
- Also, add roasted green chili followed by chopped onion.
- Now add 1 Tbsp. Mustard Oil and mix properly using your hand.
- You must mix in a way that all the spices are properly incorporated.
- We do not prefer Cilantro and hence not added. You can for sure add it.
- You can either serve it as it is or can make small balls.
Serving Dal Bhorta
- Take some Panta Bhat in a Bowl and serve it with Dal bhorta topped with chili garlic oil.
Video
Nutrition
Serving: 75g | Calories: 276kcal | Carbohydrates: 34.1g | Protein: 11.4g | Fat: 11.1g | Saturated Fat: 1.3g | Cholesterol: 0mg | Sodium: 589mg | Fiber: 13.7g | Sugar: 5g
