Nadia bara jhol /Coconut and lentil dumplings in a thick gravy

Hi everyone .After coming back from vacation I am lagging behind to blog.Its not that I am not cooking or not clicking ,cooking started from the very next day itself.I have oodles of drafts in laptop some dating back to as long as 3 months.Please stop !!!now before you start judging me on any parameters let me submit my explanation ,for example this Mango cake was the latest one but needed immediate publish as this was the mango season.Like this I can give you so many examples but I don't want to waste your time...):p

You can call me lazy or to be more sophisticated I am a looser when it comes to time management. If I am cooking I am spending hours in the kitchen or if I am browsing the Internet then stay glued to I pad for hours behind a recipe or a photography tutorial.Later on I lament that I don't get enough time to blog.Seriously??? When I retrospect my schedule for the day gone by I feel tremendously guilty that I had wasted my time .And question to my self was it necessary?Was that the need of the hour ?I should have spent my time more creatively. But calm down by saying to myself that "I had learnt so many things today".I was "happy" I enjoyed the "Me time".What else does any one want at the end of the day?-One happy soul.I must admit that If it wasn't for blogging I wouldn't have dared to explore so much whether in terms of cooking, photography or social media.Every day I get to learn new things and some hard truths.

Let me stop here and come to today's recipe ,Today's post is a simple veg curry from Orissa ,Nadia bara jhol which literally means lentil coconut dumplings in a thick gravy .Oriya cuisine is simple cooking with homely touch .Coconut is extensively used in Oriya cuisine.The hard part of the recipe is to soak the Dal ,just kidding .If you plan and soak the Dal then the remaining procedure is a breeze-trust me . As the day passed the dumplings were melt in the mouth and the curry was lip smacking delicious.Served it with some hot phulkas and pulao and they were a complete meal in it self.This dish is completely vegan .

hop on to the recipe.....

How to make Nadia bara jhol/coconut lentil dumplings in thick gravy

Preparation time :30 minutes

serves:4

Ingredients

For dumplings:

• 1/2 cup -chana Dal /Bengal gram(split)
• 1/2 cup fresh coconut (grated)
• 1/2 inch -ginger
• 2 -green chillies
• a pinch of baking soda
• salt to taste
• oil for frying

For the curry:

• 2 -onions
• 1-tomato
• 1 tsp-ginger garlic paste
• 1/4 tsp- cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp- coriander seeds
• 2- green cardamom
• 2- cloves
• 1- bay leaf
• 1/2 inch -cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp- turmeric
• 1/2 tsp- chilly powder
• 12 -cashew nuts(soaked)
• 2 tbsp-oil
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 -glass water
• salt to taste

Procedure

1. Wash and soak Dal for 4 hours or over night.
2. To the mixer jar add all the ingredients except oil and baking soda listed under "for dumplings".
3. Grind it to a smooth batter with out adding any water.
4. Remove it in a bowl check for salt and add baking soda .
5. Shape it into dumplings and deep dry it on medium heat until golden brown .
6. Drain it on a paper towel and set aside.
7. Dry roast cardamom,cumin seeds,coriander seeds,cloves,cinnamon on low heat and pulse it to fine powder.
8. Now add onion,tomato,cashews to the same jar and blend it to a fine paste .
9. Heat oil in kadhai or pan add bay leaves followed by the paste .
10. Add all the remaining spices and saute until the curry comes nearer and leaves oil from the side of the pan.
11. Add 1 glass of water ,check for seasoning  and slowly drop the dumplings in the curry .cook on high until one boil.
12. Simmer the flame and leave the curry undisturbed for 10 minutes.
13. Switch of the flame once the dumpling have become soft,
14. Serve with rice or flat breads of your choice.

Notes

• Always use fresh coconut for dumplings.
• Cashews can be replaced with ,poppy seeds as well.
• Do not stir the curry vigorously after adding the dumplings as this may break them.
• In case if your batter for dumplings becomes runny add 1 tsp gram flour/besan to it .
• As the dumplings absorb the gravy and become softer the gravy becomes thicker .
• Adjust the consistency of the gravy by adding more water