For the lentil cake or Dhoka, we need Bengal Gram Soaked in water for 2 to 3 hours Some ginger paste a green chili turmeric pdr hing or asafoetida sugar and salt Drain the water from the lentils Add them into a mixer jar Add in the green chili remove the stalk break it into smaller pieces add in some ginger paste you could add in chopped ginger add in salt, sugar turmeric and asafoetida Grind this to a fine paste Add in water as required to grind To cook the lentils Heat some oil in a broad pan Keep the heat really low Add in the prepared paste into the pan You could use a heavy bottom pan I am using a non stick pan That makes life easier All you need to do is keep stirring keep the heat low Cook the lentils Keep scraping the sides and the bottom that is where the paste tends to stick That looks done Turn off the heat We need a tray or a plate Lightly oil / grease it Add the lentil paste flatten it out with your hands spread it out into a rectangle or a square and let it set Once the lentil mixture has cooled down completely Cut it into smaller pieces Traditionally this is cut into diamonds but I like to cut them into squares They should not be thicker than an inch Time to fry the lentil cakes in hot oil they are already cooked so just fry them in very hot oil till they turn crispy on the outside You could convert the lentil cakes into a very good snack just cut them into smaller pieces fry them and serve them with some green chutney Take them out drain them on absorbent paper fry the rest in batches For the spice paste, we need tomato puree or tomato paste some hing or asafoetida coriander pdr cumin pdr red chili pdr turmeric pdr ginger paste and some water give this a mix For the curry Heat some oil in a pan add in some cumin seeds and bay leaves to flavour the oil lower the heat add in the spice paste The oil has started separating Wash the bowl that had the spice mix with water and add it into the pan we'll bring this to a boil that has come to a nice boil add in the green chilies I'm adding one whole and one slit That is totally as per your taste Once the oil starts separating add in more water the lentil cakes need to soak up the water Season it with salt and a bit of sugar Bring that to a boil Let's add in the Dhoka Lower the heat and let this boil For about 3 to 5 mins That has been boiling for about 3 mins now I can already see a change in the colour and the appearance of the lentil cakes I added in a little bit of water about 1/4 of a cup Cover it Switch off the heat and let it rest for at least 30 mins before serving Sprinkle some garam masala on top Mix it up gently
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Mexican
