Dhuska

It’s the festive season when I miss India the most. There is something special about each festival there. The smell of the air, the crowd in the market, the decorations, the social gatherings, and above all food. It is absolutely unbeatable. But, I am so so far from there. Can’t smell anything in the air, there is no festivity around. All I can do to get the feel is to make some traditional food and connect with the roots. And, so I did.

 

This Dusshera I made traditional Jharkhand food, which is called Dhuska. I heard about it from my beloved husband. He loves it and craves for it especially at the time of Dusshera. It’s yummy and quick to make, except for the fact that it needs preparation. We need to soak rice and chana dal (split yellow peas) overnight. Nevertheless, it is fun to make.

Traditionally it is served with chholiya (fresh green chickpeas) and potato curry, but I couldn’t find chholiya, so used kale chane (black chickpeas).

Ingredients for Dhuska

• Chana Dal (split yellow peas lentil) – 1 cup
• Rice – 1 cup
• Green chilies – 2 (finely chopped)
• Cumin seeds – 1 tbsp
• Panch phoran – 1 tsp
• Asafoetida – a pinch
• Salt – to taste
• Oil for deep frying

Method for Dhuska

1. Soak chana dal and rice in separate bowls for atleast 4 hours or overnight.
2. After soaking, grind them into paste.
   • Remember to grind them separately. Also, we don’t need a very fine paste.
   • You can use a little water to ease the grinding and get the desired consistency. We need the batter to be a thick paste, but of pouring consistency; a little thicker than dosa or pan cakes batter.
3. Now, in a flat bottomed wok, heat oil for deep frying.
4. While the oil is heating up, mix both the pastes, and add salt, green chilies, cumin seeds, asafoetida, and panch phoran.
   • Do not let the batter stand as it will start fermenting and as a result will soak more oil while frying.
5. Next, take a ladle (use a small sized one) full of batter and pour it into the heated oil. Deep fry for a minute on each side till it is golden brown.
6. Take out the Dhuska and place on an ansorbent paper.
7. And, Dhuska is ready. Serve with aloo chana curry.