Cholar Dal Diye Begun er Dolma.....

Picture Courtesy : Kamal Shah

 The small brinjals are suffed with chana dal and then added into the gravy. It can be served with rice or paratha. This recipe is a love from my kitchen. 

To make the suffing

Ingredients 

1 cup Split Bengal Grams / Chana Dal soaked in water for 30 minutes 

1 Onion sliced 

1 tbsp Garlic - Ginger  paste 

1 green Chilli slit

1 Green Cardomon 

1 Small Cinnamon stick 

2 Cloves 

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder 

1/2 tsp Cumin powder 

1/4 tsp Garam Masala powder 

Salt to taste 

1 tbsp Ghee 

Method 

Take a pressure cooker. Add the ghee. Add the cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and green chilli. Let the spices crackle. Add the onion. Stir and cook till translucent. Add the garlic - ginger - chilli paste. Sauté it for a minute. Add the chana dal, salt and all the spice powder. Add 3/4 cup of water. Pressure cook it for 2 whistles. Let the pressure release. Open the lid. If an water remaining, switch on the gas and dry up the water in the dal. Let it cool. Take a grinder. Discard the whole spices from the dal. Add the dal and pulse it for 2 to 3 times. It should be coarsely ground and some whole dal should be seen. 

For the Dolma 

Ingredients 

12 small size Brinjals 

Stuffing 

1/4 cup Onion paste 

1 tbsp Garlic - Ginger paste 

1 to 2 Green Chilli slit 

1 Bay leaf

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder 

1/2 tsp Cumin powder 

1/2 tsp Chilli powder 

1/2 tsp Coriander powder 

1/4 tsp Garam Masala powder 

1/2 tsp Sugar

Salt to taste 

1 Green Cardomon 

1 Small Cinnamon stick 

2 Cloves 

1/2 cup Curd beaten 

2 tbsp Ghee 

1 tsp Coriander leaves chopped 

Oil to fry 

Method 

Cut the brinjals from both the ends. Keep the top and discard the back end of the brinjals. Scoop out the centre part of the brinjals. Take a pan, add oil. Let it heat. Half fry the brinjals and the top edge of the brinjals. Remove it on a kitchen tissue paper. As the brinjals cools down, stuff the brinjals will chana dal stuffing. Take the top edges of the brinjals and cover the top of the brinjals. Insert a toothpick to secure the stuffing. Take a flat pot. Add ghee. Let it become hot. Add the bay leaf, cardamon, cinnamon stick, cloves and green chilli. Sauté it for a minute. Add the onion paste. Stir and cook for 2 minutes. Add the ginger garlic paste. Cook for 2 minutes more. Add the curd, salt, sugar, turmeric powder, chilli powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and garam masala powder. Stir and cook till the oil starts to separate from the masala. Place the brinjal one at a time into the pan. Add 11/2 cups of water.  Cover and cook on low flame till the brinjals are tender. Once the brinjals are cooked, remove the tooth pick before serving. Garnish it with coriander leaves. Serve it hot with rice or paratha.