Musurir Dal er Bora / Bengali Red Lentils Fritters

Its blowing tremendously cold wind for two days...and the weather is so soothing that sometimes I don’t even need to turn the a.c on. And if you knew the weather in Abidjan...you would have realized that it’s very very weird, because the only time Abidjan gets cold is when it rains. But even if so...I am so in love with this two days climate change.

So...in the evening when my husband came from the office, I made these Red lentils fritters. They are nice, crispy and perfect along with a cup of masala chai. Hop on!!!

Musurir Dale r Bora / Bengali Red Lentils Fritters

Makes around 15 fritters

Ingredients:

¾ cup red lentils

1 medium onion – sliced

½ inch ginger – minced

A handful of fresh coriander leaves

2-3 green chillies – minced

½ tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp red chilli powder

1 and ½ tsp dry roasted and ground cumin and coriander seeds

A pinch of hing / asafoetida

½ tsp baking soda

2-3 tbsp besan / gram flour

Method:

Wash and rinse the red lentils until the water runs out clean.

Then soak the red lentils in water for about 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes drain the water and put the red lentils in a grinder.

Grind the lentils to a rough consistency. If you find the lentils too hard to grind then add a little water to smooth out the process. Do not add too much water as we need the mixture to be thick.

Pour this lentils paste in a bowl and add in the sliced onion, minced ginger, chopped green chillies and chopped fresh coriander leaves.

Sprinkle some salt over them and mix everything well.

Now add the besan / gram flour and baking soda. Do not add all the gram flour in one go. Add them in small portions until you get a binding consistency.

Heat enough oil in a kadai / sauce pan and then scoop out a little of the lentils mix into that oil.

Fry on low to medium flame until the fritters are golden brown.

Always fry fritters in small batches and on low to medium heat and for a moderately long time...or otherwise the inside of the fritters may not cook properly.

Follow the same process until you are finished with the mixture.

Serve hot with tea or puffed rice / muri or it can also go with some rice and lentils as well.