Masoor Daler Borar Jhol is a comforting dish that I usually prepare when I’m not in the mood for the usual lunch spread with Bhaja, Dal, Macher Jhol, etc. With this Borar Jhol, the lunch becomes wholesome and breaks the monotony of typical fare. It was common to add seasonal vegetables to Borar jhol, according to personal preference. In summer, it’s the gourds like Potol/Pointed gourd, Jhinge/Ridge gourd, etc. In winter, adding cauliflower to Borar Jhol was a delightful experience. Nowadays, with almost all vegetables available year-round, we can choose as we wish. We don’t add more than 2-3 vegetable varieties in this dish, otherwise with many vegetables it will become like a Sabji. In this dish, there must be a balance between the number of Bora and vegetables. We’re not looking for a generous amount of vegetables in this Jhol.
I hope this recipe will help you to cook a delicious Borar Jhol for your family. Do let me know about your experience if you’re trying the recipe. 🙂
Masoor Daler Borar Jhol / Bengali Lentil Fritters Curry
Masoor Daler Borar Jhol is a delicious, comforting dish made with daler bora (lentil fritters) and vegetables. Serve it with steamed rice for a wholesome eating experience.
Ingredients
- 125g / ¾ cup- Masoor dal/Red lentil
- 300g- Ridge gourd/Jhinge
- 220g- Pumpkin/Kumro
- 1- Potato/Aloo (medium-sized)
- 1- Onion medium-sized (thinly sliced)
- 3-4- Green chillies (halved)
- ½ tsp- Nigella seeds/Kalojire
- 1½ tsp- Coriander powder
- ½ tsp- Red chilli powder
- Mustard powder or Mustard paste
- Turmeric powder
- Salt to taste
- As required- Mustard oil
- ¾ cup for frying- Vegetable oi (read notes)
Instructions
Preparing the vegetables
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Scrape the hard skins of ridge gourd/jhinge, wash well.
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Slice the ridge gourd/jhinge vertically, and then cut each half into cubes, keep aside.
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Peel the potato, cut vertically, and then each slice into cubes, keep aside.
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Peel the pumpkin/kumro, cut into cubes. Wash the pumpkin and potato cubes under running water, keep them aside.
Preparing the Lentil paste for the fritters / Dal bata
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Soak Masoor dal for 1-2 hours before grinding it to a paste. If you want to use a thick paste for making the fritters, soak the dal for only 1 hour. If you want to use a lentil paste that is in a medium-thick consistency, soak the dal for longer. The longer you soak the lentils, the more water they will absorb. After grinding, the paste will not be very thick.
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Thick lentil paste will make dense fritters whereas a medium-thick paste will make the fritters fluffy and airy from the inside. The fluffy fritters tend to absorb more curry compared to the dense ones. Prepare them according to your taste.
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After soaking, rinse the dal in running water, drain and blend it into a paste using a food processor/mixer. To achieve a thick and coarse paste, run the mixer briefly and pause in between. If you want to make a smooth paste, run the mixer for a little longer. Don’t add any water while making the dal paste.
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Transfer the paste to a bowl, add salt and ¼ tsp of turmeric powder, mix well and keep aside.
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If your dal paste is too loose, you can add rice flour to adjust the consistency of the batter for the fritters. Rice flour does not alter the taste of the fritters, but rather adds crispness to them.
Make the fritters/bora
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Heat vegetable oil in a deep frying pan/kadai. Start making fritters by adding dollops of lentil paste in the hot oil. Make lemon-sized fritters, and fry until golden brown over medium heat.
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After frying all the fritters, keep them aside in a bowl and discard the remaining oil from the kadai.
Preparing the mustard
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For this recipe, you can use either 1 tablespoon of homemade mustard paste or ready-to-use mustard powder.
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Mustard powder is very convenient to use, and I used the same for this recipe.
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Dissolve 1 tbsp mustard powder in ¼ cup of water, keep aside for 10 minutes, and after that it will be ready to use in the recipe.
Making the curry/jhol
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Heat 1 tbsp mustard oil in a deep frying pan/kadai.
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Sauté the ridge gourd/jhinge pieces for 10-12 minutes over medium heat, or until they soften a little bit, remove from the kadai and keep them aside.
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Next, heat 1 tbsp mustard oil again in the kadai, add the pumpkin and potato pieces. Sauté the vegetables for 5-6 minutes over medium heat, remove from the kadai and keep them aside.
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Heat 3 tbsp mustard oil in the kadai. Temper with nigella seeds/kalojire.
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Next, add the sliced onions and sauté till they turn light brown in colour.
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Add the green chillies, ½ tsp turmeric powder, salt, coriander powder, and red chilli powder. Mix well and add ¼ cup water, continue mixing the masala over low-medium heat until it starts leaving oil.
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Add the mustard powder slurry, and mix quickly.
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Now add 600ml water, mix, and cover to cook over high heat for a quick boil.
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After bringing the curry/jhol to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, add the vegetables, mix well, cover, and cook until they are done.
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The consistency of this curry should be on the thinner side, that’s why it’s called Jhol. The dish needs enough jhol, or the bora will absorb it all, leaving little for the rice. So adjust the water accordingly while making the jhol.
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Next, uncover and add the fritters/bora to the kadai, mix in gently, and turn off the heat.
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Leave the fritters/bora in the curry for the next 30 minutes. All the bora shall absorb some jhol within this time and get flavourful.
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Serve the Daler Borar Jhol along with steamed rice, enjoy!
Recipe Notes
I prefer frying the bora/fritters in vegetable oil and then cooking the curry in mustard oil. If you prefer to use a single oil for the dish, that's fine too.
Masoor Daler Borar Jhol recipe video
