Page 58 - 31OCT2019E

food

Boror Tenga — an auThenTic

assamese food

oror Tenga is a tra- In a blender jar, combine
ditional red lentil the soaked red lentils with
curry from Assam. green chilli, ginger, and asa-
In Assamese Bor foetida. Add a little water and
B means pakoda blend to a smooth paste.
or fritters and Tenga means Remove in a bowl and
sour. In Boror Tenga, soft red whisk it with your hands till
lentil fritters are cooked in a the batter is light and fluffy.
spicy and sour curry made of This will ensure that the lentil
tomatoes, onions, potatoes, fritters are very soft. Add salt
and bottle gourd. It is med- and mix one more time.
ley of beautiful flavours and When the oil is hot, care-
textures. fully drop spoonfuls of batter
into the hot oil. Do it in batches
Ingredients so that the oil is not crowded.
(1cup = 240ml; 1tbsp = 15ml; Fry till the fritters are
1tsp = 5ml) for the red len- golden brown. Remove from
til fritter ½ cup red lentils , oil onto an absorbent kitchen
washed and soaked in water paper. The good thing about
for at least 1 hour lentil fritters as that they don’t
1 pinch asafoetida absorb a lot of oil.
1 green chilli to make the curry
1 inch ginger , peeled and Heat mustard oil in a pan
chopped till it just begins to smoke.
Salt , to taste Reduce flame to low and
Vegetable oil , for deep frying add the panch phoran spice,
for the curry bay leaves, and dried red chilli.
2 tbsp mustard oil One the seeds start to sput-
2 tsp panch phoran spice , see ter, add onions and garlic. Mix
notes for substitute well and cook for a couple of
2 bay leaves minutes till the onions start
1 dried red chilli ‘Tenga’ — a popular to soften.
2 cloves garlic , finely chopped Add tomato puree. Mix well and
1 onion , chopped Assamese Sour Curry cook covered for 2-3 minutes.
2 tomatoes , puréed dish — is served as Now add all the powdered spices,
½ bottle gourd , chopped bottle gourd, and 2 cups of water. Mix it
½ cup boiled potato , grated or mashed the last course in a all well and cook covered for 5-6 min-
2 tsp coriander powder traditional Assamese utes till the bottle gourd is cooked.
1 tsp red chilli powder Mix in the grated boiled potato.
1 tsp turmeric powder meal. This Assamese Adjust seasoning and let the gravy sim-
Salt , to taste mer for 2 minutes.
5-6 stalks Fresh coriander leaves , for cuisine is so vibrant Just before serving, add the fried
garnish and uses a lot of lentil fritters to the curry and reheat if
seasonal and locally required. Garnish with fresh coriander
Instructions to make red lentil fritters leaves and serve hot.
Drain the soaked red lentils. In a small available herbs and
kadhi/wok, heat the vegetable oil for letters@tehelka.com
frying. spices (Recipe compiled from the internet)

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