Thekera tenga boror jool
An Assamese recipe of lentil fritters in a light, soupy sour gravy made with sun dried slices of thekera tenga, an indigenious fruit.
Ingredients
For the bor (fritters)-See notes at the end of the recipe
- 1 cup split red lentils
- 2 tbsp rice
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 2 green chillies, halved
- 1 inch piece of ginger, skin peeled and roughly chopped
- ⅓ cup finely chopped fresh coriander
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp salt, or to taste
- ½ cup vegetable /sunflower oil to fry the fritters (may need more); see notes at the end of the recipe
For the tengar jool (the sour gravy)
- 6-7 pieces of thekera tenga, soaked in a cup of water for an hour (may need more if they are smaller and thinner)
- 1 tbsp mustard oil ( normal oil can be used, but mustard oil gives it a better flavour)
- 2 whole red chillies, halved
- ½ tsp paas puron (a spice blend of equal quantities of fenugreek seeds, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, nigella seeds and fennel seeds)
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- 4 -4½ cups of water (may need more); see notes at the end of the recipe
- ½ tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt, or to taste
- ½ tsp plain flour
Instructions
- Wash the lentils and rice together. Soak them in a bowl with enough water for an hour.
- Add the lentil-rice mixture along with th green chillies and ginger to a grinder and make a very slightly coarse mixture. If needed add a couple of tablespoons of water.
- Add the ground lentil mixture to a bowl. Add the turmeric powder, coriander, onion and salt and mix well.
- Heat ¼ cup of the oil in a small pan (mine was non stick)
- Add teaspoons of the mixture to the pan. Let the bottom set. This will take about 1 to 1½ minutes over medium heat. They will move easily. Turn them over and let that side set too. After that turn over a couple of times till both the sides are nicely browned. Take care not to burn.
- Drain on a plate lined with paper towels. Repeat with the rest of the mixture. I made the fritters in four batches After two batches, I added the remaining ¼ cup of oil. According to the size of your pan, you might need more oil. Do not let the pan dry out; add enough but not too much.
For the tenga (the sour gravy)-
- Heat the mustard oil in a pan.
- Add the dried red chillies and paas puron. When the seeds splutter, add the thekera pieces (which were soaked in water) along with the turmeric powder. Stir for a few seconds and add the water in which the thekera was soaked.
- Add the rest of the water and bring to a boil. Simmer for a minute and add the sugar.
- Mix the flour with a couple of tablespoons of water and add to the pan, stirring briskly to avoid lumps.
- Add the bor / fritters. I added half to the gravy and kept the other half to serve on the side. See notes at the end of the recipe. (see notes at the end of the recipe)
- Taste the gravy, if it is too tart, add more water and a little sugar. Adjust the salt accordingly.
- Simmer for half a minute and remove from heat. Turn the fritters upside down once.
- Cover and let it rest for a few minutes before serving.
Notes
- This recipe yields about 33 fritters. Of this, I only added about 16 to the gravy and saved the rest to serve on the side as they are yummy to munch on their own too. If you want to make just the gravy, then make just halve the ingredients for the fritters. But I'm sure you will like to munch on a few of them.
- Traditionally, the fritters are fried in mustard oil and it definitely adds more flavour. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough so fried the fritters in vegetable oil and made the gravy with mustard oil. The oil needs to be hot but not smoking hot or else the fritters will burn and the insides won't get cooked properly.
- The fritters are pan fried in batches. Once the batter is dropped into the pan, give it a little time to set on one side, and then turn over, or else it will be a mush.
- Check the tartness of the gravy. It should be zingy but pleasant and not so tart that it makes you wince. So, adjust the water accordingly.
- The fritters absorb a lot of the liquid after they are added to the gravy. Unless you are serving the dish almost after making it, the fritters and the gravy can be made earlier. Just reheat the gravy, drop in the fritters, simmer for about half a minute and serve in a few minutes.