Bengali Lentil Fritter Bori

Ingredients

• 1 cup urad dal (split black gram without skin — the white variety)
• 1 tsp ginger paste
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• a pinch of asafoetida
• salt to taste
• oil for deep frying bori

Method

1. Soak the urad dal: Wash 1 cup urad dal in 3 to 4 changes of water until the water runs clear. Soak in 3 cups fresh water for 4 to 6 hours until the dal is fully softened. The dal will swell and turn white and plump.
2. Grind to a thick paste: Drain the soaked dal completely. Place in a mixer jar. Add ginger paste, cumin seeds, asafoetida and salt. Add as little water as possible while grinding — the paste must be very thick. Add only 1 to 2 tbsp water if absolutely needed. Grind for 3 to 4 minutes until the paste is completely smooth and very thick. It should hold its shape when dropped from a spoon.
3. Beat the paste to add air: Transfer the ground paste to a wide bowl. Using your fingers or a spoon, beat and whip the paste vigorously for 5 minutes in circular motions. This adds air and makes the paste lighter — which in turn makes the dried bori crunchy rather than dense. The paste should look slightly foamy after beating.
4. Test the consistency: Drop a tiny amount of the paste into a glass of water. It should float. If it sinks, beat the paste for 5 more minutes. Floating means enough air has been incorporated.
5. Choose the drying surface: Place a large flat plate, tray or a clean white cloth on a flat surface in direct sunlight. Lightly grease the surface with a few drops of oil — this prevents sticking.
6. Shape the bori: Dip your finger in water then pick up a small amount of paste — about half a teaspoon. Drop it onto the greased surface to form a small round mound about 2 cm in diameter. Leave a small gap between each bori. Wet your finger between each drop to prevent sticking. Make all the bori this way.
7. Dry in sunlight: Place the tray in direct, strong sunlight. Leave the bori to dry for a full day. Bring them inside at sunset to prevent moisture from night air. The next morning, return them to sunlight. They may need 2 full days of drying in strong sun until completely dry and hard — they should feel like small stones when pressed.
8. Store or fry: Once completely dry, store in an airtight container for up to 3 months. To use: heat oil for deep frying on medium. Drop 8 to 10 dry bori into the hot oil. They will puff up and turn golden within 2 minutes. Remove immediately — they burn very fast. Drain on paper towels.
9. Eat as snack: The freshly fried bori are extremely crispy and can be eaten as a snack with tea — crunchy, lightly spiced and hollow inside.
10. Or add to vegetable curries: Alternatively, add 4 to 6 fried bori to vegetable curries (potato, pumpkin, bottle gourd) in the last 3 minutes of cooking. They absorb the curry gravy and become soft outside but remain slightly crunchy inside — this texture is uniquely Bengali.
11. Note: Bori is a preserved food ingredient unique to Bengali cooking — found in no other Indian regional cuisine in quite the same way. It is made in large batches during winter months when the sun is strong but not harsh. Bengali grandmothers are known for their bori-making skill — each family's bori has its own shape and spice formula. Bori is added to shukto (a bitter vegetable medley), jhinge posto (ridge gourd with poppy seeds) and labra (mixed vegetable stir fry).