Vegetable Noodle Dalna - Noodles In A Traditional Bengali Gravy

VEGETABLE NOODLE DALNA
The youngsters in my family relish noodles very much. Whenever they have a craving for noodles or any other food they fancy for that matter, they readily order their favourites online. One fine day I decided to try my hand at making their favourite noodles at home, but of course with a South Indian touch. After much pondering the thought of combining noodles with any of the South Indian gravies seemed infeasible. I remembered about Vegetable Dalna - a traditional Vegetarian Bengali recipe which I thought would probably suit my need of the hour. That is when Vegetable Noodle Dalna - a fusion of  Bengali and Italian cuisine was born in my kitchen.

INGREDIENTS
Wheat noodles - 1 packet ( 200gms)
Sesame oil - 4 tbsps
Tomatoes (blended in a mixer) - 4 to 5 cups
Cauliflower florets (blanched) - 1 cup
Potatoes (cubed) - 1 cup
Green peas  - 1 cup
Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp
Sambar Powder - 1 1/2 tsp
Salt - 11/4 tsp
Sugar - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
FOR THE SPICE POWDER
Coriander seeds - 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tbsp
Cardamom - 2
Cloves - 4
Cinnamon - 1'' piece
Grind them together into a fine powder and keep aside.
METHOD
1. Add a teaspoon of oil and a pinch of salt to a big pot of water and bring it to a boil.
2. Add the noodles to the boiling water and cook till done.
3. Drain and cool the cooked noodles and keep aside.


4. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a kadai and fry the blanched cauliflower florets to a golden colour and remove to a plate.
5. Add one more tbsp of oil to the same kadai and roast the cubed potatoes to a golden colour and remove to the plate.


6. Heat the remaining oil in the same kadai and splutter cumin seeds and add the ginger paste.
7. Mix Sambar powder, turmeric powder, salt, sugar and the spice powder with little water and add this paste to the seasoning.
8. Stir well and then add the tomato juice.


9. Cook till the oil separates from the sauce and then add the fried vegetables and peas.
10. Add 1/2 a cup or more of water and cook till the vegetables are done.
11. Dalna needs to be juicy and it should have the consistency of a gravy. Add little more water if it becomes too dry. Switch off flame when it emanates a very pleasant aroma.


12. Gently mix the vegetable gravy with the cooked noodles till each and every strand of noodle gets coated with the dalna.


Watch the sparkle in the eyes of the youngsters as they slurp in the Vegetable Noodle Dalna when it is still warm and juicy.

Comments

Punam Paul said…
What a recipe... Which segment will you classify this recipe - Bengali/ Chinese. ������
It is a fusion of Bengali and Italian cuisine as mentioned in the blog post Punam!:)
Anonymous said…
Will try this weekend.

Much love,
-ASR