Lebu Pata Diye Dal r KurKure Alu Bhaja ( Lentils with Lime leaves and Crispy Fried Potatoes ) - Bengali Comfort food for a Hot summer Day

Today I am going to present some Bengali comfort foods. Sorry for my non-bengali followers that I have to use some pure Bengali terms today. The list of traditional Bengali food that often makes you nostalgic is really long. But these two recipes are perfect for San Diego’s current scorching hot weather.

Today’s recipe is  Lebu pata diye Daall and Kurkure Alu bhaja.  When we visit our parents after a long gap, we love to have only traditional Bengali meals, the food we grew up on.  A traditional Bengali meal starts with Rice, Daal, fries and then filled up with a veg or non-veg dish, which could be fish, meat or egg. It will be complete only with Chutney and some sweets at the end.  

So let me start with Kurkure Aloo bhaja whose English translation is crispy deep-fried potatoes.  It’s usually made by deep-fried julienne potatoes. Kur kur e Aloo bhaja bears similarity to the “French Fries” of the western world. Only difference is the sizes. Our Aloo bhaja is thin and small whereas french fries are thick and big. Kur kure aloo bhaja / Jhuri Aloo bhaja is served with a bowl of hot steamed rice and a bowl of lentils. 

The second recipe is Lebu pata diye Daal, soupy red lentils tempered with lemon leaves. Last month when I shared the recipe of Lebu Lanka Murgi, I had some fresh lemon leaves in my refrigerator from that time. So thought let it try with some lentils and so from then onwards we got hooked on it. The taste is so refreshing that I am sure you would love it. You can try this recipe with various types of daal but I preferred to use musur (red lentil). Let me share the recipe now.

Recipe of Kur Kur e Aloo Bhaja / Jhuri Jhuri Aloo Bhaja : Serves - 4 

Ingredients : 

Potatoes : 2 large potatoes ( preferably russet potatoes ) 
Oil : for deep-frying 
Salt : 

Method : 

1. Peel the potatoes and cut lengthwise into 1/8 inch-thick julienne in food processor or with a sharp knife. 

2. Wash thoroughly and transfer the potatoes into a bowl of ice and cold water. Let it chill into the refrigerator at least for 30 minutes. 

3. Heat Oil in a heavy pot over moderately high heat. Once oil heats up, drain potatoes and pat completely dry using paper towels. 

4. Fry them in batches. Stir gently with a slotted spoon until golden and crisp. Transfer potatoes to paper towels and season with salt. Serve hot with steamed rice. 


Note : Use a big pot for frying the potatoes and fry them in two or three batches otherwise the oil could bubble up and overflow. 

Recipe of Lebu Pata diye Dal ( Lentils Tempered with Lime Leaves ) serves : 4 

Ingredients :

Masur Daal ( Red Lentils ) : 1 cup 
Lemon leaves : 4-5 ( kaffir lime / Gandhoraj Lime leaves )
Nigella seeds : 1/4 teaspoon
Turmeric : 1/4 teaspoon 
Green chili pepper or Dry red chili : 1 or 2 
Oil : 2 tablespoons 
Salt : to taste 

Method :

1. Wash the lentils and boil it with 2 cups of  water, turmeric, salt and two lime leaves.  To boil lentils you can use microwave or do it using stove. Generally to boil red lentils I do not use pressure cooker, as it do not take much time to cook. If you want you can use pressure-cooker too. Once done, mix thoroughly and set it aside. 

2. Take a pan, add oil and heat it up. Add the chilies and nigella seeds and wait until it starts splattering. Add the other lime leaves and wait for couple of minutes. Now pour in the boiled lentil and simmer for another 5 minutes. Check the seasoning. If you like add one teaspoon of lemon juice too. Switch off the gas and serve hot with steamed rice.