Dried Lentil Dumpling (Bori)
Bori which is Dried lentil dumpling, very popular in authentic Bengali cuisine. It is most often made with the paste of Urad Daal that is black Gram Lentil, which is then sun-dried for 3-5 days before use. Once dried properly it can be stored in an airtight container for a few months.
The paste is laid out on a mat, most commonly on cheesecloth in the sunlight. It sticks to the mat when wet but comes off easily when dried. The simplest form of Bori takes the canonical shape which looks like Hershey Kisses Chocolates due to the way it is laid by hand.
Intricate artistic designs can also be made with the paste when squeezed out through a funnel or cone. This is called Naksha bori. It is also called Gohona bori or Gayna bori because the designs often look like those of jewellery (Gahanna or Gayna is Bengali for jewellery). To avoid breaking Naksha bori when removing from the mat, a layer of poppy seeds is spread before laying the paste. The district of Purba Medinipur is famous for its Naksha bori.
Bori can be fried and enjoyed as a snack or can be added to fish and vegetable dishes to enhance the taste.
Last year I had seen a picture of my beautiful friend laying Naksha Bori in social media, and it stuck to me from that time to try to capture and adopt this tradition in today’s life. Back in the days of my childhood, I have seen in my household to buy them from the store as it was easily available and convenient. Now in a foreign country where my home is at present, it’s not the case. So here is my attempt to adopt this amazing food in my way. The original recipe and tips and tricks were taught by the very same friend mentioned above. This recipe is solely dedicated to her. I am so proud of her and many other women like her who are still continuing the tradition.
I have modified the original recipe to fit in my regime, and it did come out quite close to the original 🙂
There are few tricks to follow in this recipe. One important one is it is very crucial that when we make the paste from daal we add minimal amount of water. Soak the daal overnight, and drain all water. Then add a spoonful when needed while making the batter.
Soaked Daal paste
The batter has to be fluffy. After the lentil paster is made, we need to whisk it in a wide bowl either by hand or using a hand blender. To check if it is fluffy enough, take a cup of cold water and put a drop of the paste. The paste should float entirely in the water. The lighter the batter is the better.
Lentil paste floating in water
To dry these Bori, I used an Aluminium foil tray and greased it with little oil. Then put a drop of the batter on the sheet and dry them in the oven. The size of it can vary, I make it as big as a quarter. Below is the picture of different stages.
Before drying 
After drying 
Fried Bori , ready to enjoy
25 minPrep Time
35 minCook Time
1 hrTotal Time
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Ingredients
- 1 Cup Urad Daal
- 2 Cups of Water
- 2 Green Chillies
- 1 Inch Ginger
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Oil
Instructions
- Soak the Daal in water overnight
- Strain all water
- Blend the Daal, add 5-6 tbsp of water one at a time if needed.
- Add green chillies, ginger, and salt to add flavor in the Bori and blend
- Dish the paste out in a wide bowl
- Whisk it with hand or hand blender for 5-6 minutes
- Check if it if fluffy enough, by dropping a droplet in a cup of water. It should completely float.
- Grease theAluminium tray
- Spread the droplet of the paste on the tray keeping little gap between them
- Preheat oven to 275 degree in convection type, otherwise set it to 300 degree F
- If convection oven dry in for 25 minutes, otherwise 35 minutes.
- Check if it is dry outside and coming off the tray easily.
- Store in air tight container.
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