Bori Diye Bandhakopi - Stir-fried Cabbage with Lentil Dumplings

Bori Diye Bandhakopi

Boris or lentil dumplings add flavour and crunch to vegetable and fish dishes. Each is shaped like a little pagoda with a rounded base and a tiny pointed steeple. Just like garam masala powder, boris vary widely depending on each region in India. 

Lentil Dumplings

Bengali boris are small and delicately flavoured predominantly with asafoetida/hing and are made from a wide variety of lentils and/or vegetables as pictured above. This picture which I was lucky to find on the BongHaat website on the internet (http://zozu.site/media/1796977486733311584) features Til/Sesame, Posto/White Poppy Seed, Hing/Asafoetida, Fulkopi/Cauliflower, Chalkumro/Ash Gourd, Motor Dal/Split Pea, Kalai/Split Black Gram and Masoor/Red Lentil. Wadis from other parts of India are much larger and heavily spiced, predominantly with chili powder.

Cabbage is one of those vegetables that's available year-round here in North America. My favourite preparation with cabbage is to make it with shrimp, but we have recently developed an allergy to shrimp which we now try to avoid. On its own, cabbage is tasteless so adding boris is a great idea!

Ingredients

1 head cabbage, thinly sliced
1/2 cup boris/lentil dumplings

1 large onion, diced (vegetarians omit)

1 large tomato, diced

2 green chilies, minced

4 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1/2 tsp. cumin/jeera seeds

1 tsp. hing/asafoetida powder

1/2 tsp. turmeric powder

1/2 tsp Kashmiri mirch/paprika

salt and sugar to taste
1/2 tsp. Bengali garam masala powder (ground cinnamon, cloves & cardamom)

1 tsp. ghee (coconut oil for vegans)

Directions

1. Heat oil in a skillet and sputter cumin seeds, green chilies, hing, paprika and turmeric powder.
2. Add lentil dumplings and fry until golden brown.
3. Add onions and tomatoes and stir-fry until onions turns translucent.
4. Stir in tomatoes followed by cabbage and season liberally with salt and some sugar.
5. Stir well, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally until all liquid evaporates.
6. Add garam masala, stir well and garnish with dollops of ghee.

Serve with steamed Basmati rice or any variety of Indian breads.