Echor diye cholar dal is a classic traditional Bengali food which is immensely popular in West Bengal and Bangladesh. It is also referred to as kacha kathal diye cholar dal. It is one of the beloved summer recipes among Bengalis which is frequently prepared in every house during summer. The best part is it is a niramish recipe aka no onion no garlic recipe which is perfect for puja days. In this recipe, raw jackfruit pieces are cooked with Bengal gram along with ginger, tomato and some specific spices. This flavoured jackfruit lentil curry is mostly relished with steamed rice and sometimes with flatbread like roti and chapati.
Bengalis are very fond of echor recipe and they desperately wait for summer to get it. In fact, they refer echor as Gach Patha for its unique texture and taste. Here the word Gach means Veg and Patha means Mutton. It’s so delectable that Bengalis compare the vegetable with mutton. I still remember how my dad used to bring Kacha Kathal, I mean Jackfruit, from the market during summer. My mom used to cook many amazing Bengali recipes with it and echor diye cholar dal is one of them.
Table of Contents
About the recipe
Health Benefits of raw Jackfruit
Tips and Suggestions
How to make echor diye cholar dal (step wise photos)
Recipe Card
Echor Recipe
Echor recipe plays a remarkable role in Bengali cuisine. Many outstanding Bengali recipes are prepared with this magical ingredient. Echor or Kacha kathal is one of the most versatile fruits which is used to prepare different ranges of curries, snacks and appetizers. Echor Chingri, Echor Kalia, Echor Dalna, Echorer kofta curry, Echor diye cholar dal, Echor chop, Echor cutlet are a few renowned echor recipe Bengali.
The difficulty level of preparing echor diye cholar dal is low, if you have cut and cleaned the jackfruit pieces. It is a slow-cooking recipe and requires more time to get cooked because jackfruit takes more time to get cooked as compared to other regular vegetables. All the ingredients required to prepare the dish are easily available in the Bengali kitchen pantry.
Honestly, I don’t suggest a novice to prepare this recipe if you are working with a whole green jackfruit because the most time-consuming and toughest part of the recipe is to cut and clean the raw Jackfruit. In fact, whenever I get canned or frozen jackfruit pieces, I always grab them and store them in my pantry. If you have canned or frozen jackfruit, then it’s a thumbs up from my side to the beginners to prepare this dish.
I cooked echor diye cholar dal for the first time after getting married. At that time, I was in London. My husband is a great fan of raw jackfruit. One day, he bought a raw green jackfruit from the market and I had no clue what to do with the fleshy fruit. That was a Saturday and I was supposed to cook no onion no garlic recipe. I called my Mom and she suggested I prepare the echor diye cholar dal recipe. I got all the instructions over the phone. My husband could not stop himself to devour it and appreciated my cooking.
Echor diye cholar dal with step-by-step photos and instructions have been provided in the ‘Instructions’ section. But before directly jumping into the recipe, let me share a few interesting facts about the recipe and the key ingredient jackfruit.
Benefits of raw Jackfruit
- It’s low in calories and can be a great companion for weight loss.
- It helps to control the blood sugar level of our body by improving insulin sensitivity.
- It contains soluble fibre which helps to control the cholesterol level of our body.
- It is a great source of protein for vegetarians.
- It contains Vitamin C which helps to boost our immunity system.
- It is a good source of Calcium which makes our bones stronger.
Tips to prepare perfect echor diye cholar dal
- During the time of cutting jackfruit, it releases sticky white liquid which makes it difficult to cut. To overcome this problem, always apply oil on your palm, chopping board and the blade of the knife. This would prevent the liquid to stick to them.
- Cook the cholar dal till al dente, not mushy.
- Always use mustard oil to cook echor recipe for better flavour and taste.
- Use Bengali garam masala rather than regular garam masala for better flavour.
- The recipe is slightly sweet in taste. Add a little bit of sugar to it.
How to make echor diye cholar dal?
To prepare the echor diye cholar dal, first I cut and cleaned the jackfruit and then made medium pieces of it. While you cut the jackfruit, it releases sticky white liquid which may make your job tough. To overcome this problem, always apply oil on your palm, chopping board and blade of the knife. This would prevent the liquid to stick to them.
You can even use frozen or canned jackfruit to reduce your effort if it is available in your place.
Transfer the jackfruit pieces to a pressure cooker. Then add salt, turmeric powder and water into the cooker and give a stir. Close the lid and cook it for 1-2 whistles. But don’t overcook it or else the texture of the dal recipe gets mushy. Strain the water and keep the jackfruit pieces aside.
On the other hand, wash the cholar dal thoroughly with water until the water gets clear. Then soak it for 1 hour. After 1 hour, strain the water and wash the dal one more time. Transfer the dal to a cooker. Add water, salt and give a stir. Close the lid of the cooker and put it over medium flame. Cook it till 2 whistles and allow the pressure to release on its own. Cook the dal till al dente not mushy.
Put a pan on flame and allow it to become completely dry. Then add mustard oil to the pan and wait until the oil is hot. Generally, most of the traditional Bengali food is cooked in mustard oil. It gives an outstanding flavour to the dish.
Temper the whole spices – bay leaf, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon stick, cumin seeds and dry red chillies and let them crackle. The amalgamation of these whole spices with mustard seeds creates an epic flavour which is the secret of many Bengali recipes.
Then add the chopped tomatoes to the pan and give a stir. Cover the pan and cook it over low flame for 2 minutes. Now, add the ginger paste to the pan and mix it well. Cook it over low flame for 3-4 minutes until the raw smell goes away and the tomatoes get mushy.
Add salt, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and mix it well. Cook it on low flame for a couple of minutes.
Add the cooked echor pieces into the pan and mix it well. Cover the pan and cook it over low flame for 8-10 minutes. Add green chillies, cumin powder and mix it well. Cook it over low flame for 2 more minutes.
Add the boiled cholar dal into the pan and mix it well. Turn the flame high and allow the dal to boil. Then turn the flame low and cook it for 5 minutes.
Add sugar, Bengali garam masala into the pan and mix it well. Then switch off the flame and add ghee to the pan. Stir it nicely and close the lid of the pan for 5 minutes. Now the echor diye cholar dal is ready to serve.
Many traditional Bengali Recipes have already been shared in my previous posts. You can check a few of them like
Chanar Dalna
Dhokar dalna
Aloo Posto
Doi Begun
..And Many more…
Ingredients:
1 cup = 250 ml
To pressure cook the raw Jackfruit pieces
- 250 grams raw Jackfruit (Echor), medium pieces
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric powder
- 1½ cups Water
To pressure cook the Cholar dal
- ½ cup Cholar dal aka Bengal gram
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1½ cups Water
Other ingredients for echor diye Cholar dal
- 1 large Tomato, deseeded and chopped
- 1 tablespoon Ginger paste
- 2-3 green Chillies
- ½ teaspoon Cumin seeds
- 2 Bay leaves
- 3 Cardamoms
- 3 Cloves
- 2 inches Cinnamon stick
- 1-2 dry red Chillies
- 1 teaspoon Chilli powder
- ¾ teaspoon Turmeric powder
- ¾ teaspoon Cumin powder
- ¾ teaspoon Bengali Garam masala powder
- 1 teaspoon Ghee
- 1 teaspoon Sugar (Optional)
- Salt to taste
- 1 tablespoon Mustard Oil for cooking
Instructions:
- First apply oil on the blade of the knife, chopping board and both the palms of your hands nicely before cutting the raw jackfruit. Then cut them into 4 pieces and peel off the skin of the jackfruit. Cut the jackfruits into medium pieces. Tip: Jackfruit contains latex, a sticky white liquid. Greasing the hand and knife helps to get rid of it and makes the cutting process easier.
- Take a large bowl filled with salted water to put the jackfruit chunks into it. It resists the jackfruit to get discoloured.
- Transfer the jackfruit pieces to a pressure cooker. Then add 1½ cups water, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon turmeric powder into the cooker and give a stir.
- Close the lid and cook it for 1-2 whistles.
- Strain the water and keep the jackfruit pieces aside.
- On the other hand, wash ½ cup cholar dal thoroughly with water until the water gets clear. Then soak it for 1 hour.
- After 1 hour, strain the water and wash the dal one more time.
- Transfer the dal into a cooker. Add 1½ cups water, ½ teaspoon salt and give a stir. Close the lid of the cooker and put it over medium flame. Cook it till 2 whistles and allow the pressure to release on its own. Cook the dal till al dente not mushy.
- Put a pan on flame and allow it to become completely dry. Then add 1 tablespoon mustard oil into the pan and wait until the oil is hot.
- Temper the whole spices – 2 bay leaf, 3 cloves, 3 cardamom, 2 inches cinnamon stick, ½ teaspoon cumin seeds and 1-2 dry red chillies and let them crackle.
- Add the chopped tomatoes to the pan and give stir. Cover the pan and cook it over low flame for 2 minutes.
- Add 1 tablespoon ginger paste into the pan and mix it well. Cook it over low flame for 3-4 minutes until the raw smell goes away and the tomatoes get mushy.
- Add salt, ¾ teaspoon turmeric powder, 1 teaspoon red chilli powder and mix it well. Cook it on low flame for a couple of minutes.
- Add the cooked echor pieces into the pan and mix it well. Cover the pan and cook it over low flame for 8-10 minutes.
- Add 2-3 green chillies, ¾ teaspoon cumin powder and mix it well. Cook it over low flame for 2 more minutes.
- Add the boiled cholar dal into the pan and mix it well. Turn the flame high and allow the dal to boil. Then turn the flame low and cook it for 5 minutes.
- Add 1 tablespoon sugar, ¾ teaspoon Bengali garam masala into the pan and mix it well.
- Switch off the flame and add 1 teaspoon of ghee to the pan. Stir it nicely and close the lid of the pan for 5 minutes.
- Now the echor diye cholar dal is ready to serve.
Serving Instruction
Transfer the Echor diye cholar dal into a serving bowl or on a serving plate. Serve hot or warm to enjoy the best taste. Relish the authentic Bengali recipe with plain rice or rotis and enjoy your meal.
Ingredients
1 cup = 250 ml
To pressure cook the raw Jackfruit pieces
- 250 grams raw Jackfruit (Echor), medium pieces
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric powder
- 1½ cups Water
To pressure cook the Cholar dal
- ½ cup Cholar dal aka Bengal gram
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1½ cups Water
Other ingredients for echor diye Cholar dal
- 1 large Tomato, deseeded and chopped
- 1 tablespoon Ginger paste
- 2-3 green Chillies
- ½ teaspoon Cumin seeds
- 2 Bay leaves
- 3 Cardamoms
- 3 Cloves
- 2 inches Cinnamon stick
- 1-2 dry red Chillies
- 1 teaspoon Chilli powder
- ¾ teaspoon Turmeric powder
- ¾ teaspoon Cumin powder
- ¾ teaspoon Bengali Garam masala powder
- 1 teaspoon Ghee
- 1 teaspoon Sugar (Optional)
- Salt to taste
- 1 tablespoon Mustard Oil for cooking
Instructions
- First apply oil on the blade of the knife, chopping board and both the palms of your hands nicely before cutting the raw jackfruit. Then cut them into 4 pieces and peel off the skin of the jackfruit. Cut the jackfruits into medium pieces. Tip: Jackfruit contains latex, a sticky white liquid. Greasing the hand and knife helps to get rid of it and makes the cutting process easier.
- Take a large bowl filled with salted water to put the jackfruit chunks into it. It resists the jackfruit to get discoloured.
- Transfer the jackfruit pieces to a pressure cooker. Then add 1½ cups water, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon turmeric powder into the cooker and give a stir.
- Close the lid and cook it for 1-2 whistles.
- Strain the water and keep the jackfruit pieces aside.
- On the other hand, wash ½ cup cholar dal thoroughly with water until the water gets clear. Then soak it for 1 hour.
- After 1 hour, strain the water and wash the dal one more time.
- Transfer the dal into a cooker. Add 1½ cups water, ½ teaspoon salt and give a stir. Close the lid of the cooker and put it over medium flame. Cook it till 2 whistles and allow the pressure to release on its own. Cook the dal till al dente not mushy.
- Put a pan on flame and allow it to become completely dry. Then add 1 tablespoon mustard oil into the pan and wait until the oil is hot.
- Temper the whole spices – 2 bay leaf, 3 cloves, 3 cardamom, 2 inches cinnamon stick, ½ teaspoon cumin seeds and 1-2 dry red chillies and let them crackle.
- Add the chopped tomatoes to the pan and give stir. Cover the pan and cook it over low flame for 2 minutes.
- Add 1 tablespoon ginger paste into the pan and mix it well. Cook it over low flame for 3-4 minutes until the raw smell goes away and the tomatoes get mushy.
- Add salt, ¾ teaspoon turmeric powder, 1 teaspoon red chilli powder and mix it well. Cook it on low flame for a couple of minutes.
- Add the cooked echor pieces into the pan and mix it well. Cover the pan and cook it over low flame for 8-10 minutes.
- Add 2-3 green chillies, ¾ teaspoon cumin powder and mix it well. Cook it over low flame for 2 more minutes.
- Add the boiled cholar dal into the pan and mix it well. Turn the flame high and allow the dal to boil. Then turn the flame low and cook it for 5 minutes.
- Add 1 tablespoon sugar, ¾ teaspoon Bengali garam masala into the pan and mix it well.
- Switch off the flame and add 1 teaspoon of ghee to the pan. Stir it nicely and close the lid of the pan for 5 minutes.
- Now the echor diye cholar dal is ready to serve.
