Dhuskaधुस्का
⏱ Prep 20m🍳 Cook 30m🍽 Serves 4🌿 Vegan
Video: Kabita's Kitchen (YouTube)
Dhuska is a thick, disc-shaped fritter from Jharkhand made from a fermented batter of rice and chana dal. It is a staple breakfast across the Chota Nagpur plateau, sold by street vendors alongside a spiced potato curry. The exterior crisps beautifully in hot oil while the inside stays soft and slightly sour from the overnight ferment.
📍 Make it in Plano
This recipe is the same everywhere — but where you buy the ingredients and eat the dish is local to you.
Finding Desi spots near Plano…
Ingredients
- ▪rice (medium grain)1 cup
- ▪chana dal (split Bengal gram)½ cup
- ▪green chili2
- ▪ginger1-inch piece
- ▪cumin seeds (jeera)½ tsp
- ▪saltto taste
- ▪oil for deep fryingas needed
- For the aloo sabzi
- ▪potatoes, boiled and cubed3 medium
- ▪mustard seeds½ tsp
- ▪turmeric powder¼ tsp
- ▪red chili powder1 tsp
- ▪coriander leaves, chopped2 tbsp
🌍 Cooking abroad? Substitutions
- Chana dal is widely available in South Asian grocery stores abroad as split Bengal gram. If you can only find canned chickpeas, drain and grind them, but the texture will differ from the traditional result.
- To skip the overnight ferment, add a small pinch of baking soda and a teaspoon of plain yogurt to the batter just before frying. The flavor will be milder but the result is still good.
- Mustard oil for the sabzi gives authentic Jharkhandi flavor; substitute with any neutral oil if unavailable, adding a few drops of sesame oil for extra depth.
Method
- 1Wash and soak the rice and chana dal separately in water for 5-6 hours, or overnight. Drain well.
- 2Grind the rice and chana dal together in a blender with green chili, ginger, cumin seeds, and just enough water to form a thick, coarse batter. The batter should be thicker than dosa batter.
- 3Add salt to the batter, cover, and leave to ferment at room temperature for 6-8 hours or overnight. A slightly sour smell indicates the batter is ready.
- 4Heat oil in a kadai or deep pan over medium heat. The oil is ready when a small drop of batter rises to the surface within a few seconds.
- 5Drop a ladleful of batter into the oil and shape it gently into a disc. Fry 2-3 at a time without crowding.
- 6Fry on medium heat for 3-4 minutes per side until the dhuska is deep golden and cooked through. Drain on paper towels.
- 7For the aloo sabzi: heat 1 tbsp oil, add mustard seeds and let them splutter, then add boiled potato cubes, turmeric, red chili powder, and salt. Stir and cook for 5 minutes. Finish with coriander leaves.
- 8Serve the dhuska hot alongside the aloo sabzi.
A Desi.Net original recipe · part of our Indian Cuisine library. Confirm details and adjust to taste.