Dhungar, the age-old smoking technique

Who does not like the smokey flavour of charcoal in their food — whether it is meat or vegetables, everyone likes the classic rusty flavour. You can smoke almost everything you like to eat. The simplest way to get smokey flavour is to grill your food on charcoal grill, which sometimes becomes cumbersome and can’t be practically done every day everywhere. Today I’ll tell you about a technique with which you can smoke almost everything you like real easily and quickly. This technique has been around for thousands of years and is called dhungar, wherein the food you want to be smoked is exposed to charcoal smoke produced along with herbs and ghee or butter in a closed container. To dhungar a food item, a live charcoal is taken in a steel bowl and ghee or butter is poured on it. When it starts to smoke, the bowl is placed along with the food in a closed container, or the cooking vessel is covered with a lid or aluminium foil. The smoke is thus trapped for about 10-15 minutes and permeates the dish. The flavour can also be enhanced by first sprinkling spices such as cloves or cardamom on live charcoal before pouring the ghee. Oil can’t be used as oil has a high smoking point and a burning charcoal in oil will produce less smoke. This age old method of smoking can be used both during and after the cooking process and can impart a wonderful smokey flavour. You can use this technique for daals, meat, rice, raita, breads and even salads and desserts you fancy smoking. You can accomplish all this without having to need to set up a BBQ grill or even buying the expensive smoke guns available in the market nowadays. Believe me when I say that the technique adds an entire new dimension to even the most simple of dishes. You can also serve the smoked dished with a lid on and remove the lid in front of your guests and delight them with your showmanship and cooking skills. I suggest you only smoke a small portion of your cooked dishes first to try out if it suits your taste buds. It’s important to choose the right charcoal for your dishes— use only natural lump charcoal, do not use any fast lighting processed charcoal as that contains added chemicals and might expose your food-to-be-smoked to dangerous fumes. I came to know about this smoking technique during my days in Udaipur, where this particular recipe was very popular among my guests. Paneer Laung Latta RecipeIngredientsCottage cheese 500gmGinger chopped 1 tbspGarlic chopped 1 tbspMint leaves 100 gmGaram masala ½ tspGreen chili 2 noKasoori methi ½ tspTomato 1 kgClove powder ¼ tspCurd 2 tbspHoney 1 tbspCream 2 tbspButter 50 gmCloves 3-4 noGhee 2 tbspFor coatingBesan ½ cupMaida ½ cupRed chili powder ¼ tspCoriander powder ½ tspCoriander leaves chopped 1 tbspSalt to taste    For deep fryingOil to fryFor smokingNatural charcoal 2 piecesMethodThinly slice the cottage cheese block length wise (approx 2” X 5”) and keep aside. Grind mint to a paste with some moisture and add some grated cottage cheese to it. Apply this paste on the cottage cheese and roll over the slice to make a roll. Secure this roll with cloves and keep aside. Prepare a smooth coating consistency batter by combining besan, maida, red chili powder, coriander powder, coriander leaves and salt.Dip each prepared roll in the besan batter and deep fry over medium heat till the batter is cooked and crispy, place on kitchen towel.To prepare the gravy, boil tomato with ginger, garlic, green chili with 2 tbsp oil till the tomato is cooked.Blend the tomato to a smooth consistency and heat oil in a separate heavy bottom pan and add the tomato puree, bring to boil. Simmer and add red chili powder; adjust the seasoning and cook for 12- 15 minutes.Finish with honey, kasoori methi and curd, remove from flame and keep aside. Heat charcoal and place in a steel bowl, add some cloves on top followed by ghee or butter on top.Place this in the prepared gravy and cover with lid or silver foil. Leave aside for 10-15 minutes till the smoke is infused into the gravy.Remove the charcoal bowl and serve with the cottage cheese roll with choice of breads.Note: If your cottage cheese breaks while rolling, then soak the sliced cheese in hot water for 10 minutes. This will make your cottage cheese more flexible and it won’t break while rolling.