Chhanar dalna is a Bengali curry of soft, freshly made chhena pieces and potatoes in a light gravy of ginger, tomato and cumin. It’s niramish (no onion or garlic), and it’s lighter than most paneer curries.
Ingredients
- Chhena from 1 litre full-fat milk (as in Siddhi’s rasgulla), hung for 30 minutes
- 1 tbsp maida, a pinch of sugar and salt for the chhena
- 2 medium potatoes, cubed
- 3 tbsp mustard oil or ghee, plus 1 tsp ghee to finish
- 1 bay leaf, 1 tsp cumin seeds and 1 dry red chilli
- 1 tbsp ginger paste
- 2 tomatoes, pureed
- 1/2 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder, 1 tsp cumin powder and 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp sugar, salt to taste, 1 1/2 cups water and 1/2 tsp garam masala
Instructions
- Shape the chhena. Knead the chhena with the maida, sugar and salt until smooth. Shape into 12 small flat squares or balls.
- Fry. Shallow fry the chhena pieces in the oil until light golden. Lift them out, then fry the potatoes until golden and lift them out too.
- Temper. In the same oil, add the bay leaf, cumin and dry chilli, then the ginger paste.
- Make the gravy. Add the tomato puree, spice powders, sugar and salt and cook until the oil separates.
- Simmer. Add the potatoes and water, cover and cook until the potatoes are tender. Add the chhena and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes only.
- Finish. Stir in the garam masala and ghee. Serve with rice or luchi.
Siddhi’s Tips
- Add the chhena only at the end. Long simmering makes it break or turn rubbery.
- Squeeze excess water out of the chhena before kneading, or it falls apart when fried.
- Store-bought paneer cubes work in a hurry, but fresh chhena is softer.
Learn to make the chhena in Siddhi’s rasgulla recipe, and serve this with luchi. More curries are in the recipe index.
Prep time: 45 minutes · Cook time: 30 minutes · Serves: 4