About The Author
Hello! From Chuchura (in Hooghly District) and a foodie, I created this blog with a mission to preserve the food of the land; with a message to encourage and promote clean and real food. I hope you enjoy and gain out of this blog, happy reading!
Looking forward to read and hear your feedback.
I came across this Chhanar Devil recipe during my research on lost recipes of India for this blog.
In one of my previous blog posts, I have shared with you the recipe of Chhanar Kalia. When I did so, I had mentioned that it is not Chhanar Dalna.
What this Chhanar Devil recipe does is take Chhana or Chhena (curd cheese) to a different level.
More About Chhanar Devil
This is a no-onion, no-garlic recipe that has balls made of chhana or curd cheese stuffed with spiced-up Bengal Gram dal. These balls are then fried and cooked in a curry that contains no onion or garlic.
You need to follow the steps below to cook the Chhanar Devil –
- Soaking and grinding the dal
- Mashing the chhana/chhena/curd cheese
- Preparing disc shapes with chhana and stuffing the dal in it to give it a shape of a ball – the outer layer will be of chhana, the inner stuffing is of dal
- Frying the balls
- Cooking the gravy and dropping in the fried balls to soak up the gravy
Traditionally, this dish was served to high-profile guests who did not consume meat. During the pre-independence era, the British officers would keep the high and mighty of the society in good humor. These influential Indians would mostly be from the Brahmin background who did not consume meat.
A lot of mock-meat recipes were borne then. This is one of those faux-meat or mock-meat recipes that have lost into oblivion, thanks to our fast-paced lifestyle.
The Chhanar Devil lost out because it requires hardwork. When I prepared this for 5-6 people, it took me more than 3 hours from preparation to cleaning up. The result was extremely satisfying as the guests loved it!
You can decide on the consistency of the gravy. It can be a thick gravy, or you can prepare it light. Traditionally speaking, the gravy is of thicker consistency. Not to forget, the balls soak up a lot of the delicious gravy.
Note
The equipment & ingredient quantity provided in this recipe is to assist you in cooking this dish. Feel free to experiment with your ingredients. Remember that we all have different set, size & shape of kitchen tools in our pantry.
Equipment
- Preparation Bowls
- Mixer Grinder
- Knife
- Wok or any cooking vessel to fry and cook the curry
- Spatula
- Serving Plates
Ingredients
For the Chhena Balls
- 500 gm chhana/chhena or paneer
- 2 pc green chilly
- 1/2 tbsp ghee
For the Dal Stuffing
- 125 gm chana dal or 1 cup chana dal
- 1 pc green chilly
- 2 tbsp ghee
- 1 tsp nigella seeds or kalonji or kalo jeera (in Bengali)
- 1 tsp asafoetida or hing
- 1/2 tsp ginger, finely chopped or paste
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- salt as per taste
For Frying the Balls
- Mustard oil or any other frying oil you are comfortable with
For the Curry
- 2 tbsp ghee
- 1/2 tbsp cumin seed
- 1 tsp hing
- 1 tbsp finely chopped ginger, or paste
- 1/2 tbsp turmeric powder
- 1 tbsp cumin powder
- 1/2 tbsp coriander powder
- 2 pc finely chopped green chilly
- 2 pc tomato
- 2 cup water
- 1 tbsp sugar
- salt as per taste
Instructions
Preparing the Dal Stuffing (25 minutes)
- Take split bengal pea gram or chana dal. Wash it properly and soak it for at least 3-4 hours
- In a mixer grinder, transfer the dal and make it into a fine paste
- Heat a wok and add ghee to it
- Add nigella seeds (kalonji/kalo jeera)
- Once the seeds starts sizzling, add in the hing, finely chopped ginger and green chillies
- Stir for a few seconds and add the dal
- On a medium flame, continuously stir and cook the dal till the raw flavor disappears and the color changes. This can take anywhere between 15-20 minutes
- Put off the flame, transfer to a bowl and allow to cool
- While this cools, move to the next step
Kneading the Chhena/Chhana and Preparing the Chhena/Chhana Devil Balls (1 hour)
- Knead the paneer/chhena/chhana for 10-15 minutes to ensure a smooth consistency
- Add the other ingredients mentioned under "For the Chhena Balls" like green chilly and ghee
- Knead for another couple of minutes
- Take a spoonful of this mix, and make it into a disc shape. Take some of the dal stuffing and put it into the disc-shaped chhena/chhana mix. Use your fingers to cover the dal with the chhana mix. Use your palms to form a round shaped ball. Keep aside
- Follow the above steps for the remaining chhena/chhana mix and dal stuffing
- Once you have all the chhana devil balls ready, proceed to the next step
Frying the Chhana Devil Balls (30 minutes)
- In a wok, heat enough oil to deep fry the balls
- Ensure that the heat/flame is set to medium
- Fry all the balls in batches
Preparing the Chhanar Devil Curry (30 minutes)
- In a wok, heat ghee
- Add the cumin seeds and once it splutters, add the hing and ginger
- Cook till the raw smell of the ginger goes away. Add turmeric powder, cumin and coriander powder
- Stir and cook till oil separates
- Add the finely chopped green chillies, finely chopped tomatoes and cook till oil separates
- Add water and once it comes to a boil, add the salt and sugar
- Check seasonings and adjust if necessary
- Add the chhena/chhana balls and allow to simmer for a 5-6 minutes
- Put off the flame. Allow to rest for another 5 minutes
- Serve hot
Notes
- You can consider paneer instead of chhana/chhena. For best results, consider home-made chhana/chhena/curd cheese
- Mash/knead the chhana/chhena/curd cheese properly till the grainy appearance goes away. It takes anywhere between 10-20 minutes
- Traditionally, split bengal gram dal is used. However, you can try with any other dal that gives a fine texture after grinding
- While making the balls, ensure that there are no cracks on the surface. The cracks can lead to the ball splitting into two while frying
- While this is a no-onion, no-garlic dish, you may use both for added flavors
- While preparing the gravy, remember that the balls will soak up a lot of gravy
Contribute Towards Lost Recipes
Do give it a try and share the outcome with me.
If you know of a lost recipe from India, write to me and together let’s bring lost dishes back to life.
Happy Eating!