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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!
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Chhanar kalia is not a Bengali chhanar dalna.
Chhanar kalia is also not chhena tarkari from Odisha.
- Cuisine: Bengali
- Complexity: Medium
It is a more elaborate faux meat dish. And certainly more delicious.
Chhanar Kalia is basically spiced balls of curd cheese cooked in a rich, aromatic and spicy gravy. You may choose to give it other shapes as well – square, rectangular, oval, elliptical, etc.
During my research, I found this lost recipe from the Experience of Gastronomad blog where she has enlisted various Bengali signature recipes with a few that are Durga Puja specialties, including this one.
What Makes this Chhanar Kalia so Special?
This dish is rich. It does not have small balls of cottage cheese, but quite big ones.
These are nothing short of spiced-up meat balls without the meat in them.
The richness of the dish makes it fit for the feast. It has poppy seeds, cashews, raisins along with spices we use on a daily basis.
The final result is a delicious, meaty balls made from curd cheese along with a rich gravy that goes perfect with steaming hot rice.
Chhana Kalia Recipe
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
- Frying wok or kadai
- Mixer Grinder
- Chopping knife
- Bowls for preparation
Ingredients
For the Curd Cheese or Chhana(chhena) Balls
- 1/2 kg chhana (chhena) or curd cheese You can use paneer too
- 1 tbsp chickpea flour or sattu You can use cornflour instead
- 1 tsp red chilli paste
- 2 pieces green chilies, chopped finely
- 1 tbsp ghee
- salt to taste
- 2 tbsp oil for frying
For the gravy
- 3 pieces medium-sized onions
- 1 tbsp ginger
- 1 tbsp garlic
- 1 piece tomato puree
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tbsp red chili paste
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 2 tbsp poppy seeds soaked in water for 15 minutes
- 3 tbsp cashew nuts soaked in water for 15 minutes
- 2 tbsp raisins or kismis soaked in water for 15 minutes
- 1 tbsp mustard oil You may use any other oil of your choice
- 2 tbsp ghee
- 2 pieces green chilies sliced in halves
- 1 tbsp sugar
- salt to taste
- water
Whole Garam Masala for Tempering Chhanar Kalia
- 3 pieces whole cardamom pods
- 5-6 pieces peppercorns
- 3 pieces cloves
- 2 inch cinnamon stick
- 2 pieces bayleaf
Instructions
Make the Balls for Chhanar Kalia
- If you are using chhana/chhena to make this dish, ensure that there is no water in it. The chhana needs to be dry so that you are able to give it a shape and fry it in oil
- You can also use paneer instead of chhana/chhena. If you are using paneer, you need to crumble the paneer with your fingers
- Put in the chopped green chillies, corn flour or sattu, ghee, red chilli paste and salt in the chhana/chhena
- Mash properly with your palm. This process is very important and takes around 10 minutes.
- Once done, cover and allow to rest for 15 minutes
- Take part of the mixture in your hand, and using both of your palms make flat balls. Ensure that there are no visible cracks. If there are cracks, it might break when you fry
- Take a wok and once hot, put in the oil
- Once the oil starts smoking, reduce the flame to medium
- One by one carefully drop the chhana balls in the pan and allow to fry for till each side is golden brown
- Do this for all the chhana balls
Making the Kalia for Chhanar Kalia
- In a mixer, make a paste of cashew nuts and poppy seeds
- Make a paste of the onions in a mixer
- Using a mixer, make tomato puree
- Make a paste of ginger and garlic. Alternatively, you may use ginger-garlic paste from the market
- In a wok, take mustard oil and ghee
- Once hot, add all the items specified under whole garam masala and allow to cook till they release their aroma
- Add the onion paste and cook till the color changes to brown
- Add the ginger and garlic paste and cook until the raw flavor goes away
- Add in the tomato puree and cook till oil starts floating
- Add in the turmeric powder, cumin and coriander powder, red chili paste and cook for few minutes. If required, sprinkle water to avoid burning of the masala
- Add the poppy seed and cashew paste and cook until water starts floating
- Add water and allow to simmer
- Add salt and sugar and check the seasonings
Chhanar Kalia – Assembly
- Add the fried balls of chhana to the gravy
- Add in the raisins
- Allow to simmer for a couple of minutes on a low flame
- Put off the flame and allow to rest for a few minutes
- Carefully remove the chhana balls as they will have soaked the gravy and turned softer
- Serve hot with rice
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!
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