Bengali favourite - Chhenar Dalna or Cottage Cheese Curry

What do you think when you hear of Bengali food? Fish curry, mutton chops, mutton kosha, chicken rolls, prawn malai curry?

Well, then you are unaware of the vast treasure of lip-smacking vegetarian dishes in our cuisine.

Bengali vegetarian cuisine has a rich assortment of chorchoris, chhenchkis, dalnas, bhajas, labras, dolmas and curries. 

Chhenar Dalna or Cottage Cheese Curry is one of the traditional favourites of most Bengalis. It's light subtle taste, and easy-on-the-palate flavours make it a great choice for those days you want to have a simple vegetarian meal.

The niramish or pure veg Chhanar Dalna

The pure vegetarian Chhanar Dalna is sans onion and garlic. Earlier, widows had to eat such pure veg fare, and this curry was a welcome change to them from the insipid stuff they routinely had.

My mother, who was an expert cook, made a simple and tasty Chhanar Dalna, that I am sharing here:

Ingredients

Chhana or paneer : 200 gms. cut into medium sized square cubes. (I prefer Thacker's fresh paneer that almost tastes like homemade chhena)

Potato : 1 medium size, cut into small cubes

Ridged gourd or parwal or potol : 3, scraped and cut into roundrels

Ginger paste: 2 tablsespoons

Whole spices - Cardamom 2, cinnamon 1 small, 2-3 cloves

Jeera- 1 teaspoon

Mustard Oil for frying vegetables - 2 tablespoons

Vegetable Oil for curry - 1 tablespoon

Haldi, chilli, dhaniya and jeera powder - 1/2 teaspoon each

Salt to taste

Sugar - 2 teaspoons

Milk -2 tablespoons

For garnishing

Garam masala powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Ghee - 1 teaspoon 

How to Cook:

• Lightly saute the paneer cubes in a little oil or ghee in a pan.
• In a kadhai, heat mustard oil and fry the potato and parwal pieces. Remove on a plate.
• Add vegetable oil to the mustard oil. Add whole cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, and jeera after reducing the flame of the stove. 
• When these start spluttering, add the ginger paste mixed with haldi, chilli, dhaniya and jeera powders. 
• Add sugar and salt, and mix well. Add a little water from time to time. Keep sauteeing on low flame till the raw smell of ginger goes away. 
• When the aroma is pleasant, add the fried vegetable pieces and one cup water. Cover the kadhai and cook on low flame for five-seven minutes
• Check if the vegetables are soft, then add the paneer or chhena cubes.
• Stir and keep on low flame for a minute. Add a little water if the gravy is too thick. It's a slightly runny gravy. 
• Add the milk in the end on low flame. It gives a nice rounded taste to the gravy. Simmer for a minute or two.
• Switch off the flame, and add ghee and garam masala powder.

Note: This being a ghoti or West Bengali recipe, there is the use of sugar and milk to balance the taste of ginger. And it isn't hot at all. The taste is very mild.

Enjoy good, homely Chhanar Dalna with rice or ruti/porota!

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