CHANAR KALIA

Chanar Kalia - a signature Bengali dish in smooth milky gravy. This cashew nut flavoured delicious curry made with fresh cottage cheese, i.e. chana. Chanar Kalia is an authentic Bengali delicacy, mostly prepared in any ocassion or even at home as a vegetarian dish. We used to take paneer gravy as a veg dish rather than Chanar dalna or kalia, as paneer is easily available in the market and chanar kofta takes a little more time to make. But it tastes really awesome. Here is the recipe for Chanar Kalia. A must try recipe -

Ingredients

• Chana (cottage cheese) - 250 gms
• All purpose flour (maida) - 100 gms
• Ginger paste - 1 tsp
• Green chilli paste - 1 tsp
• Yogurt, whisked - 1/2 cup
• Poppy seeds paste - 1 and 1/2 tsp
• Cashew nut and raisin paste - 2 tsp
• Milk - 1 cup
• Cumin seeds - 1/3 tsp
• Bay leaf - 1
• Dry red chilli - 1
• Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
• Kashmiri red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
• Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp
• Ghee - as required
• Salt - to taste
• Sugar - to taste
• Oil - as required

Method

In a mixing bowl, take the chana, maida, 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder, salt and sugar. Mix well. Make equal size koftas from these.

In a pan, heat oil for deep fry. Put the flame in medium. Add the koftas and fry till they turn to golden brown. Take it out on the kitchen towel and keep aside. 

Now, heat 2 tsp ghee in a pan. Add the cumin seeds, bay leaf and dry red chilli. It starts to crackle within a sec or two. Add ginger paste and fry till the raw smell goes off. Now add the green chilli paste and yogurt. Stir well. Add turmeric powder, garam masala powder, salt, sugar and kashmiri red chilli powder. Cook it till the masala leaves oil. Now add the cashew nut-raisin paste and poppy seeds paste. Give it a nice stir. Add a little warm water and milk. Bring it to boil. Add the fried chana koftas to it. Do not cover the lid. Cook it for 2 mins. Serve hot with pulao or parathas.