A light, flavourful chana (paneer) recipe made with potatoes and peas that pairs well with luchis, pulao and steamed rice. This no onion, no garlic recipe is a gem in Bengali cuisine
My chanar dalna or Bengali paneer curry is a delicious no onion, no garlic paneer recipe that is cooked along with cubed potatoes and peas. In Bengali, paneer is called chana, and a light curry is called dalna. So, chanar dalna is essentially cottage cheese curry with potatoes. Likewise, you will find a lot of other vegetarian dalna in Bengali cuisine. For example, aloo potol r dalna, dhokar dalna etc. I have learnt the recipe of this niraamish chanar dalna from my thakurma (paternal grandmother). She is a wonderful cook and her soft, frail hands always spin magic with food. Though she doesn’t cook anymore, her instructions to me over the phone, were very crystal clear!
Since she’s blessed with a wonderful memory, she remembers all her tips and tricks vividly. Like most Bengali vegetarian recipes this one too is made without onion and garlic, hence niraamish. Also, my thakurma’s chanar dalna recipe is not very masala heavy. It is a light and a very flavourful curry that tastes good both with rice and breads. While luchis or Bengali style pooris with this dalna is a popular choice, I have paired mine with Bengali basanti pulao. We, at home, love the combination of the sweet pulao with a spicy curry. And this proved to be a heavenly pair!
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Homemade chana
To make the chanar dalna, I have made the chana/paneer at home. And then instead of cutting that in cubes, I have made dumplings of them and then used in the curry. This is how this Bengali paneer recipe is traditionally made – with the chana dumplings. While the step of curdling milk to make chana is an extra step here, it is absolutely worth the effort! Nothing beats the magical taste of melt-in-the-mouth, fresh chana in this recipe. I have elaborated the steps of making paneer at home in the recipe box below and you can also see how I’ve made it in this video. Nonetheless, if you are pressed for time or do not want to make your own chana, by all means use store bought paneer. The recipe won’t change and neither will the taste of your delicious paneer dalna. 🙂
Quick and easy recipe
The pre-prep for the chanar dalna is very little. With some paneer, potatoes, peas and basic Indian spices you can get cooking for this. What gives this light, aromatic curry a slight richness is the addition of yoghurt. While the tartness comes from tomatoes, the yoghurt gives it a body. A lot of recipes also add milk instead of yoghurt. Therefore, you could choose to use either of these. Traditionally, the chana or paneer cubes are lightly fried first and then added to the curry. And I have done that as well, however, could choose to not fry them at all and directly cook them in the curry itself.
Frying the paneer makes the curry richer and is well suited for serving on special occasions. This delicious paneer curry is an under 30 minute recipe. Moreover, it is a very popular dish that gets made on festive occasions in Bengali households, especially on days when non-vegetarian recipes aren’t made. So, if you love paneer and also are a fan of one pot recipes, then this one is for you. Do give it a try sometime and and let me know how you enjoyed it. I’d love hearing from you. You could reach out to me on Instagram and even leave your feedback in the comments section below.
Eat hearty!
Chanar dalna (Bengali paneer curry)
Equipment
- Shallow cooking pot with lid
Ingredients
To make chana (paneer)*
- 1 l whole/full fat milk
- 3-4 tbsp lemon/lime juice
To make the dalna (curry)
- 2 medium potatoes cut in 2 cm cubes
- 1 medium tomato pureed
- ¼ cup peas frozen
- 1 tbsp ginger freshly grated
- 2 tbsp yoghurt whisked
- 1 inch cinnamon stick
- 3 cloves
- 3 green cardomom
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 dry red chillis
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp turmeric powder
- ¼ tsp hing asafetida
- 1 tbsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
- 1 tbsp cumin seed powder
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1½ tsp garam masala
- 3 fresh green chillis slit (optional)
- 2 tbsp ghee clarified butter
- 3-4 tbsp mustard oil
- 1 tbsp sugar
- salt to taste
Instructions
To make the chana (paneer)
- Set a saucepan with the milk to boil, over medium flame. When it comes to a rolling boil, turn the heat off and add the lime/lemon juice. Keep stirring with a spatula, to that the juice is evenly mixed and the chana/paneer separates from the whey
- Drain this over a muslin cloth over a sieve. Wash the chana throughly with cold water to rid the acidity of the lime/lemon juice. Give the cloth a good squeeze, tie and set it aside for 30-40 minutes so that the remaining water can drain out. Check this video on how to make chana at home
- When done, remove the chana on a plate and gently knead it using your palm until smooth and lump free. Divide it into equal sized balls and keep it covered until needed
To make the dalna (curry)
- Heat the oil, over medium flame until it smokes, then reduce the flame slightly and add in the chana balls. Fry until they get a light brown color on them, drain and set aside
- Similarly, fry the potatoes with ½ tsp salt and ½ tsp turmeric until they get a light brown color on them. Drain from oil and set aside
- Temper the remaining oil with cumin seeds, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, bay leaves and dried red chilies. Once they turn aromatic, add the hing and ginger paste and mix in well
- Add in the turmeric powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and chilli powder along with 3-4 tbsp hot water. Mix well and cook over medium flame for 3-4 minutes
- Add the partially cooked potatoes, with ¼ cup hot water and mix in well. Cover and cook until the potatoes are almost cooked
- Now add the tomato puree and cook until the oil separates. When done, lower the flame to minimum and add in the yoghurt (one spoon at a time) - quickly mix it in and add ¼ cup hot water
- Increase the flame to a medium and let the curry come to a simmer. Stir in the salt, sugar, peas and chana/paneer dumplings
- Gently mix them in (and do a taste check), cover and cook for 5-7 minutes. Turn the flame off and add the chilies, garam masala and ghee. Swirl the pan around to gently mix. Keep covered for 5 minutes and then serve
- You can serve your delicious chanar dalna (Bengali paneer curry) with pooris, pulao and even steamed rice. Enjoy!
Notes
- *You can also make the recipe with store bought paneer. Cut them in cubes and follow the recipe from "To make the dalna (curry)." Just replace the chana balls with the paneer cubes
- You can replace yoghurt with the same amount of milk, if you like
- l - litre
- g - grams
- tsp - teaspoon
- cm - centimeter
- tbsp - tablespoon
