No onion garlic curry – Batter Up With Sujata

Chhanar Dalna Or Paneer/Cottage Cheese Balls In Gravy

Chhanar dalna.
Bengali style no onion garlic curry with homemade chhena or cottage cheese balls.
This delicious and aromatic curry can be served as a side dish with pulao, jeera rice, luchi or puri, paratha, roti or any type of bread.
You can use grated store bought paneer but homemade soft chhena or paneer taste best. Get the method of making homemade paneer or cottage cheese here.

You may like some more paneer or cottage cheese recipe on this blog.
1. Dal corn paneer pakoda

2. Kathal paneer kofta curry

3. Schezwan paneer

4. Italian flavoured paneer bhurji

5. Paneer gajar halwa

6. Methi paneer kofta in palak gravy

7. Cottage cheese or paneer capsicum stir fry

8. Paneer kala chana kofta curry

9. Paneer stuffed parwal mithai

10. Mint paneer kofta

11. Aloo paneer

12. Chhena kheer or chhanar paesh

13. Shahi paneer

14. Hariyali paneer butter masala

15. Paneer or cottage cheese croquette

16. Soya paneer lollipop

17. Chhanar jilipi

18. Sandesh

And many more sweet dishes.

This week’s 217 #Foodiemonday bloghop theme is khali fridge or empty fridge suggested by very talented blogger Renu Agrawal dongre who blog at Cook with Renu. Visit her space for mouthwatering recipes from different cuisine. I have recently bookmarked her Whole Wheat Spinach Pizza Pinwheel to try.

Renu suggested that use your pantry ingredients like grains, rice , dals etc or what you cook when you run out of vegetables and fruits or you do not have tomato, onion etc. Okay when I don’t have tomato usually I use curd and whenever I don’t have any vegetables in my pantry I use the milk from my refrigerator and make fresh paneer or cottage cheese to make different types of curry or stir fry.
Today sharing Bengali style chhanar dalna or paneer balls in no onion garlic gravy. My mom usually made it on veg days. It can be made for offering or bhog prasad. You can also make it for party side dish.

Recipe

Paneer or cottage cheese – 1 cup heaped, crumbled

Ginger – 1 inch piece, grated

Green chilli – 1 finely chopped

Cumin powder – 1 teaspoon +1/2 teaspoon

Salt to taste

Sugar – 1/2 to 1 teaspoon or to taste

Turmeric powder – 1 teaspoon

Coriander powder – 1/2 teaspoon

Dry red chilli – 3

Green cardamom – 3

Cloves – 3

Cinnamon – 1 inch piece

Bay leaf – 2

Cumin seeds – 1/2 teaspoon

Hing or asafoetida – a pinch

Tomato – 2 medium, peeled and cubed

Curd – 3 tablespooon

Refined flour or maida – 1 tablespoon

Ghee or clarified butter – 1 teaspoon

Garam masala powder – 1/2 teaspoon

Oil – 3 – 4 tablespoon

Green chilli – 2 slit

Water – 2 cup + 4 tablespoon

Method

1. Soak red chilli in 4 tablespoon water for 30 minutes.

2. Mash paneer or cottage cheese well in a plate. I have used homemade fresh paneer. Get the recipe here.

3. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder, 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder, 1 finely chopped green chilli, 1/4 teaspoon grated ginger and 1 tablespoon refined flour or maida. Knead well to make smooth.

4. Make equal sized small balls. Press gently with your palm. Make all the balls and keep aside.

5. Grind remaining grated ginger, tomato, green cardamom, cinnamon and cloves. Skip tomato if you are using curd.Make a smooth paste. You can use crushed green cardamom, cinnamon and cloves in tempering but I like my gravy smooth so ground.

6. Blend dry red chilli with it’s water and keep aside. It will give a beautiful colour to the gravy. You can use kashmiri red chilli powder instead but I recommend to use it.

7. Heat oil in a pan. Fry the paneer or cottage cheese balls from both sides. And place on a paper towel.

8. Fry cubed potatoes till golden brown in the same oil and keep aside.
Add cumin seeds, hing or asafoetida and bay leaf in the oil.

9. When the cumin seeds starts to crackle add the ground paste, cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder and sugar. Also add well beaten curd if using.When it starts to dried up add blended dry red chilli. Saute till oil leaves the sides.

10. Now add fried potatoes and salt. Saute again for a minutes.
Add 2 cup water and slit green chilli. Cover the pan and cook till potatoes becomes soft.

11. Add fried paneer or cottage cheese balls. Cook uncovered for 2 minutes.

12. Add ghee or clarified butter and garam masala. Mix and remove from heat.

13. Garnish with chopped cilantro or coriander leaves. Serve hot with steamed rice or paratha, puri or any Indian bread.

Notes
1. You can add cashews, almond or melon seeds paste to make the gravy rich I didn’t.
2. Use red and green chilli according to your taste.

If you tried my recipe, you can share your food pictures with me in the social network sites by using the hashtag, #batterupwithsujata
I would love to see your creations.

I would love to hear from you. Please share your thoughts and suggestions in comment.
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Mocha Ghonto Or Banana Flower Dry Curry

Mocha ghonto or banana flower dry curry.

A very delicious and healthy dish. Banana flower called mocha in Bengali. This mocha ghonto is a traditional dish of Bengal. Generally served with hot steamed rice. This dry curry or ghonto made of banana flower, coconut, potatoes and some aromatic spices.

Its very common dish in Bengal. But we get good quality banana flowers rarely in our city. Thanks to my neighbour Nidhi for this delicious banana flower or mocha.

Traditional recipe is bit lengthy. I remember my mother and mother in law used to add cardamom, cinnamon and cloves paste at the end. And ground these with the help of grindstone or sil batta. Mother never used powder spices. All the spices ground separately with the help of grindstone. But these days we don’t have those grindstones. And no helping hands to grind all the spices separately. So here is a easy recipe to make this delicious mocha ghonto. But no cheating with aroma or taste. Taste is equally delicious.

Almost every part of the banana tree can be used in some way or the other. The flowers, fruit and stems can be eaten, the leaves can be used as plates and the bark can be used to make paper.

Known as banana hearts, banana flowers are loaded with fibre, protein, potassium, calcium, copper, phosphorus, iron, magnesium and Vitamin E. These pretty flowers can be eaten raw or cooked and added to salads, soups, stir-fries and herbal teas.

Source

Here is my cheat or easy recipe of mocha ghonto or banana flower dry curry.

Recipe

Banana flower – 1 small

Potato – 1 large

Grated coconut – 1/2 cup + to garnish

Oil – 2-3 tablespoon

Cumin seeds – 1/2 teaspoon

Green chilli – 1 – 2 slit

Dry red chilli – 1

Bay leaf – 1

Ginger – 1 inch piece

Green cardamom – 3

Cinnamon – 1 inch piece

Cloves – 3

Cumin powder – 1 teaspoon

Coriander powder – 1 teaspoon

Turmeric powder – 1/2 teaspoon + 1/4 teaspoon

Salt to taste

Sugar – 1 teaspoon or to taste

Ghee or clarified butter – 1 tablespoon

Method

First we have to prepare the banana flower. Its little time consuming.

Remove outer leaves of the banana blossom or flower.

Take out the florets from inside.

Open each floret and remove the long string with small head and a plastic like part from it. Both are not edible.

Clean all the florets like this. At the end when all the florets are removed, chop finely all the florets and remaining small inside part of the flower. Discard the stem of the inside part first then chop finely.

Soak the chopped florets in the water with salt and 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder overnight.

Next day boil the chopped florets in pressure cooker. Cook on high flame for 1 whistle then cook on simmer for 10 – 15 minutes.

Let it cool down. Drain the water and wash again in running tap water.

Squeeze all the water and keep aside.

Peel the potato and cut into small cube. Wash and drain the water.

Grind coconut, ginger, cardamom, cinnamon and cloves. Make a smooth paste.

Heat oil in a pan. Add the chopped potato. Fry till the potato becomes light brown.

Remove from oil.

In the same oil add bay leaf and cumin seeds and let the cumin seeds splutter.

Add dry red chilli and slit green chilli.

Add the chopped and boiled banana florets. Fry for 1 – 2 minutes.

Add fried potato and salt. Mix well. Add ground coconut, cardamom, cinnamon and cloves.

Add cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and sugar.

Saute till dried up completely.

Add water as require. It will be a dry curry.

When it starts to rolling boil cover and cook on simmer for 10 minutes. Check and stir in between.

Cook till the potato becomes tender and curry dried up.

Add ghee or clarified butter and remove from heat.

Garnish with grated coconut and green chilli.

Serve with hot steamed rice.

Note

Add chilli according to your taste. If you don’t like hot omit or decrease the amount of chilli.

I would love to hear from you. Please share your thoughts and suggestions in comment.

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Mirchi Vada/Fritter Curry

Mirchi vada curry.
Bought these chilies without any prior planning. Ended up in a delicious without onion garlic curry.

I have used large green chilies which are used in stuffed chilli pickle. You can use any large size chilli which are mild in taste. Not too hot. You can us Bhavnagari chilies too.

Recipe

Large size green chilli – 10-12

Potatoes – 2 -3 boiled and mashed

Tomato – 2 chopped

Ginger – 1/2 inch piece

Cardamom – 2

Cloves – 2-3

Cinnamon – a small stick

Cumin powder – 1 teaspoon

Coriander powder – 1 teaspoon

Kashmiri red chilli powder – 1 teaspoon

Salt to taste

Sugar – 1/2 teaspoon optional

Garam masala powder – 1/4 teaspoon

Oil – 1-2 tablespoon

For potato filling

Salt to taste

Cumin powder – 1/2 teaspoon

Garam masala powder – 1/4 teaspoon

Chaat masala powder or dry mango powder – 1 teaspoon

Green chilli – 1 finely chopped

Coriander leaves – 1 tablespoon chopped

For batter

Gram flour/ chickpea flour or besan – 1 cup

Coriander leaves – 1 teaspoon chopped

Salt to taste

Water to make thick batter

Asafetida/ hing – 1/4 teaspoon

Cumin powder – 1/2 teaspoon

Oil for deep fry

Method

Mix all the spices, chopped green chilli, coriander leaves and salt in mashed potatoes. Mix well and keep aside.

Take two chilies. Make long thin slices an keep aside.

Cut the remaining chilies lengthwise and make half. Scoop out the chilies.
Use a spoon to scoop.

Make a thick batter or paste of besan or gram flour , salt and spices with water.

Fill the chilies with potato mixture.
Heat oil in a pan.
Dip the chilies in the batter and drop in the hot oil.

Fry on medium flame till it becomes golden colour. Take it out and keep aside.

Grind the ginger, tomato, cardamom, cinnamon and cloves. Heat 1-2 tablespoon oil in a pan. I want to use less oil so used 1 tbsp.

Add the ground spices. Fry well then add all the spices, salt, sugar and thin slices of two chilies.

Saute till oil leaves the sides. Now add water as much you want the gravy. I made it little dry so added 1 cup water.

Stir well and let it boil. Now add the fried chilies and cook on simmer for 5-6 minutes or until you get desired consistency. And its ready. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Serve with roti/Indian bread, naan or paratha.
Or enjoy with toasted bread.