Chanar Dalna, a classic Bengali side dish, features fresh chana (or chenna), which is similar to but distinct from paneer, along with potato pieces. It's typically made without onion or garlic.
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- Debjani's Note
- Chanar Dalna is not cooked with Kabuli Chana!
- Recipe Tips
- Chanar Dalna recipe from Debjanir Rannaghar!
- Recipe Card
- Related Recipes
- Pairing Bengali Chanar Dalna
- Have you tried the Niramish Chanar Dalna recipe from Debjanir Rannaghar!
- Here's the Bengali Chana-r Dalna recipe Pin for your Pinterest Board
Debjani's Note
Last Saturday evening, I was in the kitchen, making chana from milk to prepare Chanar Dalna for dinner. I was also enjoying my evening coffee with my landlady when the conversation took an interesting turn. During our chat, she casually remarked, "So, you're making paneer at home!" Since we both hail from eastern India, our languages share some commonalities. I jokingly replied, "Aunty, it's chana, not paneer, and I'm planning to make Chanar Dalna tonight!" She then asked, "What's the difference? Isn't 'chana' just the Bengali word for paneer?"
After another sip of coffee, she asked with genuine concern, "Don't you think you should focus on teaching Pasta more Hindi than Bengali, like I did with my own children when they were young?"
Since English is the primary language in most schools, I realized Pasta might face challenges. She knows her body parts and some words in both Hindi and Bengali, but I worry that she could get confused, especially since she lives in a Hindi-speaking state. Our conversation was cut short when Uncle came home and Aunty left.
Aunty's worry about Pasta mixing up Hindi and Bengali stuck with me. I finished making Chenna, carefully draining the water. After about thirty minutes, dinner was ready. I served Pasta one Radhaballabhi with a small bowl of Chanar Dalna.
I wrote this while living in Gurgaon.
Chanar Dalna is not cooked with Kabuli Chana!
Over dinner, I recounted the day's events to Mehebub, explaining how I couldn't bring myself to tell Pasta, "Eat Paneer," but instead suggested she have "Chaanar Dalna." My husband burst out laughing.
"Palak Paneer will always be Palak Paneer, never Palak Chana, and the same goes for Chanar Dalna!" he chuckled. "If a child can learn two languages at once without getting mixed up, a third shouldn't be a problem. I think it's great if she knows both a popular language and our native tongue. Let's at least try to teach her both, and then she can choose which to use and how. And this has nothing to do with the dish! Can I have some more Chanar Dalna?
That ended our discussion, and now I want to share my mother's recipe for Chaanar Dalna, a classic Bengali dish made with cottage cheese, known as Chana, Chaana, or Chenna, depending on your preference.
We often enjoyed a simple yet delicious gravy with freshly made chenna and potatoes every other Saturday for our special no-onion, no-garlic dinner. Even now, Mom makes Chanar Dalna as part of the offerings for Jagadhatri Puja."
Recipe Tips
When my mother makes Chanar Dalna, she always uses a paste of ginger and cumin - a trick the Rannar Thakur also uses when preparing the dish for our whole family during Jagadhatri Puja. Finding chana is easy in Kolkata shops, but here in Gurgaon, we always have to make it from scratch. I really prefer using homemade chana in this recipe, rather than store-bought paneer. Sometimes, to make the gravy extra rich, I stir in some coconut milk.
Chanar Dalna recipe from Debjanir Rannaghar!
Recipe Card
Chanar Dalna | Bengali Niramish Chaanar Dalna
Ingredients
For Making Chana:
- 1.5 Litre Full Cream Milk
- 3 tablespoon Lemon Juice or Vinegar I prefer to use Lemon Juice for curdling the milk
For making Chanar Dalna:
- 350 g Chana Prepared from 1.5 liters of milk
- 4 Potato
- 2 Tomatoes
- 1.5 tablespoon Ginger Paste
- ½ teaspoon Cumin Seed
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 2 Dried Red Chillies
- ½ teaspoon Cumin Powder
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- 1 teaspoon Red Chilli Powder
- ½ teaspoon Bengali Garam Masala Powder
- 1 teaspoon Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Salt or to taste
- 100 ml Refined Vegetable Oil to fry Chana; 2 tablespoon from it will be used in cooking
- ½ tablespoon Ghee
- 1 Cup Coconut Milk Optional
Instructions
Making of Chana
- First, pour milk into a large pot and bring it to a boil, watching for bubbles. Then, lower the heat.
- Next, slowly add lemon juice or vinegar to the milk, stirring gently to help it curdle. You'll see the milk separate into curds and whey in about 30 seconds.
- Turn off the heat, cover the pot, and let it sit for 5 minutes.
- Now, strain the mixture to remove the whey. Gather the curds in a clean muslin cloth and tie it securely.
- Place the cloth on a flat surface, like in the sink, and weigh it down to press out excess water for about 30 minutes.
- Finally, remove the weight and open the cloth. The Chana is ready! Cut it into small squares for making Chanar Dalna.
To make Chanar Dalna with freshly made Chana or Chenna
- Cut potatoes into medium cubes and roughly chop the tomatoes.
- Create a paste of ginger, then add cumin powder and mix it well.
- First, mix turmeric powder and red chili powder with a bit of water to form a paste.
- Next, heat oil in a pan. Once the oil is hot, fry the potato cubes until they are golden brown. Set the fried potatoes aside.
- Now, in the same oil, fry the chana cubes on all sides until they turn a bright brown color. Remove the fried chana from the oil.
- In the remaining oil, add bay leaves, dried red chili, and cumin seeds. Cook for about 30 seconds, then add the chopped tomatoes. Cook on low heat for 2-3 minutes, or until the raw tomato smell is gone.
- Add the ginger-cumin powder paste and the turmeric-red chili powder paste to the pan. Stir well and cook for about 2 minutes.
- Add sugar and salt to the mixture, along with 2 tablespoons of water. Cook until the oil starts to separate.
- Pour in 3 cups of water and coconut milk (if using), then add the fried potatoes and fried chana to the pan. Stir everything together.
- Cover the pan with a lid and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes.
- Mix everything well.
- Turn off the heat and let the curry sit for 5-7 minutes before serving.
Serving Suggestion
- Enjoy Chanar Dalna with rice or your favorite flatbread like roti, luchi, poori, kachori, or radhaballabhi.
Nutrition
Related Recipes
Pairing Bengali Chanar Dalna
Have you tried the Niramish Chanar Dalna recipe from Debjanir Rannaghar!
Please inform me of your experience, and feel free to send a photo to [email protected]. Additionally, you can find me on various social media platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Pinterest, Google News, X, and Thread. Don't forget to use the hashtag #debjanirrannaghar when sharing your attempts at my recipes or if you have any questions or recipe requests.
Here's the Bengali Chana-r Dalna recipe Pin for your Pinterest Board
About Debjani Chatterjee Alam
I am Debjani Chatterjee Alam. A CSR specialist by profession and a food writer, food blogger, and food photographer as well. I live in Kolkata along with my Husband Mehebub who is an architect by profession, my daughter Pasta, and also my dog daughters Coffee and Luchi.
Nayana says
It turned out very nice .. simple with less masala and tastes perfectly with pooris and phulkas. Thanks for sharing
Rachana says
It came out amazing. Loved the addition of the coconut milk in the recipe. Have never tried with it before....Simply outstanding! Thanks for the lovely recipe.
Debjani says
Thanks for letting me know. I am glad that you liked it.