"Momma, can I have some Chana Bhapa? " Pasta asked the day before rather innocently!
"Why do you want to eat Bhapa Chana all of a sudden! Moreover, we don't have chana available. Not that I cannot make it at home" I replied while packing her tiffin and my lunch for the office.
"There's chana in the fridge mom! Dadu bought some last week when he was staying with Coffee and we were traveling!"
Now, this was news to me! Baba came last week and obviously there was mishti from Bhim Nag, however, I did not see the Chana! I then checked the fridge and found around 1 kg Chana. Needless to say, Pasta's innocent expression was not that innocent.
Whenever I go to my parent's place I pick fresh Chana (Cottage Cheese/ unprocessed paneer) from Bowbazar. Those who don't know, at the Bowbajar area in Kolkata, you can purchase fresh chana from the Chana Patti. I do use the fresh chana in different dishes including Chana Bhapa. In fact, this is one of the easiest dishes I cook with Chana. Pasta loves the dishes cooked with mustard paste and bhapa chana is no exception. Here I must mention, I often use the curdled milk to make chana at home and use the same to make this delicacy as well.
Our Pattaya Bangkok trip!
The last few days were quite hectic yet relaxing. We took a long-deserved vacation. In fact, our last long trip was back in 2016 which was in Kerala however, Mehebub was working outside India and only Pasta and I went with my family. Since then and after Mehebub's return we opted for only smaller trips. Going by the experience of the Kerala trip, I decided to plan for long trips only when Pasta is big enough to enjoy with us. I will for sure, share the experience of our Pattaya and Bangkok trip, however, this post is a recipe post. The content (& experience) I have gathered from the trip, it will take at least ten blog posts to cover those. So thought to share a Bengali easy recipe before posting those. In this post, I will be sharing the recipe of Bengali Chana Bhapa.
Chana Bhapa and how do I cook it!
What you need are fresh chana (or paneer), mustard paste, coconut paste, poppyseed paste, plain curd, green chillies, salt and also mustard oil to make the bhapa chana. The ingredients are simple and easily available as well. Bhapa stands for steamed. Chana bhapa is basically steamed Chana aka paneer. A few people prefer to use Paneer chunks to make it while I prefer using massed chana to make this. I mix all the ingredients and steam the same using a container. For sure the choice is yours whether to use paneer cubes or massed chana or crumbled paneer. In addition, you may add curd or you can skip it. I prefer the taste of it. Poppyseed aka Posto makes the dish richer and I like it that way. Mustard oil is a must and so is the mustard paste. These two give the needed pungency to the dish. I am explaining below the process of making it easily using different processes.
Chana Bhapa Vs. Chanar Paturi!
In the case of Paturi, you need a leaf to cover the Chana (in this case) and that follows the steaming. While we do make Bhapa in a container.
Here's how I make Chana Bhapa at Debjanir Rannaghar!
PrintRecipe Card
Chana Bhapa
- Total Time: 35 mins
- Yield: 4 People 1x
Description
Chana Bhapa is a Bengali delicacy cooked with Chana/ Paneer/ Cottage cheese where the chana is steamed with the spices
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- Chana/ Cottage Cheese/ Paneer: 250g
- Green Chilli: 5-6
- Cilantro/ Coriander leaves: a few
- Plain curd: 75g
- Yellow Mustard Seed: 1 Tbsp.
- Black Mustard Seed: 1 Tbsp.
- Coconut Paste: 2 Tbsp.
- Poppyseed Paste: 1 tbsp.
- Turmeric Powder: ¼ Tsp.
- Salt: to taste
- Mustard Oil: 3 Tbsp.
Instructions
- [url href="undefined"]
[/url] - Soak both the mustard seeds in water with a little salt for 15 minutes.
- Make a paste of the mustard seeds and then strain it to remove the husk.
- Discard the water/ moisture from the Chana.
- Mash it using a spoon or your fingers.
- Now add mustard paste, coconut paste, poppyseed paste, turmeric powder, salt, chopped coriander and also chopped green chilies to the chana.
- Add mustard oil as well.
- Mix everything to make a smooth mixture and transfer the mixture to a tiffin box/ container with a lid.
- In case using paneer cubes instead of massed chana or crumbled paneer coat the cubes in the mixture of the spices and transfer it to the container with a lid.
- Next part is to steam the chana or "Bhapano" which can be done in different ways which I am explaining below:
[/url]Making Chana Bhapa in a Pressure Cooker:
- Take the mixture in a metal container filled with a lid.
- Pour some water in the pressure cooker and place the box inside over a stand.
- Place the lid and put the weight and cook on medium flame till 2 whistles coming out from the cooker.
- Wait till the pressure drops and open the lid.
- Wait till the box can be touched and then open it.
Making Chana Bhapa in a deep bottom vessel:
- The process is the same as above.
- After placing the lid cook on low flame for 15 minutes.
Making Chana Bhapa in a Microwave oven:
- Take the mixture in an oven-safe container and microwave it on medium temperature for 20 minutes.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Category: Side Dish
- Cuisine: Bengali
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 75g
- Calories: 279
- Sugar: 3.8g
- Sodium: 885mg
- Fat: 23.4g
- Saturated Fat: 6.7g
- Carbohydrates: 7.6g
- Fiber: 0.9g
- Protein: 10.1g
- Cholesterol: 3mg
Recipe Card powered by
Bengali Vegetarian recipes from Debjanir Rannaghar!
- Shukto (Also known as Shuktoni)
- Begun Basanti (Also known as Bengali Begun Bashonti)
- Lau Shaker Chorchori (also known as Bengali Vegetarian Mishmash with Bottle Gourd Greens)
- Sheemer Jhal (also known as Bengali Shorshe Sheem or Broad Bean Curry with Mustard Paste)
- Sada Aloo Chorchori (Also known as Bengali Aloo chorchori
- Bori Aloor Jhal (also known as Bengali Bori’r Jhal)
- Labra (Also known as Bengali Labra Tarkari)
- Katoya Data Chorchori (Also known as Bengali Style Mix-veg with Drumsticks)
- Kochu Shak er Ghonto (Also known as Taro Leaf Mishmash)
- Palong Shaker Ghonto (Also known as Bengali Spinach mishmash)
Have you tried the Bengali Chana Bhapa recipe from Debjanir Rannaghar!
Do let me know how it came out. Also, I would love to see a picture of the same which you can share here on dolonchttrj@gmail.com. Meanwhile, on Instagram, you can use my hashtag #debjanirrannaghar and in addition, you can tag me at @foodofdebjani.
Here's the Bhapa Chana Recipe Pin for your Pinterest Board!
Leave a Reply