Paneer'er Dalna
Chunks of paneer(cottage cheese) in a spicy, comforting sauce
- Cooking time45 minutes
Calories307kcal
Paneer is a late entrant to the Bengali food scene; Bengal is more fond of chhana (chena). This paneer'er dalna is infused with the flavours of ginger, cumin, garam masala and ghee. Fresh cubes of homemade paneer are shallow-fried and then added to the curry and cooked until they are soft and juicy. This recipe also uses capsicum, which imparts a lovely peppery aroma to the dish. Perfect with rice and dal, or with a light vegetable polao or luchi.
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Serves
6 servings
- 400 g paneer
- 150 g potatoes
- 30 g peas
- 40 g capsicum
- 15 g mustard oil
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- 3 pcs cardamom
- 1 pc cinnamon
- 3 pcs cloves
- 2 pcs dried red chillies
- 3 pcs bay leaves
- 40 g ginger paste
- 4 g turmeric powder (plus ¼ tsp for marinating)
- 2 g kashmiri red chilli powder
- 4 g cumin powder
- 100 g water
- 50 g yoghurt
- 11 g salt (plus ¼ tsp for marinating)
- 16 g sugar
- 4 pcs green chillies (slit)
- 250 g hot water
- 6 g ghee
- ¼ tsp gorom moshla
- vegetable oil for frying paneer
Method
- Cut paneer into 3-cm cubes. Divide potatoes into 3-cm cubes, and capsicum into 2-cm squares. Slit the green chillies. Beat yoghurt until lump-free.
- Smear the paneer cubes with a pinch of salt and turmeric powder.
- Heat a pan very well and add vegetable oil (enough to fry the paneer). Allow the oil to heat completely before adding the paneer. Fry the cubes in a single layer for about 30 seconds on each side. Set aside when done.
- Heat mustard oil in a kadai. Temper with dried red chillies, bay leaves, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, and cumin seeds.
- Add potatoes. Cover and fry until they are golden (4 minutes).
- In a small bowl, mix ginger paste, turmeric powder, cumin powder, and Kashmiri red chilli powder with water. Add the spice slurry to the pan, and cover and cook it for about 6 minutes.
- Add salt. Then add capsicum. Mix, cover and cook for 3 minutes.
- Add slit green chillies and beaten yoghurt. Cook uncovered on medium heat for 2 minutes.
- Add blanched peas (if you are using raw peas, add them with the potatoes).
- Add sugar and hot water for the gravy. Wait for it to come to a boil.
- Add the fried paneer cubes. Bubble on medium heat until the curry thickens (around 6 minutes).
- Finish with gorom moshla, ghee, and a slit green chilli.
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