Chhanar Dalna (Paneer kofta )

The other day I was left with a litre or more of milk in the fridge. Since hubby was leaving for an official tour , I was in no mood of making a dessert of the milk. So i decided to make Chhanar dalna . Chhana in bengali means paneer, and dalna is a curry. These are small paneer balls in a thick gravy. My Ma makes it amazing.Now I thought of trying my hand at it.

So here goes my recipe:

Ingredients:

For Chhana:

Milk a litre or more

lemons/ lime juice

For the paneer balls :

Green chilies,salt, little of aata,a boiled potato, coriander, ginger

For the gravy:

Tomatoes, ginger, jeera powder or paste

Put the milk to boil in a sauce pan. Once the milk has boiled put the gas in simmer. Now start adding lime juice slowly and keep stirring. The paneer will seperate and float on top. Strain the water in a muslin cloth. You may hang the muslin cloth for an hour for the excess water to drain. Once the water has drained , take the paneer in a bowl. Add the boiled, peeled and mashed potato, salt to taste, finely chopped coriander, ginger and green chilies. Now add a little ( a teaspoon or so) aata, the aata is for the binding. I sprinkle a little water to make it softer. Heat oil for frying. Make small balls of the mixture. You can put a raisin inside the paneer balls if you like. Fry the balls (kofta) till golden brown. Drain the excess oil in a kitchen towel. Now for the gravy. I usually prefer gravy without onion and garlic. One can make a onion gravy as well. My version is: Heat 3 teaspoon oil in a kadhai. Add cumin seed and bay leaf. Now add chopped tomatoes, salt and little turmeric. Slit some green chilies and add. Lower the flame and let it simmer for 3-4 minutes with the lid closed. After 4 minutes open the lid and increase the flame, keep stirring. Add ginger paste and jeera paste(do not put water), garam masala, red chili powder. Keep stirring till it leaves oil. I usually add a little curd to my gravy at this point and a pinch of sugar..just to add color and enhance the taste. Stir it again for 2 mins or so. Now add water a cup. Let it simmer for 5-7 mins. Now add the koftas and turn off the flame. garnish with coriander. Believe me the paneer koftas will be so soft and delicious.