Niramish Chanar Kalia / Pure Vegetarian Bengali Cottage Cheese Kalia (No onion, No Garlic)

It’s a pity if you don’t get to enjoy chanar kalia with a fragrant bowl of pulao. The one that I posted earlier has onions and garlic in it, which is a complete no-no if you are observing a pure veg diet for an occasion. So...I tried to make that as well.

Well...without onion and garlic, the signature smell of kalia is not here, but to make up for that, I made the curry super rich and flavourful with ghee and garam masalas. Besides, when you simmer the curry for a long time, it develops a beautiful deep flavour, which is what I opted for and after all my effort, this pure veg chanar kalia is no lesser than it's not so veg cousins.

Niramish Chanar Kalia / Pure Vegetarian Bengali Cottage Cheese Kalia (No onion, No Garlic)

Serves 6

Ingredients:

1.5 litres of whole full fat cow milk

2 tbsp citric acid / lime juice

Some raisins

6 ripe large tomatoes

2 tsp grated ginger

1 tsp turmeric powder

2 tsp red chilli powder

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp garam masala powder

1 tsp pure desi ghee

4 tbsp oil

2 medium potatoes – peeled and cut into cubes

1 large cinnamon stick

3 green cardamoms

3 cloves

2 bay leaves

Salt

Method:

Pour the milk in a large pan and let it come to a boil.

Switch the flame to simmer and slowly pour in the citric acid / lime juice.

Slowly stir until the milk curdles.

Drain the curdled milk through a piece of cheesecloth and collect the cottage cheese.

Run some cold water through the cottage cheese to get rid of the smell of the lime.

Tie the cottage cheese tightly in that cheesecloth and hang it with the tap, and let it stay like that for an hour.

After an hour, untie the cheesecloth and collect the cottage cheese / chana in a bowl.

Sprinkle some salt and garam masala powder over the chana. Crumble the chana / cottage cheese and knead until the cottage cheese become smooth and takes the form of a lump. Make small round balls of the chana and push one or two raisins inside those balls.

Keep these balls aside.

Heat the oil in a kadai and shallow fry the potatoes until golden. Take them out of the pan and keep aside.

Fry the cheeseballs in small batches, in the same oil, until they become lightly golden. Keep them separately in a bowl.

Blend the tomatoes in a blender until nice and smooth.

Add the cinnamon stick, green cardamoms, cloves and bay leaves in the oil and sauté for half a minute.

Add the prepared tomato paste to it and add some salt to it.

Cook the tomatoes until the oil separates.

Add the grated ginger to it and cook for a minute more.

Add the turmeric powder, red chilli powder, cumin powder and coriander powder. Stir and cook the masalas for a minute and add 1 cup of water to them.

Add the fried potatoes.

Cover and cook on low to medium flame until the potatoes are soft and tender.

Add the fried balls of cottage cheese / chana to the curry.

Cover and cook until the oil separates.

Finish off with the ghee and the garam masala powder.

Serve hot with pulao or plain steamed rice or luchi or paratha.