Plain (empty) Chalna and non vegetarian versions

 “April rains bring May flowers” . Yes, we have another set of wet season once again with unusual weather pattern for spring! I have never seen any shower or rain in month of April last 5 years! Yesterday evening, there was enough cold air which created a hail showers for few minutes! Seeing the patio dusting with those small round icy balls, me and my son had fun picking up few in hands, but they were melting quickly! Now, I got to wait and see what will happen to my vegetable plants!

We all have a weakness towards street foods. Till now, I never went to sit/ stand and eat in road side shop! The main reason, I never felt comfortable and the well knowing fact: unhealthy and non-hygienic put me off. Rarely, my brother brings a parcel of parota/chalna at home; I use to taste a little. If by miracle nothing happened we are saved from my mom, but most of the time we have stomach upset! So if you are landing to India after many years, eat with precaution all roadside food. At least, everyone should taste once in their lifetime! I have tried many chalnas, in my opinion veggie version doesn't exist in roadside, they will just serve plain if u ask chicken, a piece is added. My suggestion if you are pure vegetarian don't eat roadside parrota chalna! – this one is the simplest and taste excellent so far without any meat or veggie.The recipe is originated from a free magazine I get here.






Ingredients:


Onion: 1 minced
Tomato: 1 diced
Green chilli: 3
Ginger Garlic paste: 1 tsp
Cilantro: 1 tbsp minced
Mint: 1 tbsp- minced
Cardamon: 2- Cloves: 3-cinnamon stick: ½ inch: powder them
Red chilli powder: 1 tsp
Coriander powder: 2 tsp
Cumin powder: ½ tsp
Fennel seeds powder: ½  tsp
Turmeric: ¼ tsp
Salt: according ur taste

To make ground paste:

Coconut: ½ cup
Cashew: 12 to 15 whole cashews
Oil: 1 to 2 tsp


 Method

Heat a sauce pan with oil. Add the onion and fry until translucent. Add the ginger-garlic paste and cinnamon, card/cloves powder. Sauté them, add the diced tomato and cover the pot. The tomato should be cooked until the oil ooze out around the pan.  Add the cilantro and mint leaves.

Now add all the powders: chilli, coriander, cumin, and fennel.  Add a cup of water and the ground paste.

Adjust the salt and spice level if u want spicier.

Keep it in simmer and let it boil until the oil start float on top. U may adjust the thickness with water. It will be thicken quickly because of cashew.

Serve with parotas or chapatti or even with any biryani!



Add 1/2 lb chicken bone pieces with ginger garlic paste and proceed like above the method.




Comments

Unknown said…
Like the ingredients used for the masala, very aromatic.Gravy looks very delicious..
shankari said…
Looks great. We buy parotta & veggie version of chalna when we visit salna.
Gita Jaishankar said…
Wow you had hail in April..that's interesting. Parotta and chalna is my favorite combo too Cham...everything looks very tasty :)
ruchikacooks said…
Chalna looks delicious cham, esp the with the egg. I remember dabas and walking near them the aroma of all kormas/chanlas is tempting..
Padhu Sankar said…
WOw!! it looks so tempting! I will try your plain chalna version.
PJ said…
i know, the weather has been crazy this year! I didn't see the hail storm though, might be very local. this chalna seems like a great snack to enjoy when its poring outside. looks so tempting.
Bong Mom said…
Cham

I have never heard of chalna, the egg version will be a sure try.

I love certain road side food, like phuchka(panipuri) and egg roll that are famous in Cal. They don't taste the same in hygienic conditions :)
Vikis Kitchen said…
Enjoyed your anecdote (as usual) very much Cham. True words on non-veg chalna served as both in the stalls. Your veg and non veg versions are adorable. Thanks for mentioning me dear. I feel honored.
Manju said…
Ive seen this on the roadside -street food vendors selling this but never had as it has meat in it. Thanks for the veg version. Dying to try this out soon! The pics are making it even more tempting!
I have never had chalna..Looks delicious will surely try these dishes ...
very true about that roadside food.

I was looking for this chalna but nothing appeared to give that taste.This looks perfect and yippeee atlast I got it.
Fathima said…
rich 'n creamy gravy...
Kayal said…
This looks perfect and am a great fan of roadside Parotta.
Madhavi said…
Love this name CHALNA. Also very nice recipe love to have with eggs!!
Finla said…
That gravy just looks so so fingerlicking good. If it is just for me i would do the veg one, but for my carnivorous hubby and daughter i think i will do with chicken.
Meena said…
roadside food definitely is tempting...pics look tempting!
Priya Suresh said…
I love the roadside foods very much...Chalna looks super delicious,am drooling over the chicken chalna..Looks yummy..
SathyaSridhar said…
Heyy Cham,,hw r u ter,,,chalna looks super n delicious dear,,,well said about roadside stalls its true they do like that we shld be careful in hvng food outside... I like chalna n parota very much,,who says nooooooo to parota is it..
Unknown said…
ya..the street food does tastes awesome..have to be lucky though...loooks good..
notyet100 said…
platter looks so yum.,..
Unknown said…
I was looking for chalna recipe since I had parota in road side shops...sure to try this!
Raks said…
Even I have never tasted the road side foods so far,ifact,in childhood,we rarely eat out in restaurants too,never tasted chalna before,sounds great!
M D said…
This is a good recipe to share. I am sure it would help many amateurs in cooking! I would love to make this veg version for biryani. Looks delicious.
CurryLeaf said…
Here also it has started raining in the evenings while the days are hotter.
I have never tried chalna thgh I have seen several chicken chalna recipes.Thanks for the veggie version.I tght salna and chalna are same
Nandinis food said…
The chalna looks really delicious and tempting!
Padma said…
Egg chalna sound too good. Loved your plain chalna. Looks good perfect with parottas.
Laavanya said…
I've never tasted chalna being a vegetarian... and so excited to see this veggie version of it.
Namitha said…
Such a flavorful side dish..could imagine the aroma from mint n cilantro..
We had a wonderful rain shower yesterday night...It's so rare in CO too..reminded me a lot about the monsoon we have back home :D
Panchpakwan said…
Sounds delicous..thanks for sharing this veg veriation.
SS blogs here said…
Hey Cham.. I had never seen this dish before.. yours looks nice! Glad you can have your fill now! :)
indosungod said…
Delicious to say the least. The roadside chalna has its own taste and aroma the argument is since it is served hot and right off the stove nothing can go wrong, but we all know otherwise.

No roadside chalna can come close to this rich curry.
sonaramji said…
this is something i am looking for years. though i have tasted in small shops, the authentic, healthy version is missing all these long years. i am a die hard fan of this chalna. thanks for the wonderful recipe.
suvi said…
Oh Cham...what fun it must have been, that hail shower!

Never heard of chalna before, but sounds like a yum spicy and aromatic gravy. Must be great with eggs.
Veggie Belly said…
We get such rainy aprils, im so tired of it!

I love your boat shaped bowl!
Unknown said…
wow cham the chalna looks delicious....with parotta it's really mouthwatering!
S said…
THIS LOOKS SOOOOO GOOD...
Miri said…
Is this chalna like the Salan? I havent tasted it, but looks delicious!
Malar Gandhi said…
WOw, man that is a perfect combo' barotta and chalna, I liked ur egg chalna very much, tempting pictures da, wanna dive right into that, hehe.:):)
Soma said…
April showers do bring may flowers! we are having both the showers and flowers right now and its a treat.

The Chalna is something I have not made or heard of before. Sounds real aromatic.
Cham said…
Miri:Salan is different than salna.
sayantani said…
lve the way you combined the spices to make this gravy. very versatile and we could add any veg or non veg ingredient to it. looks lip smacking.
Parita said…
Looks very spicy and tasty!
Usha said…
Never heard of chalna, looks delicious and flavorful !
Pari Vasisht said…
I too collect hailstones with my son, but the large ones are dangerous..
I liked ur recipe of the Chalna and I love the road side food.Have enjoyed the chalana and parota in chennai.
Manasi said…
I have never heard of Chalna. I really liked the gravy base.
Street food always has a charm, don't u think?!
I will visit India after 4 yrs. and guess what?, I am looking fwd to eating the street food! hehehehe!
Sunitha said…
Awesome.. it is interesting to know chalna can be used in so many ways
Reena said…
I tried this recipe with some slight modifications - added potato to the salna- and it came out fantastic. Had it with Koth parota. Made an excellent combination. Thanks for sharing the recipe.