Salna (Empty Parotta Chalna)
Salna (Empty Parotta Chalna) is a South Indian street-style curry made with onion and tomato as its base ingredients. This recipe is easy to make at home and requires only pantry staples.
- Prep time
- 10 min
- Cook time
- 30 min
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh coconut
- 1 tsp fennel seeds (saunf)
- 1 inch piece of cinnamon stick (dalchini)
- 2-3 clove (laung)
- 2-3 whole green cardamoms (hari elaichi)
- 1 tsp white poppy seeds (skip if not available)
- 8-10 cashew nuts
- 1 green chili (chopped)
- 3 tbsp oil
- 2 whole bay leaves (tejpatta)
- 1 inch piece of cinnamon stick (dalchini)
- 2-3 clove (laung)
- 2-3 whole black peppercorns (kali mirch)
- 1 whole star anise (chakr phool)
- 10-12 curry leaves
- 1 cup thinly sliced onions
- 1 green chili (slit into half)
- 1 and 1/4 teaspoon salt (divided)
- 2 tsp ginger garlic paste
- 1/2 cup sliced tomatoes
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp Kashmiri red chili powder
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 2 tsp garam masala powder
- 2 tbsp chopped cilantro (fresh coriander leaves)
Instructions
- 1
Add coconut, fennel seeds, cinnamon, cloves, green cardamoms, poppy seeds, cashew nuts, and green chili to a blender.
- 2
Add ¼ cup of water and blend to make a fine paste.
- 3
Heat oil in a pressure cooker over medium-high heat.
- 4
Once the oil is hot, add bay leaves, cinnamon, cloves, black peppercorns, and star anise, and let them crackle for 4-5 seconds.
- 5
Add curry leaves, onions, and green chili.
- 6
Add ¼ teaspoon salt and cook until the onions are slightly browned (4-6 minutes), stirring frequently.
- 7
Add ginger garlic paste and cook for 2 minutes.
- 8
Now add tomatoes and cook for 2-3 minutes. Stir frequently while cooking.
- 9
Add coriander powder, chili powder, turmeric powder, and garam masala powder, and cook for another minute.
- 10
Now add the ground paste you made earlier, along with 2 cups of water. Add 1 teaspoon salt and stir well.
- 11
Close the lid of the cooker and pressure cook for 2 whistles on medium-high heat.
- 12
Remove the cooker from heat, let the pressure release naturally, and then open the lid.
- 13
Check for salt and add more if needed.
- 14
Garnish with cilantro and serve hot.
- 15
To make salna in an instant pot, press SAUTE mode and follow the steps until the lid of the cooker is closed.
- 16
Now press CANCEL and then press PRESSURE COOK.
- 17
Set the timer to 4 minutes at high pressure.
- 18
Once the timer goes off, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes. Release the remaining pressure manually and open the lid.