Salna Recipe (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.
Servings: 4 people
Ingredients
For The Coconut Paste
- ½ cup chopped fresh coconut
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds (saunf)
- 1 inch piece of cinnamon stick (dalchini)
- 2-3 cloves (laung)
- 2-3 whole green cardamoms (hari elaichi)
- 1 teaspoon white poppy seeds skip if not available
- 8-10 cashew nuts
- 1 green chili chopped
For The Curry
- 3 tablespoons oil
- 2 whole bay leaves (tejpatta)
- 1 inch piece of cinnamon stick (dalchini)
- 2-3 cloves (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 ¼ teaspoon salt divided
- 2 teaspoons ginger garlic paste
- ½ cup sliced tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 2 teaspoons garam masala powder
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro (fresh coriander leaves)
Instructions
Make The Coconut Paste
- Add coconut, fennel seeds, cinnamon, cloves, green cardamoms, poppy seeds, cashew nuts, and green chili to a blender.
- Add ¼ cup of water and blend to make a fine paste.
Make The Curry
In A Pressure Cooker
- Heat oil in a pressure cooker over medium-high heat.
- Once the oil is hot, add bay leaves, cinnamon, cloves, black peppercorns, and star anise, and let them crackle for 4-5 seconds.
- Add curry leaves, onions, and green chili.
- Add ¼ teaspoon salt and cook until the onions are slightly browned (4-6 minutes), stirring frequently.
- Add ginger garlic paste and cook for 2 minutes.
- Now add tomatoes and cook for 2-3 minutes. Stir frequently while cooking.
- Add coriander powder, chili powder, turmeric powder, and garam masala powder, and cook for another minute.
- Now add the ground paste you made earlier, along with 2 cups of water. Add 1 teaspoon salt and stir well.
- Close the lid of the cooker and pressure cook for 2 whistles on medium-high heat.
- Remove the cooker from heat, let the pressure release naturally, and then open the lid.
- Check for salt and add more if needed.
- Garnish with cilantro and serve hot.
In An Instant Pot
- To make salna in an instant pot, press SAUTE mode and follow the steps until the lid of the cooker is closed.
- Now press CANCEL and then press PRESSURE COOK.
- Set the timer to 4 minutes at high pressure.
- Once the timer goes off, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes. Release the remaining pressure manually and open the lid.
Video
Notes
I made this salna recipe in my 3-quart instant pot (or a 3-liter stovetop pressure cooker). If you want to scale it, use a 6-quart instant pot (or a 5-liter pressure cooker). The cooking time will remain the same.
Nutrition
Calories: 186kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Sodium: 91mg | Potassium: 217mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 411IU | Vitamin C: 60mg | Calcium: 57mg | Iron: 1mg
