Chhena Tarkari
Odisha's homestyle cottage-cheese curry: lightly seared chhena cubes with potato and peas in a mustard-oil gravy scented with bay leaf and garam masala.
- Region
- Odisha
- Status
- Traditional; chhena seared rather than deep-fried
- Diet label
- Strictly vegetarian, egg-free
- Time
- Prep 15 min · Cook 30 min
- Serves
- 3
- Difficulty
- Easy–moderate
- Good for
- Weekend dinner
- Tags
- Good source · Soy-free · Whey-free · Gluten-free* · No added sugar
- Allergens
- Milk
Nutrition (estimated)
- Calories
- 490 kcal
- Protein
- 23 g
- Carbs
- 59 g
- Fat
- 17 g
- Fibre
- 7 g
Headline values are for the full plate.
| kcal | Protein | Carbs | Fat | Sat fat | Fibre | Total sugars | Protein per 100 kcal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chhena tarkari only (about 270 g) | 325 | 19 g | 23 g | 17 g | 8 g | 4 g | 12 g | 6.0 g |
| Dinner plate: tarkari, 40 g raw rice, salad | 490 | 23 g | 59 g | 17 g | 8 g | 7 g | 14 g | 5.0 g |
Good source (plate); the dish alone is High protein. Plate density is just under 5 g per 100 kcal before rounding. Values use IFCT paneer for the chhena; homemade chhena from toned milk is usually lower in fat. Values checked against IFCT 2017 on 14 Oct 2026.
Ingredients
- 250 g chhena pressed into a block (about 1.75 litres toned milk, curdled with lemon and pressed 1 hour), or full-fat paneer, in 2 cm cubes
- 100 g potato, in 2 cm cubes · 80 g green peas · 150 g tomato, puréed · 80 g onion, puréed · 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
- 12 g mustard oil · 1 bay leaf · 1 tsp cumin seeds · ½ tsp turmeric · 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder · 1 tsp cumin powder · ½ tsp garam masala · 5 g salt
- Plate: 120 g raw rice for 3 · 300 g salad
Method
- Heat mustard oil until it just smokes; lower the heat. Sear chhena cubes 1 minute per side until lightly golden. Remove.
- In the same oil, fry potato cubes 5 minutes until golden at the edges. Remove.
- Add bay leaf and cumin, then onion purée. Cook 6 minutes until light brown.
- Add ginger-garlic paste, tomato purée, turmeric, chilli and cumin powders; cook 5 minutes until oil separates.
- Add potato, peas, salt and 300 ml water. Simmer 10 minutes until the potato is tender.
- Add chhena; simmer 3 minutes. Finish with garam masala. Serve with rice and salad.
Protein optimisation
- Chhena supplies 15 g per serving; peas and potato 2.5 g.
- Lighter: homemade chhena from toned milk, drained but not deep-fried, typically has less fat than full-fat paneer (check by weight).
Variations, serving and storage
- Regional: Bengali chhanar dalna — add a pinch of sugar and a little ghee at the end.
- Substitution: firm tofu for chhena (adds soy; lower in fat).
- Storage: 2 days refrigerated.
- Food safety: homemade chhena keeps 2 days refrigerated; use promptly.
- Meal prep: make chhena the day before.
Nutrition values are estimates calculated from the Indian Food Composition Tables 2017 (ICMR-NIN) and typical product labels. They have not been laboratory-analysed and will vary with your ingredients, brands and cooking. Recipes are for healthy adults and are general information only, not a substitute for advice from a doctor or qualified dietitian. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, cooking for children, have food allergies, or live with kidney disease, diabetes or any other medical condition, please take professional advice about your diet. From the collection Protein-Rich India by Dr. Shantanu Deshpande · drshantanudeshpande.com