Plain salna recipe, Hotel style empty salna recipe

Plain salna recipe a perfect hotel style salna made using onion tomato base, coconut and dry spices.

Plain salna recipe with step by step pictures and video. A hotel style plain salna perfect to pair up with parotta.

Mittu is a crazy lover of salna with chapathi but she is very choosy. In most hotels the spices are more and hence the masala flavour dominates in the gravy which she dislikes. So this gave me a chance to try the hotel style salna recipe, it took me several iterations to get the perfect taste and here I am with whis salna recipe.

About this plain salna recipe:

Salna is a sidedish made to pair up with parotta. Empty salna as the name suggests, it is plain or empty without any vegetables, meat, soya or anything of that sort. The base of the gravy has freshly ground spices along with coconut,onion and tomato. The speciality of this dish in hotels is the oil/fat that floats on top. I usually add less oil at the beginning and do a trick to make oil float on top.

Generally they add meat in some hotels to make salna flavourful adn remove the pieces later. This is done to make salna more flavourful and keep the salna at low rate. So we should be careful while ordering empty salna especially in non veg hotels.

I feel excited to see the oil float on top of salna which looks very tempting particularly in street side hotels. But I am always considerate about the hygiene so mostly stay away from it. This salna recipe is a bit lengthy process but I assure you to get the exact street side hotel taste, so do try and enjoy!

Variations to salna:

• You can add a variety of vegetables. If adding add it after onion tomato is sauted.
• Add cooked meat for a more flavourful gravy.
• If you want to you can skip cashews and replace it with almonds.
• You can skip poppy seeds if thats not available but the taste sure will vary accordingly.

Storage:

The shelf life in room temperature for the empty salna is only 1 day as coconut is added. But you can extend shelf life to another day if refrigerated. I wouldn’t suggest to store for more than 2 days even in fridge.

Serving:

• Empty salna is best when served with parotta. However you can paie it up with chapathi or wheat parotta too.
• You can make kothu chapathi or kothu parotta using this salna.

Other salna and kurma recipes :

• Vegetable salna
• Mutton salna
• Potato kurma
• Vegetable kurma
• Chana kurma

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Salna recipe

Salna recipe a perfect hotel style salna made using onion tomato base, coconut and dry spices. Salna is generally served with parotta.

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time45 mins

Total Time1 hr

Servings3

AuthorSharmilee J

1x2x3x

Ingredients

• 2 medium sized onion finely chopped
• 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
• 2 medium sized tomatoes roughly chopped
• 1 tsp red chilli pwoder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp garam masala powder
• coriander leaves to garnish
• salt to taste
• water as needed

To saute and grind:

• 5 nos small onion
• 1 no green chilli
• one 1 inch ginger
• 2 nos garlic
• 1/2 tsp poppy seeds
• 5 nos whoole cashews
• 1/4 tsp jeera
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 2 nos cardamom
• 2 nos nos cloves
• one 1 inch cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 tbsp fried gram dal
• 1/2 cup coconut

To temper:

• 1 tbsp gingelly oil
• 1 tsp stone flower
• 1 no star anise
• 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 no no green chilli
• 1 no bayleaf
• few curry leaves

For oil float:

• 1 tbsp gingelly oil
• 1 tsp kashmiri red chilli powder

Instructions

• To begin with : get ready with the spices and other ingredients to be grinded.
• Add all the ingredients listed above , dry roast it for 2 mins until nice aroma comes.
• Finally add fried gram dal, coconut give a quick saute and switch off. Cool down.
• After cooling, grind it along with little water.
• Grind it to a semi fine paste like this. Set aside.
• To a kadai : heat oil, temper the ingredients listed under 'to temper'. Let it splutter.
• Add onion, ginger garlic paste and required salt.
• Saute until golden.
• Add tomatoes saute well.
• Cook covered until mushy, also raw smell should not be there.
• Add all the spices powders namely red chilli powder,coriander powder, cumin powder and garam masala powders. Spices make plain salna more flavored.
• Give a quick saute, do not burn the spice powders.
• Add 1 cup water , mix well and let it boil for few mins.
• Add coconut paste along with mixer rinsed water and mix well.
• Make the gravy thin as we are going to boil it for sometime. Boil well.
• Boil until oil seperates like shown here. Finally garnish the plain salna with coriander leaves.
• Now the trick to get the exact hotel style look : Heat oil in a kadai - add kashmiri red chilli powder, mix well let it bubble for few seconds,Switch off. Do not cook for more time otherwise the spice mix will turn to darker shade.
• Add the oil mix to the gravy on top. Slightly mix it. Boil for 2 mins, close and keep.
• Look at the oil floating on top.
• And finally hotel style empty salna ready.
• Plain Salna ready. Serve with parotta or chapathi and enjoy!

Notes

• Make sure not to burn the spice powders, so once you add them just saute for few seconds and proceed to next step.
• The dry spices measure is very important to get a balanced flavourful salna so stick to the recipe.
• If you don't want much oil to float on top as served in hotels, then skip steps 17,18 and proceed accordingly.
• I love salna with parotta however chapathi is not a bad combo, you can pair it with it too.
• In addition you can add any vegetable or meat of your choice to this recipe.

Tried this recipe?Mention @sharmispassions or tag #sharmispassions

Salna recipe video

Tried this salna recipe? Do let me know how you liked it. Also tag us on Instagram @sharmispassions and hash tag it on #sharmispassions.

How to make salna recipe:

1.To begin with : get ready with the spices and other ingredients to be grinded.

2.Add all the ingredients listed above , dry roast it for 2 mins until nice aroma comes.

3. Finally add fried gram dal, coconut give a quick saute and switch off. Cool down.

4.After cooling, grind it along with little water.

5.Grind it to a semi fine paste like this. Set aside.

6.To a kadai : heat oil, temper the ingredients listed under ‘to temper’. Let it splutter.

7.Add onion, ginger garlic paste and required salt.

8.Saute until golden.

9.Add tomatoes saute well.

10. Cook covered until mushy, also raw smell should not be there.

11.Add all the spices powders namely red chilli powder,coriander powder, cumin powder and garam masala powders. Spices make plain salna more flavored.

12.Give a quick saute, do not burn the spice powders.

13.Add 1 cup water , mix well and let it boil for few mins.

14.Add coconut paste along with mixer rinsed water and mix well.15.Make the gravy thin as we are going to boil it for sometime. Boil well.

16.Boil until oil seperates like shown here. Finally garnish the plain salna with coriander leaves.

17.Now the trick to get the exact hotel style look : Heat oil in a kadai – add kashmiri red chilli powder, mix well let it bubble for few seconds,Switch off. Do not cook for more time otherwise the spice mix will turn to darker shade.

18.Add the oil mix to the gravy on top. Slightly mix it. Boil for 2 mins, close and keep.

19.Look at the oil floating on top.

20.And finally hotel style empty salna ready.

Plain Salna ready. Serve with parotta or chapathi and enjoy!

My tips while making plain salna :

• Make sure not to burn the spice powders, so once you add them just saute for few seconds and proceed to next step.
• The dry spices measure is very important to get a balanced flavourful salna so stick to the recipe.
• If you don’t want much oil to float on top as served in hotels, then skip steps 17,18 and proceed accordingly.
• I love salna with parotta however chapathi is not a bad combo, you can pair it with it too.
• In addition you can add any vegetable or meat of your choice to this recipe.