Serves: 6
Kolkata loves it’s sweets- from cham chams to roshogullas. Here’s one such traditional Bengali sweet- Chanar Sondesh. Chanar Sondesh/ Chenna Sandesh is made from curdled milk solids (popularly referred to paneer or cottage cheese).
This recipe is fairly simple but you have to make sure that you pass the paneer/chana/chenna through the muslin cloth once the milk solid and whey (liquid portion) completely separates, and also make sure when you transfer the kneaded chana to the heated pan, you do not cook it over 5 minutes or over medium/ high flame, or else the chana will become too dry and start to crumble. Apart from those two things, it is really simple and you can make different variations of it. Try it out and enjoy the soft, sweet chana melt in your mouth with every bite.
INGREDIENTS:
1. 1 litre Milk
2. 2 tbsp lime juice
3. 1 cup powdered sugar
4. ½ tsp Cardamom Powder
5. Chopped Pistachios or assorted nuts or dollops of jam
METHOD:
1. In a saucepan, boil the milk. Add the lime juice. Once it starts to curdle, strain it with a muslin cloth- this is the chana/chenna/paneer. (Do not take out the mater completely since a little moisture is desired)
2. Now add the sugar with the chenna and knewad it.
3. Transfer the mixture onto a pan, on low heat.
4. Add cardamom powder and stir continuously for about 5 minutes. Make sure the mixture remains moist.
5. Now take it off the pan and transfer it onto a plate and let it cool down (but do not let it cool completely).
6. While it is still hot, shape it as desired.
7. Garnish with Pistachios or assorted nuts or dollops of jam.
TIPS: If the mixture turns too dry and crumbles while adding cardamom powder and stirring in the pan, add required amount of milk to get back the moisture. For all the calorie conscious people who wants to celebrate with Sondesh, simply use Sugar Free!
Recipe by: Adishri Guha