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Showing posts with label oriya chenna dessert. Show all posts
Showing posts with label oriya chenna dessert. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Chenna Jhili ( Cheese balls in a light sugary syrup )

Along the much traveled road between Bhubaneshwar and Puri, lies a little discovered world of gastronomic delights. Small 'chalia' hotels dot this stretch and offer a wide variety of Odiya delicacies. One can eat to his/her heart's content without burning a hole in the pocket.

On our previous trip to Puri, we chanced upon one such foodie haven. We had halted by the 'Bata Mangala' temple to offer our regards to the deity. Hunger pangs were hitting us hard and we duly proceeded to one of the hotels after offering worship. The waiter ( if i can so call the urchin who was serving us ) was prompt to take the orders and the food was laid on our table in another five minutes. We had settled for 'Puri-buta dalma' and it turned out to be excellent. We could not
resist going for a second helping.

Once finished, we started looking around for dessert. This huge cauldron of 'Chenna Jhili' sitting next to the cashier was beckoning at us. Once started, we did not finish before wolfing down a dozen of these cuties among the three of us. With our appetites satiated, we proceeded towards our destination.

Anyone who has visited the Puri-Jagannath temple would always remember being over-whelmed by this huge sea of humanity that stalks this place throughout the year. It is one of the char-dhams, the four places that every Hindu is supposed to visit in his lifetime. Jostling the crowds and the ever rude ( or should i say obnoxious ) Pandas, we managed to get a darshan ( mind it...the queqes here operate in a round robin method...no standing and savoring the sight of the Lord being permitted ). For the uninformed, the Puri 'Pandas' are not to be mistaken for the Pandas, the latter being a friendly and lovable lot. The former are special priests who offer worship in the Jaganaath temple and are known to fleece people. Want to break a coconut, put in Rs'XX', want to get close to the lord, put in Rs'YY', and so on.

I was feeling a little low after my husband's run-in with one of these people. But once we hit the road, these thoughts were duly banished. Visiting the beaches is sacrosanct on a trip to Puri. The golden sands were as inviting as ever and we frolicked among the waves for a good two hours. With appetites all whetted up, we started off on the return journey. There were more delights to be discovered on the way back.















Here is the recipe for 'Chenna jhili':

Preparation Time - 20 mins

Ingredients- whole milk ( 1 litre ), maida ( 1 tsp ), powdered sugar ( 2 tsp ), sugar ( 1 3/4 cups ), cardamon (2 nos), oil/ghee for deep frying.

Cooking -

To prepare chenna - Bring milk to a boil. Add the sour curd and wait for a few minutes till the milk solids separate from whey. The whey should have a clear appearance at this point. If not add more curd and boil for another 5 mins.

Once all the solids separate, strain the chenna using a fine cloth or even a strainer with very fine mesh. Allow to stand for sometime till excess water is drained.

Around the same time, dissolve the sugar in 2 cups of water and bring to a boil on medium flame. Crush the cardamon and add to the vessel. We need a very light sugar syrup, so it takes about 7-8 minutes. Remove from flame just before it reaches a stringy consistency.















Take the chenna in a vessel/mixing bowl and add the maida and powdered sugar. Crumble and knead the chenna to remove lumps and it just comes together into a soft dough ( takes about 5-6 mins, do not overdo the kneading ). Pinch small lumps out of the dough and shape into balls. These balls can either be shallow fried or deep fried.

Heat sufficient oil/ghee in a wok. Put one ball into the wok and test if it holds together. If yes, add the remaining balls into the wok and fry them to a brown color on medium heat. (If it starts to crumble/break, add little more maida to the chenna dough and knead for another 2-3 mins.)

Once the balls are fried, put them into the vessel containing the hot sugar syrup. Allow to stand for an hour or so.































Serve with a garnish of chopped almonds or as it is.


Sunday, November 28, 2010

Chenna poda ( Cheesecake )


















Cooking time Required: 1 hour 20 minutes
Cost of Preparation: 80-90 rupees

Ingredients: Milk ( 2 ltr ), vinegar ( 2 tsp ), suji ( 1 tbs ), sugar ( 1 cup ), milk ( 1/2 cup ), baking powder ( 1/2 tsp ), cardamon ( 2-3 nos ), cashews/almonds ( 1/2 cup ), ghee ( 1 tsp).

Cooking: Boil the milk in a large vessel. When it is in full boil, add the vinegar. Allow the chenna to separate out . Switch off the burner and keep it covered for 2-3 mins.

Gently drain the water. Do not squeeze too hard to remove all the water.

Take a mixing bowl and mash chenna . Add suji, sugar , milk, baking powder and cardamon. Knead all the ingredients into a smooth dough/mixture.

Take a baking tray. Pour the ghee into it. Spread on the bottom and all sides using the fingers.Pour the dough and spread evenly.


















Pre-heat the oven to 160 degrees. Put in the baking tray and bake for 40-50 mins. Insert a knife to check if done. Else repeat for 5-10 mins.

Allow to cool and flip it over.


















Cut into medium sized slices and serve.

Note : To get a caramelized effect on the top, sprinkle 1-2 tablespoon of sugar on the baking tray after applying the ghee. Put into the oven for 5 mins and heat at 200degrees. Remove from oven and allow the sugar to cool slightly before adding the chenna mixture.

The suji proportion in this particular preparation is kept very less and the baking is done at a lower temperature to get a soft and velvety texture . For a more grainy texture ( as is commonly found in the shops ), add the chenna and suji in a 3:1 proportion by volume and bake the chenna poda at 180 degrees.

I read about the caramelization technique from this blog Any one can cook: Chennapoda (Cheese Cake from Orissa). But one can also use powdered jaggery/molasses for the caramelizing effect. The latter gives a much more 'desi' flavor.

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Khira/Chenna Payas


















Khira or panner kheer is among one of the Mahaprasad's of Lord Jagannath. Thickened milk and chenna come togather in this glorious recipe to create magic on the tastebuds !!


Cooking Time Required: 40-50 min


Ingredients:

  • 1.5 liter Milk
  • 1/2 cup milkmaid/condensed milk
  • 1 tsp ghee
  • 7-8 nos cashews
  • 1 tsp lemon juice ( 1 tsp )
  • 1-2 green cardamon
  • few strands of saffron
  • sugar to taste


Preparation: Boil 1/2 litre of milk in a pan. When it comes to full boil, add the lemon juice. Boil for another 4-5 minutes so that the chenna ( solid portion of the milk) clearly separates from the remaining liquid. Drain the liquid. Allow the chenna to cool. Squeeze out the remaining liquid from the chenna.

Heat a little ghee on a pan. Fry the cashews to a golden shade. Remove from pan and keep aside. Add some more ghee and the chenna. Stir fry the chenna till it turns to a golden brown. Keep aside.

Cooking: Heat a wok. Add the remaining milk and bring to a boil. Then add sugar and wait for 2-3 minutes till it dissolves. Add the fried chenna. Keep stirring at regular intervals till the mixture becomes thick ( rabdi like texture). Add the powdered cardamon, saffron strands, condensed milk and fried cashews. Mix well and remove from the fire after few minutes.

Store it in the fridge and serve chilled. (While it can also be had warm, it tastes much better if allowed to stand for 1-2 days. )

















Tip: Instead of throwing away the liquid after making the chenna, one can also use it to knead dough for parathas along with a little bit of ghee. The parathas will turn out to be more tasty.

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