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Showing posts with label chenna recipe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chenna recipe. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Lamcha

I am back from a family wedding and in dire need of a mental detox. Even before the celebrations were over, my 'Hum saath saath hain' types extended family was coming apart at the seams. Not to be content with bitching behind each others back, some of them were having a field day hurling accusations at each other. And that too in full public view or hearing ( with the latter having a more damning effect). If one was ever in doubt as to why those ladies steal all the screen time in those silly soaps, the drama unfolding before my very eyes was proof enough to show that the weaker sex calls the shots on the domestic front. When they are not fretting over someone else's saree or jewelry, these women focus their energies on jacking up their position in the pecking list of a favorably disposed relative.

I am lucky that none of them have the slightest inclination in reading my blogs or else I wont be here pouring out my heart to you folks. This is my first recipe after a break and I am sharing a sweet that is a childhood favorite of mine. Thought of sharing this on Holi but could not find the time as was busy in the arrangements of the wedding. Read on for the recipe -









Preparation Time - 40-50 mins

Ingredients -


  • 1 cup chenna (home made paneer)
  • 1/2 cup milk powder
  • 1 tbsp maida
  • 1 tbsp semolina
  • 2-3 pinch cardamom powder
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 11/2 cup water
  • Oil for deep frying

Preparation - Gather the chenna in a cheese cloth and tie it up. Allow to hang for 1 hour so that the excess water is drained off. Take it on a clean kitchen platform and mash it with the heel of your palm for 3-4 mins.

Add the milk powder, maida, semolina and cardamom powder to the chenna . Mix everything into a smooth dough. Knead this dough for another 5 mins. Keep aside for 10 mins.

Take the sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Allow to boil for 7-8 mins till the syrup reaches a medium consistency.

Heat the oil in a wok. Break small portions from the dough and shape each one into a smooth cylindrical shape. Ensure that there are no cracks.

Drop 3-4 pieces into the hot oil at a time and fry on a low temperature. Once they become brown uniformly, remove from the oil and place them in the sugar syrup. 

Bring the already hot sugar syrup to boil for 1 minute. Switch off the flame and allow the 'Lamchas' to soak for a minimum of 30 mins.

Serve warm.






Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Paneer Cutlets

Made some cutlets with the leftover paneer which i had bought for the special weekend biryani. These cute and easy to make cutlets turned out to be quite tasty and are low on calories too. Use a cookie cutter to make them into interesting shapes and even the kids will ask for more.

One can coat them with flour paste and breadcrumbs before frying for a crispier version but these ones are quite yummy by themselves. The fried ones would work well for parties and picnics.

Read on for the recipe -

















Preparation Time - 20 mins

Ingredients -

  • 1 1/2 cup paneer cubes
  • 1 cup boiled potato cubes
  • 1 large sized onion ( finely chopped)
  • 1/2 tsp grated ginger
  • 1/2 tsp grated/crushed garlic
  • 1/2 - 1 tsp red chilli powder
  • 1/2 tsp cumin powder
  • 1/2 tsp coriander powder
  • 1/4 tsp garam masala
  • 2 pinches of curry powder (optional)
  • a pinch of turmeric
  • 4-5 tsp oil
  • salt to taste
  • finely chopped coriander leaves

Preparation -  Lightly crumble the paneer with your fingers.

Mash the potatoes. Break any lumps but do not make it too smooth.


Cooking - Heat 2 tsp oil in a wok. Add the onions and fry till translucent.

Add the ginger and garlic and fry for 2-3 mins or till raw smell goes away.

Sprinkle all the powders except garam masala. Fry for 30 seconds.

Add the crumbled paneer and mashed potatoes. Mix and fry for 4-5 minutes on medium flame.

Sprinkle garam masala and coriander leaves.. Mix and switch off flame.

Allow to cool down to a tolerable temperature. Then pinch small balls out of the mix and fashion into heart shaped cutlets.

Heat a flat tawa/frying pan. Drizzle lightly with some oil. Put the cutlets on tawa and cook on both sides for few minutes each ( till you see a light browning ).

Remove and serve hot as snacks/starters or sides.


















Note - One can also use chenna instead of paneer to make these cutlets. I usually make some chenna quickly when i want to make these for my fussy son.

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Pahala Rasagola

After a lot of failed attempts, I finally recreated the 4 PM magic of Pahala at home. Ok , I was late by a whole hour but as those delectable rasgullas sat in my kitchen soaking up in the sugary syrup I was transported back to this nondescript village near Bhubaneshwar. While it is not the oldest variety of Rasgulla that originated in Orissa, it has certainly taken over the former by miles. The history of Pahala dates back to only about a few decades whereas the Puri Rasgulla has been there since the time Lord Jaganaath is said to have created it.

For the uninitiated, a pit stop at Pahala is considered mandatory when travelling on the Bhubaneshwar Cuttack highway (NH-5). And it is considered criminal to eat just one of the rust colored beauties. Read on to know more about them:























Preparation Time - 1 hour 30 minutes (putting it roughly)



Ingredients -


  • 1/2 liter whole milk ( Cow milk specifically, I used the Nandini Brand available in Bengaluru )
  • 1/2 tsp maida/suji/semolina/bombay rawa ( suji should be raw, DO NOT roast )
  • a pinch of powdered caramelized sugar
  • a pinch of cardamom powder
  • 1/4 tsp citric acid crystals / 2 tbsp vinegar
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 1/2 cups water


Preparation - Bring the milk to boil on a medium flame in a thick bottomed vessel. Once it gets to a rolling boil, keep on the flame for another 2-3 minute.

Dissolve the citric acid crystals in 1 cup of HOT water. Or the vinegar in a cup of normal water.

Remove from flame and keep aside for 4-5 minutes. Add the citric acid in one corner of the vessel till the milk shows signs of curdling. Using a spatula, mix the contents of the vessel thoroughly till the greenish water (whey) and milk solids (chenna) get completely separated. ( You might not need to add the entire cup of citric acid but use sufficient amount needed to split the milk )

Place a thin cloth on a metal strainer ( Do not use  plastic as the mixture is still very hot at this point ). Pour the contents of the vessel over it. Wash the chenna under running water for 2 minutes to remove all traces of citric acid. Bundle/gather the corners of the cloth and squeeze out all the water but do not squeeze too hard.

Hang it for 1 hour. Not less nor more. Too much moisture or too less of it can cause rasagulla to disintegrate.

Remove the cloth and place the chenna on your sanitized kitchen counter / chopping board. Start kneading it with the heel of your palms. Then gather the chenna into a ball and start kneading again. Do this for 10 minutes.

Sprinkle the suji and powdered caramelized sugar over the kitchen  sugary stuff can cause if consumed regularly ) and there will be quite a lot of oiliness/greasiness on your hands/counter. Work them into the dough. Knead till you can no longer feel the graininess of the suji. The dough will start looking like an orange peel by this time with a dimpled appearance ( reminded me of cellulite which such (and also on the kneading surface). Cover dough with moist cloth and keep aside.

Take the 2 1/2 cups of water in a pressure cooker and place it on a medium flame. Add sugar and cardamom powder, and dissolve it with a ladle. Allow it to come to a boil.

Back to the dough. Remove the cloth and knead it again for 3-4 minutes. Pinch small balls out of it and roll them into smooth looking balls between your palms. There should be no cracks as the water can seep in and disintegrate the balls. (The trick is to apply a little pressure at first when shaping into a ball, them roll it very gently. I got only 5 balls from the 1/2 liter milk that I used.)

Place the balls gently in the boiling water. Close the lid (but remove the weight/whistle first) and cook for 30 minutes ( first 5 minutes on a HIGH flame ). Resist the temptation to open the lid and keep checking on them every 5 mins.

Remove from flame and keep the pressure cooker aside for 5 minutes.

In the meantime boil about 2 cups of water in a saucepan. Remove the balls from the pressure cooker and put into the hot water for 5 minutes ( on medium flame ). Switch off flame.



Transfer the balls back into the sugar syrup and allow to stand for 15 minutes.

Serve immediately. (Pahala rasgullas are best enjoyed hot/warm)



Or keep it in the fridge for a few hours. The chilled ones are also delicious.

















Thursday, December 12, 2013

Chenna Matar (Odisha style Matar Paneer)

Green peas are very much in season. Yes, they are harvested in the winters and frozen for use throughout the year. Most of us who shop at supermarkets tend to miss out on these details and assume that most vegetables are harvested and hence available throughout the year. Here is a delicious curry prepared from fresh green peas. A variant of the Matar-Paneer that most people from North are really fond of, this one substitutes the Panner cubes with fried 'chenna balls'. However I am not naming it 'Chenna-Matar' instead of 'Matar-Chenna' as the Chenna turned out to be the star of this home production. The soft succulent 'melt in the mouth' balls floating in an light aromatic gravy interspersed with tender green peas make for an unforgettable gastronomic journey. Read on for the recipe:

















Preparation time - 50 mins

Ingredients - whole milk ( 1 litre ), sour curd ( 1/2 cup ), maida ( 1 tsp, heaped ), finely chopped onion ( 1 no., large ), shelled green peas ( 2 cups ), ginger garlic paste ( 1 1/2 tsp ), tomato puree ( 6 tbs ), whole spices ( 1 cardamon, 2 cloves, 2 inch long cinnamon stick, 1 bay leaf ), soy sauce ( few drops, optonal), sugar ( 1 tsp ), turmeric ( 1/2 tsp ), red chilli powder ( 1 tsp ), cumin powder ( 1 tsp), coriander powder ( 1 tsp ), salt to taste, sufficient oil for shallow/deep frying.

Preparation -

To prepare chenna - Bring milk to a boil. Add the sour curd and wait for a few minutes till the milk soilds separate from whey. The whey should have a clear apperance 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.

Take the chenna in a vessel/mixing bowl and add the maida. Crumble and knead the chenna to remove lumps and it just comes togather into a soft dough ( takes abt 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.

Cooking: Heat sufficient oil in a wok. Put one ball into the wok and test if it holds togather. 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, keep them aside and drain the excess oil from the wok.

Put the whole spices into the remaining oil in the wok and stir fry for 30 seconds. Add the chopped onion and saute on low flame till light brown ( abt 6-7 mins to allow the sugar in the onion to start caramelizing ). At this stage add the sugar and allow it to melt. Once the sugar melts, it gives a deep brown color to the onion. Sprinkle the soy sauce at this point.

Aded ginger garlic sauce and stir fry for 2-3 minutes till its raw smell goes away. Pour in the tomato puree and cook for another 2 minutes.

Add green peas and stir fry for 7-8 minutes.

Now add turmeric, chilli powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and salt. Roast the masalas for 1-2 mins.

Add about 2-3 cups of water and bring to boil. Allow water to reduce to 2/3rd.

Put in the fried chenna balls and simmer on medium flame for 2 minutes. Cover with lid and switch off the flame. Allow to stand for 5-10 minutes.

Serve Hot.









Sending this to Cooking With Green:



Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Potali Pitha

Potali Pitha is traditional prasad or offering at the Shri Baladev Ji Mandir in Kendrapara. If you are a nature lover of sorts, then you must be aware of this nondescript district of Odisha. It houses the famous Bhitarkanika National Park, home to the endangered Saltwater crocodiles and quite a few other species of animals. This region is also home to a lush and thriving mangrove population, which covers an area of 650 square kilometers on the delta formed by rivers Brahmani and Baitarini.

This was the first time I got a chance to savor this delicacy and i quite liked it. It has quite a familiar flavour ( sweet with notes of edible camphor) that most of our pithas ( especially ones made for prasadam ) have. More specifically, I would say it tastes like a cross between a sweet atta chakuli and a kakara. While I haven't tried making it at home, I got the recipe from one of the regular visitors to this temple ( the same person who got the Pithas for us ). Read on for the recipe ( Loved the original packaging very much...have clicked the picture in the same...a leaf basket ):

















For the pancakes (outer layer of the Pitha):
2 cups maida ( all purpose flour )
1 tsp ghee (warm)
a pinch of salt

For the stuffing:
1 cup chenna,
1 cup freshly grated coconut,
5-6 tsp sugar
1 pinch of camphor
2 green cardamon powdered
2 tsp ghee

2-3 tbs whole wheat flour
2-3 tbs molasses (this is a form of liquid jaggery)
More ghee for frying.

Preparation - Take the maida, salt and warm ghee in a mixing bowl. Add enough water to make a pancake batter. Mix carefully to remove lumps if any.

Mix all the ingredients for stuffing (except for ghee in another bowl). Keep aside.

Mix the whole wheat flour, molasses and a little water in a separate bowl. Keep aside.

Cooking - Heat a wok. Add 2 tsp ghee. Add the stuffing mixture and roast on medium flame for 2-3 minutes. Remove from flame and allow to cool down.

Heat a tawa or frying pan. Rub in a little ghee for greasing the surface.

Take a ladle of the maida batter and pour on the tawa. Roll the tawa or use the ladle to spread the batter evenly into a circle about 6 inches in diameter. Drizzle with more ghee.

Spread some of the stuffing on one half of circle. Fold the circle into half and apply gentle pressure to close the pitha ( Or one can use some of the batter as a glue ).Flip over and cook for another 1-2 minutes.

Remove from flame and allow to cool down a bit. Make more such stuffed pancakes with the remaining batter and stuffing.

Now dip each pancake/pitha in the wheat flour-molasses mixture and place on a heated tawa/frying pan. Drizzle and fry each side with more ghee to get a lovely deep brown color.





Sunday, August 18, 2013

Chenna paratha

This is a quick paratha recipe. I had some leftover chenna in the fridge after preparing a lip-smacking 'Chenna Tarkari' for lunch. So when dinner plans were dropped at the last moment due to an unusually heavy downpour, I decided to turn it into these delicious and wholesome parathas. And i have been hooked to them ever since. Unlike other stuffed paratha recipes, this does not require boiling, peeling, mincing, chopping or grating.















Preparation Time - 15 mins

Ingredients - Whole wheat flour ( 1 1/2 cups), chenna ( 2/3 cup ), onion ( 1 small, chopped ), coriander leaves ( 1 tbs, chopped ), cumin powder ( 1/5 tsp ), red chilli powder ( 1/5 tsp ), green chilli ( 1 no, finely chopped (optional)), salt to taste, oil/ghee ( 2 tsp ), warm ghee ( 1/2 tsp ).

Preparation - Take the flour in a plate. Rub in the warm ghee. Sprinkle salt. Make a small well at the centre and add water. Mix throughly and knead into a soft dough. Keep aside for 10 mins.

Take the chenna in a mixing bowl. Add the chopped onion, green chilli, cumin powder, red chilli powder, coriander and salt. Mix well.

















Make four balls out of the dough. Roll out the balls into rotis. Divide the chenna mixture into two portions. Spread over two of the rotis.

















Cover with the remaining two rotis. Seal the sides.

Cooking- Heat a tawa. Put one paratha and cook on one side for 1 minute. Flip and add oil/ghee. Cook till done.

Repeat for the other paratha.

Note - These parathas taste equally delicious without adding onions. On the day of Osa/Vrat I make them without the onions and just add a rock salt instead of normal salt.

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.


Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Chenna tarkari ( cottage cheese balls in a savoury gravy )

Travelling on a long stretch of road between Oltapur and Pahala on a late Sunday afternoon, our car is overtaken by an auto crammed with passengers inside and at least a dozen bundles of white cloth hanging outside. The watery fluid leaking from those bundles catches my attention and I throw a curious look at the husband. 'Freshly made chenna being transported to Pahala and Bhubaneshwar' comes the reply.

I had been in a dreamy state till now, capturing the sights of a setting Sun playing peekaboo among the trees, and lush fields swaying in the winds. Occasionally jolted out of my reverie by stray cattle blocking our way or scores of urchins asking for money ('chanda' as we call it in Odia) to build a temple/celebrate Durga Puja, the ride had been uneventful till that point.

In no time at all, we came across several autos, bicycles, rickety old mopeds (Luna/TVS), and even a swanky bike or two carrying these leaky bundles with the fluid leaving a trail on the dusty roads. In a few hours' time, the contents of these bundles would be processed and displayed as a mouth-watering array of sweets (chenna poda, chenna gaja, rasagulla, chenna jilapi, rasmalai, raj-bhog, etc ) on the shelves of a Ganguram/Atmaram/Capital sweets. Or maybe they will find their way into one of the many quaint-looking shops that dot Pahala and will be turned into the most melt-in-the-mouth type of Rasagola ever invented. One needs to visit these places in Orissa to experience the magic of making 'chenna' sweets.

More on the sweet stuff another time. Today I am sharing a savoury recipe made out of fresh home-made chenna. Chenna tarkari is the Odia cousin of the Paneer curry but with a unique texture and flavour of its own.

Update - The deep fried chenna balls are easily available in the sweet shops of Bhubaneswar these days.


















Preparation time - 40-50 mins

Ingredients - 

  • 1 litre whole milk 
  • 1/2 cup sour curd  
  • 2 heaped tsp maida
  • 1 large tomato pureed
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric
  • 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
  • salt to taste
  • oil for shallow/deep frying.

Spices 
  • 1 medium-sized onion(finely chopped) 
  • 1 1/2 tsp freshly made ginger garlic paste
  • 2 green cardamon
  • 2 cloves
  • 2 inch long cinnamon stick
  • 1-2 bay leaf 
  • 1/2 tsp cumin powder
  • 1/2 tsp coriander powder


Preparation -

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.

Take the chenna in a vessel/mixing bowl and add the maida. Crumble and knead the chenna to remove lumps and it just comes togather into a soft dough ( takes abt 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.

































Cooking: Heat sufficient oil 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 a little more maida to the chenna dough and knead for another 2-3 mins.)

Once the balls are fried, keep them aside and drain the excess oil from the wok.
















Put the whole spices into the remaining oil in the wok and stir fry for 30 seconds. Add the chopped onion and saute on low flame till light brown ( abt 6-7 mins to allow the sugar in the onion to start caramelizing ). At this stage add the sugar and allow it to melt. Once the sugar melts, it gives a deep brown color to the onion. Sprinkle the soy sauce at this point.

Add ginger garlic paste and stir fry for 2-3 minutes till its raw smell goes away. Pour in the tomato puree and cook for another 2 minutes.

Now add turmeric, chilli powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and salt. Roast the masalas for 1-2 mins.
















Add about 1 1/2 - 2 cups of water and bring to boil. Allow water to reduce to 2/3rd.
















Put in the fried chenna balls and simmer on medium flame for 2 minutes. Cover with lid and switch off the flame. Allow to stand for 5-10 minutes.































Notes- 

1. One can also use lemon juice/citric acid to prepare the chenna but using sour curd gives it a better flavour. Also the chenna turns out softer.

2. One can also make a paste out of all the ingredients mentioned under spices and add it at once instead of doing it in steps.

3. There is a no onion - no garlic version of this recipe which uses a different masala paste and some amount of milk for added creaminess. 

4. For making the 'no onion no garlic' masala paste - 

1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp fennel 
1 tbsp melon seeds
1 tbsp poppy seeds 
2 green cardamom
1 inch long cinnamon stick
1 inch long ginger
1 dry red chili 

Soak everything in warm water for 2 hours. Grind into a medium fine paste. 

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, November 27, 2010

Ras malai ( cheese balls soaked in milk )




















Cooking time Required: 40 minutes
Cost of Preparation: 50-60 rupees

Ingredients: milk ( 1 litre ), lemon ( 1 no , one can also use sour curd for curdling the milk ), maida ( flour , 1-2 tsp ), sugar ( 1/2 cup ), vanilla essence ( few drops ), nuts ( cashews/almonds) for garnishing.


Cooking: Boil half of the milk in a saucepan. Squeeze the lemon over the milk. Allow to boil till the chenna ( cheese/paneer ) separates from the water.

Allow to cool for 5 mins. Strain the water .

Transfer the chenna to a mixing bowl. Add maida .Mix and knead the mixture till it turns into a soft dough . There should be no grains felt when the chenna is rubbed in between the fingers. Make small balls/ medium sized flat circles out of it.




















Heat water and half of the sugar in a wok . Allow to boil. Put in the chenna balls/circles and add 5-6 drops of vanilla essence. Cover with a lid and boil for 10-12 mins.

The balls will rise to the top when they are cooked and again sink to the bottem once they absorb the sugar solution. Remove from the fire and allow to cool.






















Boil the remaining milk in a wok along with the sugar for 10-15 minutes. Allow to thicken slightly .

Allow to cool down. Remove the chenna balls from the sugar solution and add to the thickened milk.

Put into the refrigerator to chill. Garnish with chopped cashews/almonds and serve.






















Tip: One can also use cardamon/rose essence instead of vanilla essence for the flavouring.
Use full cream milk instead of skinned milk for softer and tastier chenna balls.

Ras malai consists of sugary, cream to yellow-colored balls (or flattened balls) of paneer soaked in malai (clotted cream) flavored with cardamom.It originated in what is now coastal Orissa (source Wiki).

In some places in orissa the small chenna balls soaked in thickened milk are also called 'Kheer sagar'.

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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