Chhena Jhili

Wheat flour is worked into the curds before they are fried, which is what makes it hold its shape.

Vegetarian, but not vegan — contains dairy (chhena), dairy (ghee), dairy (whole milk).

Ingredients

• 500 g Chhena, as on its own page, well kneaded
• 80 g wheat flour
• 600 g sugar
• 500 ml water
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• ghee for deep frying

Method

1. WHEAT FLOUR IS WORKED INTO THE CURDS BEFORE THEY ARE FRIED, WHICH IS WHAT MAKES IT HOLD ITS SHAPE. Its article gives the whole composition in one line -- besides chhena and sugar, the other ingredients are wheat flour, cardamom and ghee -- and the flour is the item that separates this from its neighbours. Eighty grams to five hundred of curd is a real proportion, not a pinch for insurance, and it changes the thing: the pieces come out firm and slightly bready rather than melting, and they can be fried hard without slumping. Its article compares the preparation to gulab jamun, and the flour is why that comparison works.
2. IT IS FRIED IN GHEE, WHICH ITS ARTICLE NAMES. Not oil. Ghee browns the outside faster and at a lower temperature, and with this much flour in the dough that is wanted.
3. THE DOUGH IS KNEADED UNTIL IT STOPS STICKING TO THE HAND. Chhena and flour together, five minutes. If it still smears, give it another spoonful of flour -- a wet dough spreads in the fryer.
4. THE PIECES ARE SHAPED SMALL AND SLIGHTLY FLATTENED. Thumb-sized, pressed gently so they are not spheres. The flat faces brown first and give the colour the sweet is known by.
5. THE GHEE IS AT 150C AND NOT HOTTER. Six to seven minutes to a deep reddish brown. Flour browns long before the centre is cooked, so a high heat gives a dark shell over raw dough.
6. THEY REST FOR A MINUTE BEFORE THEY GO IN THE SYRUP. Straight from ghee into syrup makes the surface greasy and the syrup cloudy. Drain them on paper first.
7. THE SYRUP IS WARM AND THEY SOAK FOR AN HOUR. A one-thread syrup, cardamom stirred in off the heat, and an hour with the pieces turned once. They are denser than Chhena Jalebi, as on its own page, and want longer.
8. IT COMES FROM NIMAPADA AND IT IS A SYRUP SWEET, NOT A MILK ONE. Its article places it in Nimapada, in Puri district. Nothing in it is soaked in milk, which is what separates it from the two rabri sweets here.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under India · All recipes