What is Chanar Payesh
Chana (in Bengali) or Chenna (in Hindi) is fresh cheese prepared by curdling milk. In Bengali cuisine, a lot of dessert is prepared using Chana/Chenna. Payesh is the Bengali term for North Indian Kheer. It is similar to creamy, rich milk based pudding. There are various different versions of Bengali payesh and I have already shared with you the most popular Bengali Payesh. You must try this Khejur Gurer Payesh So to break down the word, Chanar Payesh is fresh cheese milk pudding.
HERE IS THE RECIPE VIDEO
Ingredients you need for Chanar Payesh
The list of ingredient is small and very minimal. Whole Milk - If you use low fat milk, the taste and the texture of the dumpling might not be as creamy soft as shown here. For all these traditional Bengali desserts that call for milk, I always use whole milk. Lemon Juice or White Vinegar - You need Lemon Juice or White Vinegar to curdle the milk. If you are using vinegar, make sure to mix an equal amount of water to the vinegar to dilute it a little. Diluting the vinegar will create a soft texture of the curdle milk. Ice Cubes - Keep a few ice cubes ready. For the beautiful soft texture of the curdled milk, it is important to cool down the temperature of milk a tad bit before adding the vinegar or lemon juice. I always drop a little ice cubes once the milk comes to boil to drop the temperature. Bay Leaves and Green Cardamoms - We use Bay Leaves and Green Cardamoms to flavor the milk. Sugar - We use White granulated sugar to sweeten the flavored milk. If you use brown sugar, or jaggery then the color will change. Raisins and Almonds - Like most Indian pudding recipe, Chanar payesh too calls for raisins and almonds or cashew, but it’s definitely not a mandate, and you can avoid.
Key points to remember when making the cheese dumplings
The critical part of this dish is to get the perfectly soft, spongy texture of the cheese dumplings. Link to the NUT MILK BAG I used in the video
NOTES:
When you are kneading the Chana/Chenna if it feels too wet, that means you did squeeze all the water out properly. Put it back in the muslin cloth or bag and squeeze off all the excess water.If the chana feels too dry, then you left it hanging for too long. Don’t leave it hanging for more than 30 minutes.While shaping the dumplings, if you see cracks, then the chana was probably dry, or you might have kneaded it for too long.If you leave left over chanar payesh in the fridge, chances are the cheese dumplings will feel a little hard. Based on how hot the weather is, you could leave it at room temperature for a while before serving or just warm in the microwave to soften the dumplings once again.
Back in Kolkata, India, you can easily find Chanar Payesh in every other sweet shops. They serve this delightful dessert in a tiny earthen pot. Here in the US, I have not seen it anywhere, so I make at home and serve in tiny glass bowls! If you never tried this Bengali sweets, you absolutely must and while it may feel like too much work, it will feel worth all the effort at the first bite!
