What is Chanar Sondesh / Chenar Sondesh?
Chena or Chana (as we call it in Bengali) is fresh, unripened cheese. You will prepare it by curdling milk with something acidic, like lemon juice or white vinegar. It is used widely in India to prepare different varieties of sweets. Chanar Sondesh is a variety of individual sized sweet fudge prepared with fresh Chena or Chana in different shapes and form. It’s very popular on Kolkata. You can also sweeten the sondesh with white sugar, but try to see if you can find this variety of jaggery because it’s unlike any you used before. I used date palm jaggery and so you can call it nolen gurer (or patali gur) sondesh too Date palm jaggery not only gives a robust earthy aromatic flavor but also gives that gorgeous rich dark amber color.
What ingredients will you to need to prepare the Chanar Sondesh?
Fresh Chhena/Chhana – Make it at home, as all it needs is whole milk and lemon juice/vinegar. Khoya/Khowa/Mawa – My Mom always made khoya at home, but it’s way too much work. The process is extremely tedious where you simmer whole milk for hours, by stirring occasionally, until it reduces and thickens enough to form dough. I use store bought, and it’s easily available in any Indian or Middle Eastern stores. Check in frozen aisle. You can also look for solid milk. Date Palm Jaggery – Date Palm Jaggery (Nolen Gur or Patali Gur) is a special variety of jaggery. You can find it mainly in Kolkata. In the US, it is occasionally available in Indian stored or Bangladeshi stores. The jaggery has a full-bodied perfume aroma and gives the dark amber shade. You can definitely use brown sugar instead or plain white sugar, you could use date syrup too if you like. The taste will differ based on the sweeter you use.
Try these Bengali sweets
Khejur Gurer Payesh Mishti Doi Dudh Puli Patishapta
Steps to prepare
1- In a heavy bottom pour the milk and bring it to boil. Make sure to stir occasionally, so it doesn’t get burnt at the bottom of the pan. Once done, switch off the heat. 2- Pour the ice cubes and the mixture of vinegar with water. The milk will curdle, and you should see small granules instead of big chunks. 3- Strain the curdle milk using a nut bag or muslin cloth. And leave aside for exactly 30 minutes. 4- After 30 minutes, add the chena to a plate and knead it with gentle pressure to smoothen the texture of the small granules. It will come into a smooth, soft dough. keep aside once done. 5- To a heavy bottom pan add the grated khoya and grated jaggery. And place it at medium low heat. 6- As it cooks, both the khoya and jaggery will slowly melt and turn into runny texture. 7- Add the soft chena and keep stirring until it turns to thicken. 8 - The texture should be soft, and you will know it’s ready when you can roll the mixture in a tiny ball, and it shouldn’t feel sticky. It should feel soft but hold shape. 9- Spread the mixture on a plate to cool it down just a little bit. You cannot cool it down completely, as you need to shape while the sondesh is still warm. 10- To shape the sondesh, you can either just roll it into a ball or shape it into squares. Or use the authentic sondesh mold. If you are using an authentic sondesh mold, rub a little ghee on it and press a small portion of the mixture. Flatten the top and smoothen the edges to make it look neat, then gently remove the sondesh. The sondesh will feel fragile and soft and in couple hours, it will become dry and will hold the shape comfortably. The texture of the sondesh should be fudgy and soft but still hold shape.
How to store Sondesh
Once the sondesh cools down and holds shape, store it in an airtight glass container and keep it in the fridge. It will stay fresh for few weeks.
