Chena Murki is a quick and easy Bengali sweet snack that you can serve at any festive season or friend gathering. It needs only 3 ingredients and gets ready in about 15 minutes.
Chena Murki is crystallized paneer and if prepared properly, then sugar-coated paneer will turn out soft at every bite. Often the store bought ones are just overly sweet and feels too hard to bite. It barely has any soft chena texture.
And so I prefer to make it at home.
Ingredients for Chena Murki
Paneer - Get good quality paneer block. Preferably, get malai paneer if you can find it available in your store. The texture of malai paneer is much softer as compared to the other variety.
Here is a recipe of Homemade Paneer
Sugar - You need granulated white sugar to prepare the sugar syrup.
Cardamom - Chena murki is flavored with a hint of cardamom powder.
These are the only 3 ingredients you need to make Chena Murki.
Chena murki is also a perfect bite-size confections, ideal to add in your edible gift box.
Steps to prepare
1- Slice the chena in mini bite size blocks.
2- Take a heavy bottom pan and add water plus sugar.
3- You want the sugar syrup to have 1 string consistency.
4- Add the cardamom powder and mix it around.
5-Add the chena cubes and toss it around to mix in the sugar syrup.
6-Continue cooking the syrup until you get it gets foamy and looks thicker. Reduced to almost ¼ of the quantity.
7- Take it off the heat and keep stirring for a few minutes for the sugar syrup to cook down and crystallize. It will coat the paneer bites evenly.
Some of the paneer cubes might get attached to one another, and you should separate those out while it is still warm.
How to store
Store chena murki only after it's cooled down completely. Then store it in an airtight container.
If the weather is hot and humid, you have to store in the refrigerator.
These are a great sweet snack to stock at home any time of the year. Tiny bite size that becomes perfect for sudden sweet craving.
FAQs
To make the best textured chena murki, you need to have a good quality malai paneer. The ones that will still retain some moisture. If you use fresh paneer made at home, then pat dry it before slicing and adding to the sugar syrup.
Store chena murki only after it cools down to room temperature. Store in an airtight jar. If the weather is humid and hot, then store in the refrigerator.
I will call it a sweet snack that you can munch when you have a sweet tooth craving.
More Bengali Sweets to try
Chena Murki
Ingredients
- 400 gram Paneer
- 1 and ½ cups Water
- 1 cup Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Cardamom powder
Instructions
- Slice the paneer block into mini bite size pieces.
- In a heavy bottom skillet, add the sugar and water and bring it to boil. Then let it simmer until it thickens a little and you get one string consistency.
- Add the cardamom powder and mix it around.
- Add the paneer cubes and toss it around to mix the paneer uniformly all around. Let it simmer and cook for 5 minutes, or until the syrup is reduced to ¼
- Take the skillet off the heat and keep mixing the paneer cubes for 5 minutes. The syrup will cool down and it will crystallize. As it crystallizes, the paneer cubes will get coated in crystallize sugar. If you see multiple paneer cubes, all joint together, separate it out while it's still warm.
- Once the chena murki cools down completely to room temperature, store in an airtight jar.
