Chanar Sondesh
Creamy and fudgy prepared with just three ingredients, chanar sondesh/ chenar sondesh is a favorite to many Bengalis. We Bengalis are known for our sweet tooth, and there are countless varieties of milk sweets in Bengali food culture. But sondesh is the dearest of all, and we do consider it as auspicious.
Ingredients
- 1 lt Milk
- Few ice cubes
- 2 tablespoons White vinegar
- 2 tablespoon Water
- 4.85 oz Date palm jaggery (nolen gur/ patali gur)
- 3.7 oz Khoya/mawa (solid milk)
- Little ghee to grease the mold and rub in your hand
Instructions
- Before you start preparing the chena, make sure you keep the ice cubes and vinegar mixed with water ready. Also keep a muslin cloth or a nut bag ready to strain the chena.
- Place the milk in a heavy bottom pan and bring it to boil by stirring occasionally. Once it comes to boil, switch off the stove and drop the ice cubes. Give a stir and then add the vinegar water mixture. Stir and you will see the soft chena is ready. Strain the chena using a nut bag or muslin cloth and the pour cold water to wash off any acidic taste.
- Squeeze off excess water and tie the edges of the nut bag or muslin cloth and leave aside for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, place the chena in a plate.
- Knead the strained chena for 7 to 10 minutes. It will turn from crumbly to a smooth consistency. Once done, put it in a bowl to be used later. (PLEASE WATCH THE VIDEO TO UNDERSTAND HOW TO KNEAD CHENA)
- Grate the jaggery in a heavy bottom pan.
- Grate the solid milk and add it to the same pan.
- Place the pan at medium low heat and keep stirring constantly and in 2 minutes the solid milk and jaggery would melt into a loose consistency.
- Add the chena and start mixing.
- Keep stirring constantly for 5 minutes, and you will see that the texture of the mixture turned into a dough. It will no longer stick to the pan.
- Transfer it to a plate and leave it aside to cool down for a while. You need to make the sondesh while the dough is still warm.
- If you are using the sondesh mold, then rub a little ghee on the mold. Now take a little about of the dough and press it gently on the mold. Keep spread around and keep pressing at the end for a neat finish (watch the video to understand better).
- Very carefully remove the sondesh from the mold. It’s still fragile, so you need to handle gently. Place it on a board and give it a couple of hours or more for it to set at room temperature.
- To create a design using the bottom of a glass, roll the dough into a smooth dumpling shape. Then gently press with the bottom of the glass. Carefully take it off and let the sondesh set.
- Once the sondesh are set, store it in an airtight container. Because it includes milk, it would be best to store it in the refrigerator.
Video
Nutrition
Serving: 1ServingsCalories: 0.4kcalCarbohydrates: 0.01gProtein: 0.003gFat: 0.002gSaturated Fat: 0.001gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.001gCholesterol: 0.01mgSodium: 0.3mgPotassium: 1mgSugar: 0.003gVitamin A: 0.1IUVitamin C: 0.01mgCalcium: 0.3mgIron: 0.01mg