Malai chomchom...

Through the ages Bengalis have proved their irreplaceable love for sweets. In Bengal, sweets occupy an important place in the diet and also at social ceremonies. So last weekend when I was invited to my friend's Grihopravesh (House warming ceremony), I made Malai Chomchom for her.

Chomchom ('ch' pronounced as chair) is a very popular sweet from Bengal (Eastern India). Chomchom are made from homemade cottage cheese (Chana), cooked in sugar syrup. Chomchom can be served various ways, with grated coconut, chopped nuts or with cream (malai).They are sometimes translated as 'pleasure boats'. Indeed they are. The soft, sweet Chomchom, soaked in syrup and accompanied with some cream (malai) is truly a pleasure to your taste buds. 

Things needed to make Malai Chomchom:

For Chomchom:

• Whole Milk: 1/2 gallon (1.89 ltr)
• Lime Juice: of a whole large lime
• Semolina /Suji: 1 tbsp
• Sugar: 2 tsp
• Saffron: few strands

For sugar syrup:

• Sugar: 3 Cups (divided)
• Water: 5 cups + 1/2 cup
• Green cardamom: 7-8

For Malai (cream):

• Heavy cream /double cream: 200 ml
• Mawa/ unsweetened milk powder: 1/4 cup
• Sugar as per taste
• Saffron: few strands
• Green cardamom: 3-4
• Rose water: 1 tbsp (optional)

To garnish

• Finely chopped pistachio
• Saffron

Steps of making Malai Chomchom:

1. Boil milk in a heavy bottom pan. Stir in between, so it do not scorch to the bottom of the pan.

2.As the milk boils gradually add lime juice and keep stirring, till whey separates and the milk curdles.

3. Line a colander with cheese cloth or a piece of muslin, drain the curdled milk.

4. Tie up the cheese cloth and wash the cottage cheese under cold water, till it feels cold to touch.

5. Hang the cheese cloth bag with the cottage cheese over the sink or a bowl, to drain out excess water. Keep the cottage cheese like this still you see no more water is dripping from it. Give the cheese cloth bag a big squeeze to drain out any extra water.

6. Take the cottage cheese or chana in a flat plate or tray. Add semolina, sugar (2tsp), saffron and mix well, for about 2 min. Make a smooth dough.

7. Knead the dough with the heel of palm, till no lumps, for about 5-6 min. Divide the dough into 4 equal parts, from each part make 6 balls. Shape the balls into cylinders of 2 inch length.

8. In a large deep pan boil 2 cups sugar and 5 cups of water. Add green cardamom to the syrup. As the sugar syrup starts to rolling boil, add the prepared chomchom pieces one at a time. Do not over crowd the pan. As the chomchom will be double the sixe while cooking, so use a bog enough container to fit all. Otherwise cook them in batches. Cover the pan and cook the chomchoms over medium heat for 30-35 min. In between lightly stir the chomchoms. Add some hot water to the syrup to keep the consistency right. Make sure the syrup does not overflow. After 30-35 min, take out the cooked chomchom in a large bowl along with half of the syrup, cover and keep aside.

9. Add 1 cup of sugar in the remaining sugar syrup and boil till the syrup thickens a bit. Switch off heat. Take out the chomchom from thin syrup with a slotted spoon and add to the thick syrup. Cover and keep it in the syrup for 6-8 hrs. You can serve the chomchom this way also, after cooling down to room temperature. Sprinkle chopped nuts, or grated coconut, or grated mawa. I made it a little special, adding some thick malai (cream) to it.

10. To make the Malai: In a heavy bottom pan add heavy cream and mawa (unsweetened milk powder), cook over low heat till mix well. Add sugar as per taste. I like to keep the malai less sweet, so it does not overwhelm the taste of chomchom. Add green cardamom, saffron, and rose water(if using). Mix well. Cook till it thickens, but it should be of pouring consistency. Let the Malai cool down to room temperature, keep it in the refrigerator. The Malai will be thickened as it cools down.

11. You can just spread the malai over chomchom. I used a star nozzle to pipe malai on chomchom.

12. Garnish with chopped pistachio and saffron strands. Serve cold or at room temperature.

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Rosogolla...

Does Rosogolla or Rasgulla need any introduction? I don't think so. It is a signature Bengali confectionery. Whenever you talk about Bengali sweets, Rosogolla is the first thing that comes to your mind.

Rosogolla are homemade cheese balls cooked and soaked in sugar syrup. Rosogolla originated in Orissa,  a state/province of  the erstwhile Bengal and was called Khira Mohona. It was introduced to Bengal by a sweet seller. Eventually a confectioner from Kolkata named Nabinchandra Das adapted and modified it to the  modern rosogolla recipe as we know it. Rosogolla  gradually gained its popularity through out India. K.C. Das, son of Nabinchandra Das made it available world wide by first  making them available in cans.

Several other famous sweets of Bengal have  been derived from rosogolla, like rosomalai (cheese balls in fragrant milk), komolabhog (orange flavored rosogolla), baked rosogolla etc.

Today being the first day of Bengali new year, I made some Rosogolla at home.  Though you need very few ingredients to make rosogolla, one need to be very precise while making them. The steps involved are simple but you need to practice few times before you  can achieve that perfect texture and taste.

Things needed to make rosogolla:

• Whole milk: 1/2 gallon(1.89 ltr)
• Lime juice: of a whole large lime
• Semolina/sooji: 1 tbsp
• Sugar: 2 cups + 2 tsp
• Nakuldana: 20 (optional) (see pic for reference)
• Water: 6 cups
• Green cardamom(lightly crushed): 7-8

Steps of making rosogolla:

1. Boil the milk in a large pan, keep stirring so the milk does not scorch to bottom.

2. As the milk rolls to boil, remove from heat and gradually add the lime juice and keep stirring. The milk will start to curdle, the whey will separate.

3. Strain the curdled milk with the help of cheese cloth.

4. Collect the cheese in the cheese cloth and run under clod water. This will ensure to wash out any smell of lime juice in the cheese as well as cooling down the cheese and making it softer.

5. Tie up the cheese cloth and squeeze out excess water, hang the cheese cloth bag to drain out excess water. 

6. Take the cheese in a flat plate, add sooji (semolina), 2 teaspoon sugar and mix well for 2 min or till smooth.

7. Knead the dough with your back of your hand for 4-5 min or till no lumps.

8. Divide the dough into four balls.

9. From each ball make 5 balls. Put one nakuldada (sugar ball) in each ball. Make a perfect round ball. Nokuldanas(Sweet makhana) are small sugar candies commonly used as an offering during Pujas. You can get them easily in any Indian store.

Nokuldana

10. Repeat the step for other cheese balls, so at the end you will finish with 20 cheese balls.

11. In a wide mouthed and dip pan (with cover) add 6 cups of water and 2 cups of sugar, boil the syrup. Add crushed green cardamom.

12. Add the cheese balls, cover the pan. Keep an eye so the syrup does not spill. Cook for 40-45 min.

13. In between add little warm water to the syrup, because as the syrup is boiling for long it may thicken and make the rosogolla hard, to keep the consistency of the syrup same, add little hot water. I did add hot water twice (a ladle full) while cooking the rosogolla.

14. As the cheese balls are cooking  turn the cheese balls very gently. The cheese balls will puff and will be double the size, make sure you are using a large enough pan to accommodate all the cheese balls. After 40-45 min switch off the heat, remove pan from heat and let it cool down to room temperature. As the rosogollas will cool down they will shrink in size. Rosogolla will taste best the next day. You can cool it inside a refrigerator and serve cold or at room temperature.

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Langcha

Langcha

Langcha is a sweet. It originated in Shaktighar, West Bengal, India. It is made up of solidified milk (khoya/ mawa), home made cottage cheese  (chana), flour(moida). The ingredients are mixed together and fried and dipped in sugar syrup.

For more information about langcha visit this link  http://itiriti.wordpress.com/2011/11/03/biography-of-langcha-burdwan-or-krishnanagar/

The recipe I used today to make these langcha is my friend Pinki's. She is such a sweetheart, every time she tries something new she always shares with us. Thank you Pinki...

Ingredients for making Langcha:

Home made cottage cheese (Chana/chena): 200 gms
Solidified milk (Khoya/Mawa): 100 gms

Flour (Moida): 2 tbsp

Green cardamom (powdered): 4-5
Oil for frying
Ghee: 1 tbsp
Baking powder: 1/4tsp

For the sugar syrup:

Sugar: 2 cups
Water: 4 cups
Green cardamom:6-7

The steps of making langcha:

1.Take a heavy bottom pan, add water and sugar to make the sugar syrup. Keep the heat to medium and stir well. As the sugar dissolves completely and it boils reduce the heat. If you see any scums, discard that. Those are impurities. Break few green cardamoms and add to the syrup.

2. I used store bought khoya, so I first grated that for easy use, as it come as a hard cake. Mash the grated khoya till smooth on a clean dry plate or on the kitchen slab.

3. Similarly mash the chena till it is smooth. To know the steps for making home made chena go to this link http://colorandspices.blogspot.com/2012/08/chena-poda-sweet-dish-from-orissa.html

4. Mix together the khoya, chana, ghee, baking powder, cardamom powder and 2 tbsp flour. Use your palm to mix all these together. Mix till there is no lumps and the mixture does not stick to you finger. The dough will be grease. you will find your hand and the plate or kitchen slab quite greasy.

5. Cover the dough with a kitchen towel and rest it for 10 mins. Make equal size round balls out of the dough. Now shape them into long cylinders, the shape of langcha. Roll the dough with your palms on a plate or kitchen slab to shape them evenly. Make sure that the diameter is even and smooth.

6. Take a kadai or pan, heat oil. When the oil is hot remove the pan from the heat or if you are using a gas oven just turn off the heat, wait for few minutes(1-2min). Add the langcha. Return the pan to heat, keep the heat to lowest possible temperature. Fry the langchas evenly till you get a dark brown color. The langcha will tend to float so keep them dipped in oil  turn for a even cooking. But do not over cook or burn them. As you will fry the langcha they will increase in size so either use a large pan or fry in small batches.

7. Take out the fried langcha on a paper towel lined plate, keep there for 30sec and dip them into hot sugar syrup. The syrup must be hot.

 8. Let it soak for 1hr. You can keep them in the syrup or you can take them out of the syrup and store as dry langcha. But I prefer mine to store in the sugar syrup.

Serve warm and enjoy it with your friends and family. Garnish with grated khoya or chpped dry fruits.