Chhena Murki

Chhena Murki

Chhena murki, or chenna murki, is a sweet made from an Indian version of cottage cheese, milk and sugar in many states such as Odisha. It's also one of the famous sweets in northern part of India.


Chenna Murki is a famous Bengali sweets made with chenna (moistened form of paneer(Indian cottage cheese)) and dipped in sugar syrup.


For this milk and sugar are boiled to a thick consistency. Round, cubes, cuboid or other shapes of cottage cheese are soaked in the milky condensate.


It basically started from coastal areas in the district of Bhadrak and nowadays it is available in all parts of Odisha. Other flavours and aromatic spices are typically added. It is also known by Bangladeshi and Guyanese people as pera.


It's very easy to make recipe, requires few ingredients, can be made in no time and is very delicious. It just melt in your mouth. Chhena murki is one of my favourite sweets since my childhood. My whole family enjoyed it a lot. My parents always bought chhena murki on my birthday.


Whenever we gather at our parents sweets, the first sweet that we all enjoy together is Chhena Murki. I learned this from my mother. She knows that it is one of my favourite sweets and I don't get this here, so she learned this from her friend and then share the recipe with me. Now I can make it anytime I like to have it.


For chhena murki do not cut the paneer/Indian cottage cheese pieces too big, cut them small but not too small.


Also add paneer pieces only in single thread sugar syrup, because if you put the pieces in thin sugar syrup, there is a possibility that the paneer pieces might break while cooking.


Also it's very important to continuously stir once you add the paneer/Indian cottage cheese pieces into the sugar syrup, so that the sugar syrup coats better over the paneer pieces.


  Recipe Servings: 4 - 5
  Cooking time: 20 Minutes

Ingredients


  • Paneer (Indian Cottage Cheese) - 250 grams
  • Sugar - 1 cup (250 grams)
  • Milk - 1 tbsp
  • Kewra Essence  - 2-3 drops or Rose water - 1 tsp (optional)
  • Water - 1 cup

Preparation

  • Take 250 grams of paneer (Indian cottage cheese) and cut it into small pieces/cubes. Keep it aside for later use.


  • For the sugar syrup, take sugar in a pan and add 1 cup of water into it. Boil till the sugar dissolves completely, stirring continuously.


  • Now add 1 tbsp of milk into it. Collect the scum, which rises to the surface with a ladle, and discard it. Cook the syrup till it attains a one-string consistency.


  • To check the one string consistency, place a drop of sugar syrup in between your thumb and index finger and then when you move fingers away from each other, it should form a single thread.


  • Then add the cubes of paneer/cottage cheese into the sugar syrup and cook till the syrup coats all the cubes well.


  • Remove it from the heat, add the kewra essence or rose water and mix well. It's optional to use kewda essence or rose water.


  • Keep swirling the pan till the cubes are thickly coated with the syrup and separated from each other.


  • Take out on a serving plate.


  • Chhena murki is ready to serve. Enjoy with your loved ones.