Chanar payesh | Chenna payesh | Bengali style cottage cheese milk pudding

Step 1

Take 1 litre milk in a heavy bottom pan. Put the flame in medium high and let the milk boil. Once the milk starts boiling, put the flame on lowest.

Step 2

Tip: While boiling the milk, put the flame in medium and stir occasionally. Otherwise, the milk will stick to the bottom of the pan and a burning smell may get induced into the milk.

Step 3

On the other side, cut the Lemon into two pieces. Squeeze out the lemon juice into the milk with the help of a lemon squeezer. Stir it slowly and let the milk curdle. Stir for 1-2 minutes in lowest flame until the water gets separated completely.

Step 4

Switch off the flame and add 1 cup of cold water into the pan to stop the chenna to get cooked further. Stir it.

Step 5

On the other hand, take a large bowl and place a sieve on it. Put a Muslin cloth on the sieve. Pour the curdled milk immediately to the Muslin cloth. Add 1 more cup of cold water into it and wash the chenna. Stir the Chenna gently for a minute with the help of a spatula to cool it off.

Step 6

Gather the corners of the cloth. Squeeze the excess water and then tie a tight knot of the cloth. Hang the Chenna for 30 minutes but not more than that.

Step 7

On the other hand, wash 2 tablespoons basmati rice or gobindobhog rice and soak them in water for 30 minutes.

Step 8

Drain the excess water and transfer the soaked rice into a jar of grinder. Add 3 tablespoons of fresh water into the jar. Grind them for around 30 seconds. Keep the rice paste aside.

Step 9

Note: Addition of water makes the coarsely ground rice content liquid which easily get mixed into the boiled milk without making any lumps.

Step 10

Chop the pistachios and cashew nuts into thin pieces and keep them aside.

Step 11

After 30 minutes of interval, transfer the chenna on a separate plate and crumble them roughly with hand.

Step 12

Put a pan on flame and allow it to become completely dry. Add ½ tablespoon ghee (Clarified butter) and allow it to melt. Add the crumbled chenna and fry them evenly for 2-3 minutes over low flame until the raw smell disappears. Transfer the chenna on a separate plate.

Step 13

Note: This step is done to evaporate excess moisture from the chenna and to get rid of its raw smell. In this way, after adding the chenna into the payesh, the milk never gets curdled.

Step 14

Now put a heavy bottom pan on flame and add 1 litre milk into it. Once the milk starts boiling, put the flame in low to medium flame and reduce it to almost 3/4th aka 75%. This step takes around 30-40 minutes. Stir the milk on regular intervals or else it may stick to the bottom.

Step 15

Add the rice paste (Step into it and give a quick mix. Cook it in low flame for around 15 minutes until the rice gets cooked completely. Stir on regular intervals or else the milk may stick to the bottom and sides.

Step 16

Once the rice gets cooked, add half the amount of sugar (¼ cup) and give a nice mix.

Step 17

Add the fried chenna (Step into the pan and give a nice mix. Cook it in low flame for around 10 minutes until you get the desired consistency.

Step 18

Check the sweetness of the chenna payesh and add rest of the sugar. Adjust the sweetness accordingly.

Step 19

At the final stage of the payesh, add ½ teaspoon cardamom powder, chopped nuts (Step and give a nice mix.

Step 20

Switch off the flame and put the pan down.