Saturday, July 28, 2012

Chanar Pudding - Curdled Milk or Paneer Pudding


Yesterday I was in a mood to put together a glass of mango shake, when out of my dismay I noticed the milk carton resting in the refrigerator for couple of weeks had curdled. It threw me into confusion as what I should I do with the curdled milk of that considerable amount. My mind raced around the thought of preparing Chanar Dalna, but owing to the painstaking process involved in frying chana dumplings finally I dropped the idea. I wanted to make something quick that is less time taking and dead easy. So after a moment of thoughts flickering here and there, finally I came to rest upon the idea of chanar pudding which could be finished in a jiffy, yet with a mouth-watering turnout.

For people not familiar with Bengali, let me inform that "Chana" in Bengali means curdled milk. I am a bit opposed to the idea of addressing chana as paneer because as per my knowledge paneer is little more processed than chana is. Chana though easily available in Bengal may not be so easily accessible outside. So I will recommend anyone intending to try out this dish to make your own chana at home as it is more pure in form or if the milk accidentally curdles just as mine did, you may resort to this dish to save yourself from unnecessary wastage of food.

By the way my hubby commented on having a mouthful of this decadent pudding that it is one of the best puddings he ever had.




Ingredients:                                       Cooking time: 40 minutes
ü  300 gm chana
ü  10gm khoya kheer (grated)
ü  1 tbsp all-purpose flour
ü  1/2 cup sugar or more depending on your sweet craving
ü  2 eggs, beaten
ü  30 gm raisins
ü  30 gm broken cashew nuts
ü  2 tbsp butter
ü  1/2 tsp lemon rind (grated)
ü  1 tsp orange rind (grated)
Method:
1) If you don't get readymade chana, then you boil about 3 litres of milk and then add 1/2 cup of lemon juice. When the milk curdles and the whey begins to separate itself from the milk, take a strainer and strain the curdled milk. Use the back of a spoon to completely wring the whey out of the milk.
2) Once done and dusted with the above process, take the chana into a mixing bowl. Add khoya kheer, sugar, raisins, cashew nuts, butter, lemon and orange rinds and eggs. With an electric beater, whip the mixture to smooth consistency.
3) Add all-purpose flour and stir it in with a spoon.
4) Preheat the oven to 370 F/190 C. Transfer the pudding mixture into greased baking glassware. Bake for about 15-20 minutes till the pudding appears firm to the touch. Garnish with some more raisins and cashew nuts.
5) Cut into pieces and serve at room temperature.





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