Make Bengali sweet shop style delectable, melt-in-the-mouth Chanar Payesh at home in a way you’ve never tried before.
In a deep-bottomed pan, add 1½ litre milk. Let it boil over high heat, once boiled, lower the heat, add the lemon juice and stir well, the milk will begin to curdle, and chana and whey will start to separate at this stage. Stir the chana gently with a spatula and add some tap water (up to 1 cup). Give this a quick boil over high heat, and again lower the heat. This way all the milk fat will separate nicely from the whey. And at the end, you will get to see the clear whey.
Line a big bowl with muslin cloth/cheese cloth. Drain the whole cheese+whey mixture on this. Now tie the loose ends of the cheesecloth and place it under running water to wash away the lemony smell. Squeeze it well to discard the extra water from chana/cottage cheese. Care should be taken not to dry the chana completely, it should be moist.
Transfer the chana to a clean plate and knead it gently with your palm for the next 2-3 minutes, or until smooth. Sprinkle cornflour over the kneaded chana and incorporate again by kneading it lightly. Don’t knead the chana for a longer time, otherwise, it will start to release its fat (oil), and that way the quality of the dessert will be compromised.
Before you work further on the chana, start making the sugar syrup.In a wide, deep-bottomed pan (kadai), add sugar and water (mentioned for the sugar syrup), and boil the syrup over high heat until the sugar melts.
In between, divide the chana into small portions like small sugar cubes, no need to give them perfect shapes, just portioning them would be enough.
Drop the chana portions into the boiling sugar syrup and cook uncovered over high heat for 10 minutes. Next, cook for 5 minutes more by covering the pan, keeping the lid slightly open from the side so that the steam can escape. Within this time, the chana portions will expand a little bit and get cooked thoroughly. Some of the chana portions might scatter in the syrup during the cooking, which is completely fine for this recipe. Turn off the heat, and let the chana cool completely in the syrup.
After the chana cools down, drain them through a mesh strainer and leave the chana there so the syrup drains well. Do not touch the chana or try to squeeze them with a spoon, etc. to drain out the syrup.
When the chana is over the strainer, prepare the milk for Payesh.
To speed up the process, you can do this step a day ahead. After cooking the chana, it can be stored with the syrup in the refrigerator. Next day, you can do the rest of the process to make Chanar Payesh. Then the dessert gets ready quickly.
In a deep-bottomed pan (a nonstick saucepan works best), add 500ml milk.
Boil over high heat, once it boils lower the heat.
Add the sugar and cardamom powder.
Mix and keep stirring the milk continuously over low-medium heat with a spatula until it is reduced to ¾ of its quantity.
Turn off the heat.
At this stage, you can keep the saucepan under a ceiling fan for faster cooling of the milk.
The chana needs to be added to the lukewarm milk, not hot. So, when the milk reaches the correct temperature, transfer the chana gently to it with the help of a slotted spoon.
Stir the payesh gently to mix the chana. You don’t need to stir it too much, because chana will eventually absorb the milk as the Payesh sets. Keep the Payesh at room temperature to cool down completely. After that, transfer to the refrigerator and chill for 2 hours before you serve it.
If you prefer you can garnish Chanar Payesh with chopped nuts, dried rose petals, etc.
Serve the delectable Chanar Payesh cold or at room temperature, enjoy!