Chhena Ball - Rasgulla Preparation - Digha - East Midnapore - 2015-05-02 9555

A variety of dairy products are commonly found in India and an important part of

Indian cuisine Indian cuisine consists of a variety of regional and traditional cuisines native to the Indian subcontinent. Given the diversity in soil, climate, culture, ethnic groups, and occupations, these cuisines vary substantially and use locally av ...

, some of which are native to India and others which are found in Bangladesh or more widely through

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

. The majority of these products can be broadly classified into curdled products, like

chhena Chhena () or chhana () is a kind of acid-set cheese originating in the Indian subcontinent that is made from water buffaloDalby, A 2009, ''Cheese: A Global History'', Reaktion Books, p. 73, Kapoor, S & Kapoor, A 2006, ''Sanjeev Kapoor's No-oil V ...

, or non-curdled products, like

khoa Khoa, khoya, khowa or mawa is a dairy food widely used in the cuisines of the Indian subcontinent, encompassing India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan. It is made of either dried whole milk or milk thickened by heating in an open iron pan. It is l ...

Curdled dairy products

Paneer Paneer (), is a fresh acid-set cheese, common in cuisine of South Asia, made from cow milk or buffalo milk. It is a non-aged, non-melting soft cheese made by curdling milk with a fruit- or vegetable-derived acid, such as lemon juice. Pa ...

is an unaged, acid-set, non-melting farmer cheese made by curdling heated milk with lemon juice or other non-

rennet Rennet () is a complex set of enzymes produced in the stomachs of ruminant mammals. Chymosin, its key component, is a protease, protease enzyme that curdling, curdles the casein in milk. In addition to chymosin, rennet contains other enzymes, su ...

food acid, and then removing the

whey Whey is the liquid remaining after milk has been curdled and strained. It is a byproduct of the manufacturing of cheese or casein and has several commercial uses. Sweet whey is a byproduct resulting from the manufacture of rennet types of hard c ...

and pressing the result into a dry unit. It is a popular ingredient in

North Indian North India is a geographical region, loosely defined as a cultural region comprising the northern part of India (or historically, the Indian subcontinent) wherein Indo-Aryans (speaking Indo-Aryan languages) form the prominent majority populati ...

cuisine. *

Chhena Chhena () or chhana () is a kind of acid-set cheese originating in the Indian subcontinent that is made from water buffaloDalby, A 2009, ''Cheese: A Global History'', Reaktion Books, p. 73, Kapoor, S & Kapoor, A 2006, ''Sanjeev Kapoor's No-oil V ...

is like paneer, except some whey is left and the mixture is beaten thoroughly until it becomes soft, of smooth consistency, and malleable but firm. It is popular in

eastern India East India is a region consisting of the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal and also the union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The states of Bihar and West Bengal lie on the Indo-Gangetic plain. Jharkhan ...

and

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

. *

Chhena poda Chhenapoda () () is a cheese dessert from the Indian state of Odisha. ''Chhena poda'' literally means ''Burnt Cheese'' in Odia, referring to its caramelised crust exterior and soft, spongy texture with slightly smoky notes. It is often describ ...

is a roasted, sweetened and tightly packed

. It is popular in the east Indian state of

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

Chhena gaja Chhena gaja () is a sweet dish from Balasore, Odisha, India. Unlike some other popular chhena-based Odia desserts, such as rasagola, which have spread throughout India, the chhena gaja remains largely popular within the state itself. Although ...

is a combination of chhena and sooji (semolina). Then molded into palm-sized rectangular shapes (gajas), boiled in thick sugar syrup. It is popular in the east Indian state of

Rasabali Rasabali (, IAST: rasābaḷi) is a sweet dish from Odisha, India. It consists of deep fried flattened reddish brown patties of chhena (farmer cheese) that are soaked in thickened, sweetened milk ( rabri). Flattening the chhena into palm-sized pa ...

is a deep fried flattened reddish brown patties of

that are soaked in thickened, sweetened milk. It is popular in

. * Sandesh is a confection made from chhena mixed with sugar then grilled lightly to caramelize, but removed from heat and molded into a ball or some shape. It is the staple sweetmeat of the Indian state of

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

alongside neighbouring

. *

Rasgulla Rasgulla (literally "syrup filled ball") is a syrupy dessert popular in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of South Asia. It is made from ball-shaped dumplings of chhena dough, cooked in light sugar syrup. This is done until the syrup perm ...

is a confection made from mixture of chhena and

semolina Semolina is the name given to roughly milled durum wheat mainly used in making pasta and sweet puddings. The term ''semolina'' is also used to designate coarse millings of other varieties of wheat, and sometimes other grains (such as rice or ma ...

rolled into a ball and boiled in syrup. It is the staple dessert of the Indian states of

and

alongside neighbouring

. *

Khira sagara Khīrå sāgårå () is an Odia sweet dish that literally translates to '' ocean of milk'' in Odia language. The sweet has depiction in Hindu scriptures about Lakshmi serving Vishnu and Madhusudana with it. Khīrå sāgårå consists of marble-s ...

literally means ''ocean of milk''. It is the mixture of small balls of

in sweetened milk. It is popular in

Non-curdled dairy products

Khoa Khoa, khoya, khowa or mawa is a dairy food widely used in the cuisines of the Indian subcontinent, encompassing India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan. It is made of either dried whole milk or milk thickened by heating in an open iron pan. It is l ...

or mawa is made by reducing milk in an open pan over heat. *

Kheer Kheer, khir or payasam is a pudding or porridge popular in the Indian subcontinent, usually made by boiling milk, sugar or jaggery, and rice. It can be additionally flavoured with dried fruits, nuts, cardamom and saffron. Instead of rice, ...

is a

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

version of khoa, but it is less harder than khoa and it has a doughy texture rather than the solid texture of khoa. *

Peda Peda () or Pera is an Indian sweet that originated in the city of Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, India. Traditionally prepared as thick, semi-soft round balls, its main ingredients are khoa, sugar and traditional flavourings including cardamom seeds. ...

is a

confection Confectionery is the art of making confections, or sweet foods. Confections are items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates, although exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confections are divided into two broad and somew ...

made by mixing sugar with khoa and adding flavoring, such as

cardamom Cardamom (), sometimes cardamon or cardamum, is a spice made from the seeds of several plants in the genus (biology), genera ''Elettaria'' and ''Amomum'' in the family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to the Indian subcontinent and Indon ...

. *

Barfi Barfi or ''burfi'' is a milk-based sweet from the Indian subcontinent with a fudge-like consistency. Its name comes from the Persian and Urdu word (''barf'') for snow. ''Barfi'' is consumed throughout India, Bangladesh and Pakistan and is es ...

is a confection made by reducing milk and sugar until it solidifies and adding flavoring, such as pistachio. *

Gulab jamun Gulab jamun is a sweet confectionery or dessert, originating in the Indian subcontinent, and a type of mithai popular in India, Pakistan, Nepal, the Maldives and Bangladesh, as well as Myanmar. It is also common in nations with substantial popu ...

is a confection made by mixing khoa and sugar, caramelizing it by

frying Frying is the cooking of food in cooking oil, oil or another fat. Similar to sautéing, pan-fried foods are generally turned over once or twice during cooking to make sure that the food is evenly cooked, using tongs or a spatula, whilst sautéed ...

, and soaking it in

syrup In cooking, syrup (less commonly sirup; from ; , beverage, wine and ) is a condiment that is a thick, viscous liquid consisting primarily of a Solution (chemistry), solution of sugar in water, containing a large amount of dissolved sugars but ...

containing

rosewater Rose water, or rosewater, is a flavoured water created by steeping rose petals in water. It is typically made as a by-product during the distillation of rose petals to create rose oil for perfumes. Rose water is widely utilized to flavour cul ...

. *

Kulfi Kulfi () is a frozen dairy dessert from the Indian subcontinent. It is often described as "traditional Indian ice cream". Kulfi originated in 16th-century Delhi during the Mughal era. It is part of the national cuisines of India and Pakistan a ...

is made from slowly freezing sweetened condensed milk. In comparison to

ice cream Ice cream is a frozen dessert typically made from milk or cream that has been flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as Chocolate, cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit, such as strawberries or peaches. Food ...

, kulfi is not whipped or otherwise

aerated Aeration (also called aerification or aeriation) is the process by which air is circulated through, mixed with or dissolved in a liquid or other substances that act as a fluid (such as soil). Aeration processes create additional surface area in th ...

. *

Ghee Ghee is a type of clarified butter, originating from South Asia. It is commonly used for cooking, as a Traditional medicine of India, traditional medicine, and for Hinduism, Hindu religious rituals. Description Ghee is typically prepared by ...

is type of

clarified butter Clarified butter is butter from which all milk solids have been removed. The result is a clear, yellow butter that can be heated to higher temperatures before burning. Typically, it is produced by melting butter and allowing the components to ...

that is cooked long enough to caramelize the milk sugar and sterilize the liquid.

Fermented dairy products

* Mishti doi is yogurt mixed with sugar * Shrikhand is

strained yogurt Strained yogurt, Greek or Greek-style yogurt, yogurt cheese, sack yogurt, kerned yogurt or labneh is yogurt that has been strained to remove most of its whey, resulting in a thicker consistency than normal unstrained yogurt, while still preser ...

mixed with sugar, and often flavorings such as cardamom, saffron, or fruit.

Other dairy products

is made by boiling rice or broken wheat with milk and sugar, and sometimes flavored with cardamom, raisins, saffron, pistachios, or almonds. * Chhena murki is made by frying cubes of chhena to burn the outside, then soaking them in syrup flavored with cardamom. * Pantooa is like gulab jamun, except with some chhena mixed with the usual ingredients.

References

External links