The most authentic and traditional sweets in Bangladesh are made of chhana or fresh homemade ricotta cheese. Hence, it’s very important to know the basics of chhana making process to prepare soft, scrumptious, melt in the mouth Bengali sweets.
My Bengali sweets used to be rubbery and chewy instead of soft and tender. After many years of failed attempts of rasgolla, kalojam, etc., I needed to start the chhana learning process over again as it is the most important part of making authentic Bengali sweets.
After asking around few Bengali sweet expert friends, I got the process down on how to make feather like soft chhana. As mentioned earlier, keeping the chhana soft is the key. To achieve soft cheese, it is important to cool the separated curd as soon as the whey, the greenish liquid remaining after milk has been curdled, separates and make sure that the curd is not cooked further in the hot whey.
Turning off the stove and waiting 2-3 minutes before adding the souring agent, after the milk boils, is the first trick which I didn’t know before. The second technique to get soft chhana is to add lots of ice to the whey within a minute or two as the milk separates. The third is to wash the cheese in running water and making the chhana completely cool before allowing to drain for at least 5-6 hours or overnight.
With these three tricks when making chhana, you’ll never have hard or chewy sweets. The ricotta cheese is also great for savory dishes or adding to your favorite lasagna and ravioli. Fresh chhana is great served with some fruits or sprinkles of honey.
- ½ gallon (8 cups) whole milk
- 4 tablespoons white vinegar or strained lemon juice
- 4 tablespoon water
- Ice
- Line a colander or sieve with a large piece of cheesecloth or kitchen towel that has been folded 3-4 times. Place the lined colander or sieve over a large bowl or sink.
- Mix vinegar or lemon juice with 4 tablespoon of water and set aside.
- Boil milk in a large thick-bottomed saucepan over medium high heat. Stir occasionally, scraping the pan bottom, to avoid scorching.
- Turn off heat once milk boils and let sit for 3-4 minutes.
- Add the vinegar/lemon mixture and stir.
- Look out for curd-mass to separate from greenish water. As curds rise and come to the surface add enough ice to cool the whey.
- Run a spatula along the bottom of the pan occasionally to free up any stuck curds.
- Gently begin to ladle curds into the prepared sieve or colander.
- Wrap the cloth around the cheese and rinse under running water without pressing the cheese.
- Gather the edges of the cloth, tie or fasten into a knot and allow to cool and drain for 4-5 hours minimum to overnight.
Store cheese in an airtight container and refrigerate if you not using immediately. It’s best to use within 1-2 days.
Adding ice to the whey prevents the chhana or ricotta cheese to cook further in the hot whey in terms making the chhana very soft and suitable for Bengali/Bangladeshi sweets.
Chhana has great nutritional value, making it a fabulous snack for kids and adults.
Pour the vinegar-water mixture in 3-4 steps. You may not need all the liquid or may need little extra depending on the quality and temperature of the milk
রেসিপি: ছানা
উপকরণ:
১/২ গ্যালন দুধ
৪ টেবিল চামচ সাদা ভিনেগার বা লেবুর ছাঁকা রস
৪ টেবিল চামচ পানি
বরফ
ছানা প্রস্তত প্রণালী:
১. একটি ঝাড়নি বা বড় ছাকনির উপর পাতলা কাপড় বা চীজ ক্লথ বিছিয়ে একটি বড় বাটির উপর রাখুন।
২. মাঝারি উচ্চ তাপে একটি বড় পুরু কড়াই বা ডেকচিতে দুধ ফোটান। মাঝে মাঝে দুধ নেড়ে দিন যেন নীচে লেগে না যায়।
৩. দুধ ফুটলে চুলা বন্ধ করে দিয়ে ৩-৪ মিনিট অপেক্ষা করুন।
৩. ৪ টেবিল চামচ পানির সাথে ভিনেগার / লেবুর রস মিশিয়ে ফুটন্ত দুধে যোগ করুন।
৪. দুধ ফেটে গিয়ে সবুজাভ পানি আলাদা হলে হাড়িতে বরফ এমন পরিমানে দিন যেন ২-১ মিনিটের মধে্্য ছানার পানি ঠান্ডা হয়ে যায়।
৫. আস্তে আস্তে প্রস্তুত করা ঝাড়নি বা ছাকনিতে ছানা ঢেলে নিন।
৬. ছাকনির উপর পানি দিয়ে ছানা পানিতে ধুয়ে নিন।
৭. কাপড়ের কোণগুলি জড়ো করে গিঁট দিয়ে কমপক্ষে ৫-৬ ঘন্টা বা সারারাত রাখুন যেন পানি ড্রেন হয়ে যায়।
প্রয়োজনিও কিছু টিপস্ এর জনে্য দয়াকরে আটির্কেল অথবা ইংরেজি রেসিপির নোট সেকশনটা একটু দেখে নেবেন।
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A great recipe! That is a cheese I love eating and using.
Cheers,
Rosa
A favorite of mine too. Thank you, Rosa.
very well explained steps for making chenna….with its soft creamy texture it makes so many Indian sweets scrumptious,delicious recipe 🙂
I know, chana is the first step to many desi sweets, so it’s important to get it right. Thank you, Kumar.
Fresh Ricotta is so much better!! Yummy!
It is indeed. Thank you.
What great tricks/tips, Lail!
Thank you, Denise.
I never thought about making my own ricotta. This was an amazing post
Thank you!
I really need to start making some cheeses like this. Great tips, super post – thanks so much.
Thank you, John. I’m glad you found the tips helpful.
Great chana tips! I am going to use this next time 🙂
Thank you, Minnie.
great…happy to follow you
Thank you, Resna.
I’ve never made cheese at home before and with your recipe and tips, it seems quite easy. Guess I’ll need to give this a try. 🙂
I hope you do, Amy. The process is not hard, but I didn’t know about some of these tricks before so ended up with rubbery cheese before.
Mmm, my mum loves making cheese so am definitely going to show her this 😀
Cheers
CCU
Thank you, Uru. I hope she likes it.
প্রিন্ট করে রাখলাম। একদিন লেগে যাবই। চিনি কম দিয়ে নিজেই ছানা বানিয়ে খাব চিন্তা করছি!
ওয়েল ডান।
Thank you, bhai. Would love to know if you have any additional tips to share 🙂
ধন্যবাদ বোন। আমি বানিয়ে দেখবো আপনার মত করেই। সমস্যা পড়লে আপনিতো আছেনই।
শুভেচ্ছা।
Never thought it could be so easy to make ricotta! Beautiful pics 🙂
The steps are surprisingly easy, right? Thank you.
The process of homemade cheese is so therapeutic! Love the photos 🙂
Thank you Kiran.
Lail…. this post has really tempted me to try out ricotta at home..I am bookmarking it… I love Indian sweets made out of ricotta cheese 🙂
Thank you, Shema. Now that you have the tricks to making ricotta for sweets, I hope you’ll try out some soon. Thank you.
I’ve been meaning to try making my own ricotta cheese but never got around to it. This is a great recipe! Bookmarking it 🙂
Thank you, Ada.
Thank you for posting such wonderful information.
I would like to know more about this part of your post.
After asking around few Bengali sweet expert friends, I got the process down on how to make feather like soft chhana. As mentioned earlier, keeping the chhana soft is the key. To achieve soft cheese, it is important to cool the separated curd as soon as the whey, the greenish liquid remaining after milk has been curdled, separates and make sure that the curd is not cooked further in the hot whey.
Turning off the stove and waiting 2-3 minutes before adding the souring agent, after the milk boils, is the first trick which I didn’t know before. The second technique to get soft chhana is to add lots of ice to the whey within a minute or two as the milk separates. The third is to wash the cheese in running water and making the chhana completely cool before allowing to drain for at least 5-6 hours or overnight.
My understanding & Question:
1. Boil the milk and stop the fire before adding souring agent(lemon) – would know you the temperature at what it should be added. different environment may cause different temperature.
2. Adding ICE is some thing new, when you do that ? how to know it’s perfect time to add ICE ?
3. Next wash the cheese in running water, so drain the whey(sour milk water) and wash before let it hang for couple of hours ?
I have not really attempted after reading your post. in past my outcome has been very discouraging , I hope to make it best this time 🙂
Thanks,
Dwija
Hi Dwija – Thanks for your interest in the process. Here’s the answers to your questions –
1. Exactly, different environment may cause different temperature. I have never actually taken temperature but watch out for the milk to vigorously boil. At that state, I turn off the stove and pour the souring agent.
2. I add the ice as the milk curdles and the greenish whey separates. It’s within a minute or two at the max.
3. As the ice melts, I strain the whey(there may still be some ice pieces) and hold the chhana under cold running tap water to completely cool. Then, let it hang from 6-7 hours.
Hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any other questions. Wishing you all the est for your next attempt. I’d love to see your photos after you try. You can tag me @withASpin on FB and twitter or use #withaspin on FB, IG and twitter.
Hi there , I keep getting very small curdled particles and have tried 3 times now? My chenna is not in big chunks like yours is.what could I be doing wrong ? I have tried with fresh full cream milk and long life full cream milk but still the same.I end up with a paste once I have strained the mixture and left it to hang. Please Please help me fix this!! Im not going to stop trying until I get this right (lol). Also is it possible that the milk here in south Africa is the problem?
Thank you
Add a little more vinegar next time. Sounds like the type of milk you are using isn’t curdling with the amount of vinegar/lemon juice you are using. Hope this helps.