Today, I present the recipe for Chena Murki, a Bengali Sweet that is also a low potassium recipe and so fits perfectly into my continuing series on Indian recipes suitable for Renal diet.
Think of Chena Murki as Rasgulla without the syrup. The process for making this sweet is also very similar to that used to make Rasgulla, except that we use a thin syrup for Rasgulla and very thick syrup for Chenna Murki.
Chenna is THE ingredient for the popular Bengali sweets. The process for making Chena is similar to that of making Paneer, except that we remove all excess whey from paneer while we retain some whey in Chena. Chena is very soft and malleable having almost the texture of a thick paste while paneer is solid and crumbly.
Getting the texture of Chenna right is crucial to achieving pillowy softness of Bengali sweets like Rasmalai, Rasgulla and Chena Murki. If you remove too much of the whey, these sweets will have a very chewy texture.
The reason I tried this dish is that we have been told to include Paneer in a renal diet that was prescribed for a family member suffering from chronic kidney disease (CKD). Because we have no history of diabetes or hypertension to worry about, we can use sugar relatively freely and that helps us make up for lack of taste and variety brought in by the sodium and potassium restrictions. 🙂
Making Chena Murki is super simple and it can be made quickly. In fact, I have made multiple batches in a week so that I can always serve this dish fresh; and also because what I make does not last very long. The small size of this dessert makes it perfect for eating just a tiny portion at any time. The whole family snacking on tiny portions often means that a batch of Chena Murki lasts no more than a few hours!
Recipes for Bengali Sweets
If you like Bengali sweets, do try my recipes for:
- Mishti Doi | Bengali Sweet Dahi | Caramel Yogurt
- Bhapa Doi | Bengali Steamed Sweet Yogurt
- Nolen Gurer Payesh | Bengali Rice & Milk Pudding with Date Palm Jaggery
More Low Potassium Recipes for Renal Diet
- Cranberry Pachadi | Cranberry Chutney (Low Potassium Recipe)
- Rice Roti Upma (Poha) | Kottu Pathiri: Low Potassium Recipe (Renal Diet)
- Rice Roti | Tandalachi Bhakri | Pathiri: Low Potassium Recipe (Renal Diet)
- Mor Kali | Mor Koozh: Gluten-Free, Low Potassium Dish
How to Make Chena Murki
- Making Chenna
- Over medium heat, bring 1/2 litre milk to a boil.
- When the milk starts to boil, turn off heat.
- Immediately add 1/2 tsp lemon juice and stir well.
- Continue to stir till the milk solids separate from the whey.
- Now, add 3 or 4 ice cubes and let the mix cool a bit.
- Using a soup strainer to drain all the whey from the Chenna (Paneer). Save the whey and you can make a protein-rich lemon coriander soup with it.
- Wash the whey under gently running water for 1 to 2 minutes to wash away traces of lemon juice.
- Leave the Chenna in the soup strainer for about 15 minutes or till all the whey drains from it.
- Over medium heat, bring 1/2 litre milk to a boil.
- Shaping the Chenna Murki
- Once the whey drains from the Chenna, transfer it to a plate.
- Knead the Chena well to get a soft, smooth ball.
- Now pinch off tiny pieces of chenna and shape each piece into a ball (about 1/2″ in diameter). I used a 1/4 tsp measure to scoop chenna and so I got even sized balls. I got about 32 such balls.
- Making the Chenna Murki
- To a wide pan, add 7 tbsp cup sugar and 4 tbsp water.
- Over medium heat, melt the sugar to get a thick syrup.
- At this point, add 3 or 4 drops of lemon juice to the syrup and mix well. This prevents the syrup from crystallizing.
- Add the Chenna balls to the sugar syrup and cook for a few minutes till they expand and become transparent.
- Turn off the heat and let the Chenna Murki soak in the syrup for 5 minutes.
- Take the Chenna Murki out of the syrup and discard the syrup.
- Serve Chenna Murki warm or chilled.
Recipe for Chena Murki | Chenna Murki: A Bengal Sweet That is Also a Low Potassium Recipe
Chena Murki: Bengali Sweet (Also Low Potassium Sweet for Renal Diet)
Equipment
- 2 x Heavy Bottomed Vessel (750 ml capacity)
- Wide Frying Pan
- Spoon
- Soup Strainer
Ingredients
- 1/2 Litre Milk
- 1/2 tsp Lemon Juice
- 4 Ice Cubes
- 6 tbsp Sugar
- 4 tbsp Water
- 3-4 drops Lemon Juice (Optional)
Instructions
- Bring 1/2 litre milk to a boil.
- Turn off heat.
- Immediately add 1/2 tsp lemon juice and stir well.
- Continue to stir till the milk solids separate from the whey.
- Add 3 or 4 ice cubes and let the mix cool a bit.
- Using a soup strainer to drain all the whey from the Chenna (Paneer). Save the whey and you can make a protein-rich lemon coriander soup with it.
- Wash the Chena under gently running water to remove traces of the lemon juice.
- Leave the Chenna in the soup strainer for about 15 minutes or till all the whey drains from it.
- Once the whey drains from the Chenna, transfer it to a plate.
- Knead well to get a soft, smooth ball.
- Pinch off tiny pieces of chenna and shape each piece into a ball (about 1/2" in diameter). I got about 32 such balls. I used a 1/4 tsp measure to scoop chenna and so I got even sized balls.
- To a wide pan, add 7 tbsp cup sugar and 4 tbsp water.
- Over medium heat, melt the sugar to get a thick syrup.
- {Optional} Add 3 or 4 drops of lemon juice. This prevents the syrup from crystallizing.
- Add the Chenna balls to the sugar syrup and cook for a few minutes till they expand and become transparent.
- Turn off the heat and let the Chenna Murki soak in the syrup for 5 minutes.
- Take the Chenna Murki out of the syrup and discard the syrup.
- Serve Chenna Murki warm or chilled.
Would love to have more renal diet recipes. Thanks
Thank you… Please check this link https://aahaaramonline.com/?s=renal+diet for the existing recipes. Hope to add more.