Chena Murki: Bengali Sweet (Also Low Potassium Sweet for Renal Diet)
Chena Murki is a Bengali Sweet that is can be best described as a dense Rasgulla with no syrup. Made with fresh paneer (called Chenna in Bengali), Chenna Murki is also very low on potassium making it a wonderful dessert for people on a renal diet because of kidney disease.
Equipment
- 2 x Heavy Bottomed Vessel (750 ml capacity)
- Wide Frying Pan
- Spoon
- Soup Strainer
Ingredients
For Chenna
- 1/2 Litre Milk
- 1/2 tsp Lemon Juice
- 4 Ice Cubes
For the Syrup
- 6 tbsp Sugar
- 4 tbsp Water
- 3-4 drops Lemon Juice (Optional)
Instructions
Making Chenna
- 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.
Shaping the Chenna Murki
- 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.
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.
- {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.
Nutrition
Calories: 49 kcalCarbohydrates: 13 gProtein: 1 gFat: 1 gSaturated Fat: 1 gCholesterol: 1 mgSodium: 1 mgPotassium: 1 mgFiber: 1 gSugar: 12 gVitamin A: 1 IUVitamin C: 1 mgCalcium: 1 mgIron: 1 mg