Bengali Chanar Jalebi | Paneer Jilebi
Chanar Jalebi, also known as Paneer Jalebi, is a very exquisite dessert from Bengali cuisine. A very rich and delicate dessert that is perfect for the festival season.
When I was looking for a Bengali sweet recipe to make for my Blogging marathon, this recipe caught my eye, and that is when it hit me that I could make the Bengali Chanar Jalebi that was given to us by Chandrani of Cuisine Delights.
SNC was started by Divya Pramil of "You Too Can Cook," in which the Southern region and the Northern region compete against each other and, in the process, learn to make an authentic dish.
Why Make This Recipe
Chanar Jalebi or Paneer Jilebi is a famous Bengali sweet made on any occasion. This jalebi is made out of paneer or Chanar and then soaked in warm sugar syrup. The recipe is very easy to follow, but I had some trouble shaping the jalebis.
I did realize that this was caused because I did not strain the Paneer enough, and hence, moisture was abundant in the paneer, which caused the dough to be very sticky. I did overcome this issue, and I will explain in detail how I did so.
Preparation time - 1 hr
Cooking time - 20 mins
Difficulty level - Medium
Ingredients
- Paneer - from 1 liter of milk
- Lemon juice - from 1 lemon (about 3 tbsp)
- Maida - 3 tsp
- Baking powder - ½ tsp
- Cardamom powder - ½ teaspoon plus ½ tsp
- Sugar - ½ cup
- Water - ¼ cup
- Milk - 2 teaspoon (optional)
- Oil - for deep frying
- Orange food coloring - a pinch (optional)
Procedure -
- Make the Paneer from the milk. Please refer to my detailed post here to see how to make homemade paneer.
- Once the paneer is drained enough that there is no excess liquid and yet it is slightly wet to the touch, add the maida, baking powder, and cardamom powder to it and knead well for about 10 to 15 minutes to get a smooth, soft dough.
- Meanwhile, to make the sugar syrup, heat the sugar and water in a heavy-bottomed pan on medium heat. Once the sugar is dissolved and boiled, simmer the syrup until it reaches a sticky consistency. Now add the food coloring (optional) and the cardamom powder, and then turn off the flame. Keep the syrup covered until the jalebis are ready.
- Divide the dough into 15 small balls and then roll it into a thin, long cylinder.
- Now shape the cylinder in the form of jalebi (spirals) and arrange them on a plate.
- Heat oil in a deep kadai and fry the jalebis on low heat to a golden brown color. Drain it on a paper towel.
- Immediately soak the jalebis in the warm sugar syrup. Repeat the same for the rest of the dough.
- Cover the sugar syrup and let the jalebis stand in it for a couple of hours.
- The jalebi would absorb almost all the syrup, and it is now ready to be served. Serve it at room temperature or cold.
Expert Tips
- My dough was very sticky, and I could not make any balls or roll it into a cylinder. This was because I did not drain the paneer enough. So make sure that the paneer is almost dry before making it. Also, if your dough appears too dry and cracked, add a couple of tsps of milk mentioned in the ingredients list to make it soft.
- I stuck my very wet dough in the refrigerator for a couple of hours and then worked with cold dough. This way, I was able to get the shape and make the jalebis. So if any of you encounter the same issue, work with cold dough. The cold stiffens the dough a bit and makes it easier to work with.
More Recipes With Sugar Syrup
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Recipe
Bengali Chanar Jalebi | Paneer Jalebi
Ingredients
- 1 liter Paneer from 1 liter Milk
- 3 tablespoon Lemon juice from 1 lemon about 3 tbsp
- 3 teaspoon Maida
- ½ teaspoon Baking powder
- 1 teaspoon Cardamom powder
- ½ cup Sugar
- ¼ cup Water
- 2 teaspoon Milk optional
- Oil for deep frying
- a pinch Orange food coloring optional
Instructions
- Make the Paneer from the milk. Please refer to my detailed post here to see how to make homemade paneer.
- Once the paneer is drained enough that there is no excess liquid and yet it is slightly wet to touch, add the maida, baking powder, and cardamom powder to it and knead well for about 10 to 15 mins to get smooth, soft dough.
- Meanwhile to make the sugar syrup, heat the sugar and water in a heavy bottom pan in medium heat. Once the sugar is dissolved and it boils, simmer the syrup until it reaches a sticky consistency. Now add the food coloring (optional) and the cardamom powder and then turn off the flame. Keep the syrup covered until the jalebis are ready.
- Divide the dough into 15 small balls and then roll it into a thin long cylinder.
- Now shape the cylinder in the form of jalebi (spirals) and arrange them on a plate.
- Heat oil in a deep Kadai and fry the jalebis in low heat to golden brown color. Drain it on paper towels.
- Immediately soak the jalebis in the warm sugar syrup. Repeat the same for the rest of the dough.
- Cover the sugar syrup and let the jalebis stand in it for a couple of hours.
- The jalebi would absorb almost all the syrup and it is now ready to be served. Serve it at room temperature or cold.
Notes
- My dough was very sticky and I could not make any balls or roll it into the cylinder. This was because I did not drain the paneer enough. So make sure that the paneer is almost dry before making. Also if your dough appears too dry and cracked, add a couple of tsps of milk mentioned in the ingredients list to make it soft.
- I stuck my very wet dough in the refrigerator for a couple of hours and then worked with cold dough. This way I was able to get the shape and make the jalebis. So if any of you encounter the same issue, work with cold dough. The cold stiffens the dough a bit and makes it easier to work with.
wonderfully made.so tempting.
wow its super tempting and nice explanation akka...
Its amazing.
that looks unbelievably beautiful... love the photo in the spoon (closeup) - super professionally done... should try this one soon!!!
Sowmya
Event - Authentic Indian Sweets w giveaway
Event - Kid's delight - Sweet Treats
OMG your pictures are temtinge a lot can not talk any more mouthwatering...
Am just loving it seeing the yummy Jalebi.
I have been trying to get myself to make these but you have now tempted beyond what I am capable of handling!! Awesome!
I recently came to know abt this sweet, sounds very interesting..wonder why I dont' remember reading on this..nice pictures
I wouldn't have thought that anything that looks so good would be relatively easy to make. Bookmarking this recipe to try out later.
Those paneer jalebis look sooooooo good. Love the presentation and the clicks are too tempting.
Wonderful color 🙂 very very tempting 🙂
such a beauty .... I just cant wait to have them .
Crispy and juicy; Love them.
Mouthwatering jalebis...yummy.
Super delicious !! looks so inviting !!
Beautifully done, juicy jalebis looks extremely attractive.
Looks so yum...
wow..simply wow..loving the recipe..and will try it as soon as I have some dinner..
Way to go very nice Sandhya
Such an elaborate process.. the process seems similar to gulab jamuns.. Lovely paneer jalebis!
wow, this recipe is new to me. Thanks for sharing. looks delicious.
This is such a fab challenge, mouthwatering. And you have turned out perfect jilebis.
Perfectly made jalebis.. Nicely explained too.. 🙂 Well done on the challnge 🙂
The jalebis have come out beautiful, juicy and yummy. Love it!
Yours came out too perfect Sandhya. Yummy and super delicious jalebis.....:)
wow this jalebi looks awesome and super clicks...
looks tempting
lovely jelebi and you have explained so well, i am just imagining the taste of them, looks fabulous
Perfectly made and looks delicious.. 🙂
Looks great and Thanks for the detailed explanation.
looks really yummy... thank you for the tips as well, it is of good help... 🙂
Happy to follow u
What a yummy paneer jalebis.... Very tempting... When u get one do visit mine...
these look so good and much better than normal jalebis I see in shops
Delicious jalebi . Looks perfect for any occasion.
Jalebi looks delicious and perfect.
Wow! Looks fantastic..