Bengali Chanar Jalebi | Paneer Jalebi

No ratings yet

Bengali Chanar Jalebi | Paneer Jalebi

Chanar Jalebi also known as Paneer Jalebi is a very exquisite dessert from the Bengali cuisine. A very rich and delicate dessert that is perfect for the festival season.

Prep Time1

Cook Time20

Total Time1 20

Course: Dessert, Festival Recipes, sweets

Cuisine: Bengali, Indian

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings: pieces

Calories: 221kcal

Author: Sandhya Ramakrishnan

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.

Nutrition