Recipe: Oishi Chhanar jilipi (Cottage cheese dumplings) For Vegan's Friend

Chhanar jilipi (Cottage cheese dumplings). Chana ( or Chena) or Cottage Cheese is the core ingredient for making sweets in Bengal ( both West Bengal and Bangladesh) and this Jilapi/ Jalebi prepared with Chana is amazing to taste. It's a distant cousin of Gulap Jamun ingredient wise and long-lost brother of Jalebi structure wise. I flavored the cottage cheese with garlic powder salt pepper and italian seasoning.

Chenna or Paneer or Cottage Cheese is the quintessential ingredient for most of the Odia desserts and is an integral part of Odia cuisine. Chanar Jilipi or Chenna Jhilapi or you can also call it as Paneer Jalebi is a sweet made out of fresh cottage cheese i.e Chenna. Though this sweet mainly belongs to Bengal,it is also available in eastern part of Odisha. You can Have Chhanar jilipi (Cottage cheese dumplings) using 9 ingredients and 6 steps. Here is how you achieve it.

Ingredients of Chhanar jilipi (Cottage cheese dumplings)

1. What You needis 150 g of chaana/cottage cheese.
2. Lets Go Prepare 4 tbsp of flour/maida.
3. It's 2 tbsp of suji/dry semolina.
4. Lets Go Prepare 2 tbsp of corn flour.
5. Lets Go Prepare a pinch of Baking soda.
6. It's As needed of Oil.
7. What You needis of Sugar.
8. What You needis As needed of Water.
9. What You needis 2-3 of cardamoms.

Being from Odisha, my love for sweets made out of fresh cottage is pretty obvious. Chanar Jilipi is one of the popular Bengali recipes which is also known as Paneer Jalebi. Prepared using full cream milk, lemon juice, and all purpose flour, this dessert recipe is truly delicious and mouth-watering. Try these cottage cheese swirls dipped in sugar syrup on festivals and special occasions.

Chhanar jilipi (Cottage cheese dumplings) step by step

1. To make chaana boil milk and add lemon juice on it until the milk separates, and pour the residue/chaana in a clean cloth and tie it until all the water drains out..
2. Knead the chaana/cottage cheese with maida,corn flour and baking soda,sugar a pinch until it becomes a smooth paste,consistency should be very fine no lumps.
3. Take small batches out of the mixture and and roll it pin shape then into a semi-circle with both the side tucked in,thus making many jilipis.
4. Deep fry in oil until it turns out brownish in colour.
5. In a separate pan take water and plenty of sugar and bring it to boil until thickness develops and it turns into syrup, put some cardamoms in it.
6. Simmer the hot jilipis in the sugar syrup and keep it aside for the jilipis to soak in and serve it hot anytime.

Coming to the recipe, chhanar jilipi (Cottage Cheese funnel cake) is a very famous Bong sweet or dessert. That's the recipe I had seen in the magazine. But I remembered seeing something called chhanar puli once on a TV show back home. Chanar Jilipi or Chenna Jhilapi or you can also call it as Paneer Jalebi is a sweet made out of fresh cottage cheese i.e Chenna. Though this sweet mainly belongs to Bengal,it is also available in eastern part of Odisha.