Odisha Recipe: Shristi's Chhena Gaja

Chhena Gaja is a soft, juicy mithai, totally delicious, that 'hails' from the eastern part of India, especially Odisha.

The plump sweet is made from fresh chhena, a kind of soft paneer and is often flavoured with cardamom and garnished with nuts. It is a part of the bhara or the gift-set of sweets, the bride takes for her in-laws' place after marriage.

Shristi Sahoo's recipe for the Odisha speciality is easy to prepare.

Chhena Gaja

Serves: 3-4

Ingredients

For the chhena:

• 1 litre whole milk
• 2 tbsp lemon juice or vinegar
• Water, for rinsing

For the gaja:

• 1 cup freshly-prepared chhena (recipe above)
• ½ cup sugar, adjust to taste
• ¼ tsp elaichi or cardamom powder
• 2 tbsp maida or all-purpose flour
• 2 tbsp ghee or oil
• Chopped nuts like cashews, almonds, for garnishing
• Oil or ghee, for deep frying

For the sugar syrup:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water

Method

For the chhena:

• Boil the milk in a heavy-bottomed pan.
  Once it starts boiling, add the lemon juice or vinegar gradually, while stirring.
  The milk will curdle and separate into curd and whey.
  Turn off the heat and let it sit for a few minutes.
• Strain the curd using a muslin cloth or a fine sieve, rinsing it under cold water to remove the sourness.
  Squeeze out excess water.
  Keep aside.

For the chhena gaja mixture:

• In a mixing bowl, combine the chhena, sugar, cardamom powder, all-purpose flour, ghee.
  Knead the mixture until it's smooth and a dough forms, about 5 to 7 minutes.
  Divide the mixture into small balls of 1½-inch diameter each and shape into small oval or round pieces.
• Heat oil or ghee in a saucepan or a kadhai over medium heat.
  Once hot, gently add the shaped gajas, frying them in batches so as not to overcrowd the pan.
  Fry until golden brown, flipping in between for even cooking.

For the sugar syrup, optional:

• In another saucepan, heat the 1 cup water with 1 cup sugar over medium heat.
  Boil till a light one-string consistency sugar syrup.
  Take off heat.
• Dip the fried gajas into the warm sugar syrup for a few minutes, drain.
• Garnish each piece with chopped nuts.
  Bring to room temperature and serve.

Editor's Note: A one-thread syrup is sugar syrup viscous enough to pass the one-thread test.
It is important to keep testing for consistency while the sugar syrup is boiling.

The test for this is: Dip a spatula, preferably wooden, into the boiling sugar syrup and take out.
Some syrup would have coated the spatula.
Let it cool.
Touch the cooled syrup with your forefinger. Some syrup will come onto your finger.
Touch that with your thumb and separate thumb from forefinger.
When one little continuous delicate threads are formed by the syrup, when the coated forefinger is pulled away from your thumb, you have a one-thread consistency sugar syrup.

• REDIFF FOOD