All over India, Bengali milk sweets are popular but a little research into Odisha cuisine will let you know the vast number of milk sweets available in Odisha. When I was looking for recipes for this BM, I came across the same recipe with different names in both the cuisines. This chenna gaja is so popular in Odisha, but hasn’t spread in other states. The procedure is not very tough and the sweet is so good.
It reminds me of then mittai available in south. The paneer cubes are deep fried and soaked in syrup and then allowed to dry out. So the sweet is crisp on the outside and juicy inside. I really enjoyed making those sweets that day. Look at these golden beauties. The dough is basically rasgolla dough but deep fried and that gives a really different taste than rasgolla. When I made these gajas, I made four more sweets along with it as all those needed deep frying and soaking in syrup. It took nearly three hours from start to finish and I had paneer, mawa and syrup ready.
Ingredients:
Paneer – 100 gm
Sooji – 1 tbs
Cardamom Powder – 1/4 tsp
Oil To Deep Fry
Sugar – 200 gm
Water – 150 ml
Vinegar – 1 tbs
Procedure:
In a bowl mix together paneer. sooji and cardamom powder and knead to form a soft dough.
Pat it into a rectangular block on your counter.
Slice it into small cubes.
Heat oil and deep fry them until golden.
In another pan heat sugar and water and bring it to single thread consistency.
Add vinegar and remove from stove.
Add the fried gajas and allow them to soak for 30 minutes.
Remove the gajas and place on a plate and let them cool down.
Store in airtight jar.
| Servings |
3 persons |
- Paneer - 100 gm
- Sooji - 1 tbs
- Cardamom Powder - 1/4 tsp
- Oil-to deep fry
- Sugar - 200 gm
- Water -150 ml
- Vinegar - 1 tbs
Ingredients
| |
- In a bowl mix together paneer. sooji and cardamom powder and knead to form a soft dough.
- Pat it into a rectangular block on your counter.
- Slice it into small cubes.
- Heat oil and deep fry them until golden.
- In another pan heat sugar and water and bring it to single thread consistency.
- Add vinegar and remove from stove.
- Add the fried gajas and allow them to soak for 30 minutes.
- Remove the gajas and place on a plate and let them cool down.
- Store in airtight jar.
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 87
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That is an amazing treat, Gayathri. Great research as well.
Love this chenna gaja,im definitely trying this out ..A great alternative to gulab jamun plus it can be prepared in less time.. Yummy..
Very interesting sweet Gayathri..but wondering why is vinegar added to sugar syrup…This is something like making sweet kotas ,I love the whole concept and process of this sweet.I am sure it would be a hit with me.
Thanks Vaishali. Do try, it is so good. The addition of vinegar is to prevent sugar crystallization. You can even add lemon juice instead of vinegar.
wow after chenna murkhi this is such a fantastic recipe with chenna again 🙂 I understand instead of adding lemon juice you just added vinegar which is mindblowing !! these look fabulous and addictive for sure !! Love the preparation you have explained it so well no one can go wrong !!
Wow Gayathri! You are coming up with such delicious and easy to prepare milk sweets! Kudos to your efforts!
Chenna gaja looks delicious and addictive,Gayathri. Kudos to your efforts for trying out all these unique sweets from Odhisha.
Stunning chenna gaja, cant take my eyes from those ultimate cubes, oh god how addictive this gajas will be na, excellent milk sweets Gayathri, that too with usual ingredients available in our pantry.
Those deep fried cubes look sinful Gayathri!..awesome find..when I was reading about these Chhena based sweets, it was told that many sweets were introduced to Bengal by Oriyan cooks, so there tends to be an overlap for sure..:)..
I just want to reach into that bowl and grab a hand full of those gaja. They look so crispy, juicy and inviting. Awesome find Gayathri — good one.
Drooling here. Love the way you guyz in preparing these dishes.
Amazing sweet treat Gayathri. Never thought that paneer cubes fried and dunked in sugar syrup would look so tempting.
At the end of this Bm, every time I look at Bengali sweet shops, I am gonna think of u, Gayatri ! Super job of bringing us all these delicacies
The fried chenna looks so inviting and must have tasted amazing. I wonder how you bring a unique and interesting milk sweet every time.
Oh yumm Gayathri! That looks scrumptious! Those crunchy paneer with sugar syrup looks rich!! Wonderful treat!
This is such an amazing sweet and it does remind me of the then mittai. I love then mittai and I would love to give this a try.
i was about to ask why vinegar is added before going though the comment thread. These chana gaja must taste great with atht crunch and oozing sugary sweetness.
I am not sure how much of this is true but had read some time ago that most of the chefs in Bengal happened to be from Orissa and so, the dishes tend to be similar.
Chenna gaja looks so inviting and tempting.. perfect for festive season.