Chhena jhili is a popular dessert from cuisine of Odisha, India. Its birthplace is Nimapada in Puri district. It is prepared in fried cheese and sugar syrup. Chenna Jhilli is made from fresh Chenna or cottage cheese and then fried in ghee and soaked in light sugar syrup. When you put this sweet into your mouth, you can experience a burst of flavor from the sweetness of chenna and the cardamom flavor sugar syrup.
Ingredients of Chhena Jhili
- 250 gms Chenna
- 1 tsp Semolina
- 1 tsp plain flour
- A pinch of cardamom powder
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 cups Water
- 5 to 6 crushed cardamoms
- Ghee for deep frying
- Pistachios for garnishing
How to Make Chhena Jhili
- Boil milk and when it starts to boil, lower the gas and put in 1 tbsp of vinegar. Now milk to curdle and the chena being separated from the greenish whey.
- Put it over a muslin cloth and clean with cold water.
- Hang it on a place for 3 hours.
- Now add plain flour, semolina and cardamom powder to the fresh chenna and knead with your palms on a flat surface till you get a smooth texture.
- Boil sugar and water in a pan and when it starts to boil, lower the heat and add crushed cardamom to it and keep boiling to get a thin sugar syrup.
- Divide the dough into equal parts.
- Slowly roll this ball into a log shape using your palm and give it a heart shape by overlapping the both the ends.
- Heat ghee in a kadhai and deep fry these chenna Jhillis on a medium fire.
- Remove from oil and spread it on a tissue paper and then add it to the sugar syrup and let it soak in the sugar syrup for minimum 30 minutes.
- Sprinkle some pistachios on top and enjoy this sweet.
