The cheesiest Indian desserts on offer

TasteAtlas, a popular food and travel guide platform, released a list of the ‘World’s 25 Best Cheese Desserts’ and India’s beloved rasmalai has ranked second on it. The other delicacies on the list are the Japanese cheesecake, New York-style cheesecake and the Basque cheesecake to name a few.

In India, a multitude of traditional sweets use cheese as a primary ingredient. Many of these desserts are made with chhena or moist cottage cheese, formed by curdling milk and separating the cheese and whey. This chhena is sweetened to make a variety of sweet treats which are pleasing to all palates. Whether it’s for festivals or simply for a dessert after a filling meal, here are recipes for cheese-based Indian desserts that are scrumptious on all occasions. 

Chhanar payesh

A classic cottage cheese pudding, this authentic Bengali delight is perfect for festivals and special occasions. This sweet treat can be made at home with some easily available ingredients.

Ingredients: 

• 250 gms grated cow milk cottage cheese (chenna)   
• 1.2 litre cups milk (approx) 
• 3½ tablespoons sugar 
• A few strands of saffron for garnishing     
• ½ teaspoon green cardamom powder   
• Blanched, peeled, and slivered pistachios for garnishing 

How to make it:

1. Heat milk in a deep non-stick pan and cook it while stirring continuously till it reduces to half the original quantity. 
2. Now add saffron and green cardamom powder and mix, this will enhance your payesh’s flavour. Cook for 1-2 minutes.
3. Add sugar and mix well till the sugar melts completely.
4. Add grated cottage cheese, mix and cook on low heat for another 2 minutes.
5. Take the pan off the heat and set aside to cool. Refrigerate this for about an hour.
6. Serve chilled garnished with saffron strands, and slivered pistachios. 

Also Read: The sweet story of Kolkata’s Rabrigram

Chhena murki

These sugar-coated paneer or chhena bites are a widely loved Bengali sweet treat. The best thing about them is that they can easily be made at home when you’re craving a light, sweet snack. Dry on the outside and juicy on the inside, this treat is bound to leave you drooling.

Ingredients: 

• 250 gms paneer
• 500 gms sugar
• 250 ml water
• 8-10 drops rosewater
• ½ tbsp cardamom powder
• 1 tbsp powdered sugar

How to make it:

1. Cut fresh paneer into bite-sized pieces and coarsely grind some cardamom. 
2. Next, add some sugar and water to a pan and stir well till the syrup reaches a bubbly consistency and looks white instead of transparent. 
3. Add cardamom powder and rosewater to the sugar syrup and put off the flame. 
4. Now add the paneer pieces to the syrup and mix well so the paneer gets coated properly with sugar. Keep stirring till sugar begins to crystallise over the paneer pieces.
5. Finally, let the chhena murki cool down completely, add powdered sugar to it and toss. 
6. Your chhena murki is now ready to be served and enjoyed. 

Also Read: The sweet story of Kolkata’s Rabrigram

Chhena poda

Chenna Poda is a baked paneer dessert from Odisha loved by people of all ages. It is a soft and moist dessert recognised by its distinct brown colour.

Ingredients: 

• 250 gms chenna
• 4 tbsp powdered sugar
• ½ tsp cardamom powder
• 4 tbsp milk
• 5-6 pieces dry fruits
• 1 tbsp ghee 
• 2-3 tbsp sugar (for caramelising) 

How to make it:

1. Mix fresh chhena with powdered sugar, cardamom powder and milk. 
2. In a separate pan fry dry fruits like cashews and raisins and add to the chenna mix to enhance its taste. 
3. Now evenly coat a baking tin with ghee and add sugar to it.
4. The next step is to caramelise the sugar, which is predominantly where chhena poda derives its unique flavour from. 
5. Now, pour the chhena mixture evenly on top of the caramelised sugar and bake in a preheated oven at 180°c  for 40-45 mins.
6. Once out of the oven, this dessert looks like a cake and is served as neatly cut slices.

Also Read: Ramanagara’s 100-year-old Mysore pak hotel

Rasgulla

Needless to say, rasgulla is one of India’s favourite cottage cheese dishes. These light and spongy balls of chhena, soaked in fragrant sugar syrup, are enjoyed on every occasion.

Ingredients: 

• 2 litre milk
• 3-4 tbsp lemon juice
• 500 gms sugar
• 1.5 litre water (approx) 
• 1-2 cardamom
• Saffron threads for garnishing 

How to make it: 

To make the cheese: 

1. Bring the milk to a boil, then cool down the milk for 10-12 minutes while you dilute the lemon juice with the same amount of water. 
2. Add the lemon juice mixture a little at a time to the milk and stir till the milk curdles and the cheese separates from the whey.
3. Strain the cheese and wash it with cold water. Squeeze out all moisture and hang the cheese in a cloth for about an hour to drain the water.

To create the Rasgulla: 

1. After this, knead the cheese into small balls.
2. Now add sugar and water to a pan, and stir on high flame to create a thick sugar syrup which will be used to sweeten your rasgullas. Add cardamom to this sweet syrup to enhance its fragrance. 
3. Add your chhena balls to this syrup and cook for 18-20 minutes.
4. Once the rasgullas double in size, take them out and let them cool down. 
5. Once down to room temperature, adorn the rasgullas with saffron threads and get ready to devour the gastronomic delight.

Also Read: Tosha: A traditional sweet delicacy of Kashmir

Rasmalai

Rasmalai is a delicious cheese-based dessert loaded with the goodness of milk, nuts, saffron and cardamom. This classic Indian sweet dish comprises cottage cheese or chhena discs in creamy, thickened sweet milk or rabri. 

Ingredients: 

For chhena discs: 

• 1 litre milk
• 2-3 tablespoon vinegar
• For sugar syrup: 
• 500 gms sugar
• 1 litre water
• For rabri: 
• 500 ml milk 
• 1 tbsp sliced, chopped almonds
• 1/2 tsp powdered green cardamom
• 1 tbsp sliced, chopped pistachios
• 1/2 tsp saffron

How to make it: 

To make sweet chhena discs: 

1. Boil milk in a pan.
2. Use a dash of water to dilute vinegar and add it to the boiling milk. 
3. Turn off the flame when the milk splits and add chilled water.
4. Use a muslin cloth to strain it well. 
5. Squeeze out all the excess water and spread the cheese on the kitchen counter while it’s lukewarm and rub it with the palm of your hands until its grains become creamy.
6. Divide this mixture into equal portions and knead them to make small discs.

To make sugar syrup:

1. Add 2 cups of sugar to cups of water in a deep-bottomed pan and bring it to a boil.
2. When the syrup begins to boil, add cardamom powder to it. 
3. Now add the chenna discs to the syrup and cook on a moderately high flame for about 10 minutes. This doubles the size of the discs.
4. Turn off the stove and let it cool for about 20 minutes.

 To make the Rabri: 

1. Simmer full-fat milk and sugar till it turns thick. Don’t forget to add cardamom and saffron to further enhance its fragrance.
2. Let it boil till the milk obtains a thick, condensed texture.

Assembling: 

1. Now drain the chhena discs off the sugar syrup and add them to the thick and flavorful rabri. 
2. Garnish with chopped almonds, pista and saffron and serve chilled to best enjoy this creamy delicacy. 

Also Read: How Kud has become Kashmir’s sweet-making powerhouse

Sandesh

This Bengali sweet is often prepared during festivals, especially Durga Puja. It’s a paneer or chhena based sweet treat which can be made easily at home. You can also get creative with this dessert by making it in the shapes and sizes of your choice.

Ingredients: 

• 250 gms paneer 
• 1 tsp almond powder 
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 tsp green cardamom powder
• 5-6 almonds (or any dry fruit) 
• 5-6 chopped pistachios for garnishing

How to make it:

1. Add paneer to a plate with almond powder and knead it well till it is smooth in texture.
2. Move this mixture to a non-stick pan and add powdered sugar and cardamom powder. Fry it on low heat for about 4-5 minutes.
3. Turn off the heat and let the mixture cool down completely.
4. Once it cools down, knead this sweet mixture lightly and make it into small balls. Flatten these balls and tuck an almond ( or any dry fruit) into the center. 
5. Refrigerate your Sandesh for 1-2 hours, garnish with pistachios and enjoy it chilled.