this recipe is inspired by Niranjan. a couple of weeks back he spoke so much about this dish that i got tempted too. and then as luck would have it, i chanced upon the recipe and picture while surfing and i was then determined to try it. yesterday Niranjan and Abhijeet had come over and i thought it was the perfect time to give it a try. and we did and the result was absolutely delicious! i could not believe one could make a cake out of chenna (fresh paneer/cottage cheese) and that it could taste so good. this is one of the finest sweet dishes that i have come across lately. how come i had never heard of it before? this dish is from orissa and a hot favourite of Jagannath Puri. and so healthy as compared to many of the other white flour based or fried desserts.
ingredients: fresh chenna made from 3 litres of cow's milk (use vinegar to curdle the milk), 3/4the tsp baking powder, 25gms sooji (semolina), 125 gms sugar, 1/2 tsp chhoti elaichi powder (cardamom).
method: mix all ingredients together and mash well with hands till the mixture is absolutely smooth. take a baking dish and rub some cow ghee on it. line it with a butter paper or better with the dry pattal leaves(the leaves in which we are served chaats or food at temple). now transfer the entire chenna mixture in the bowl and bake it on 200 degrees celsius for exactly an hour. insert a toothpick to check if it is done. if the toothpick comes out clean it is ready. if not then bake some more. now turn it over in a plate and let it cool completely before slicing (well we could not! we ate it while it was still warm) the texture is unbelievably very much like a cake.
if you would like it to be brown from outside like a proper cake, caramelize a little sugar in the baking dish before pouring in the mixture. if you like you can also add some raisins and cashews to the mixture.
go ahead try it and enjoy a yummy dessert. btw i forgot to take the picture so i have picked this one from the net. Shivi wanted me to post this right away so... :D
