Cham-Chams

When RCI: Bengal was announced the first thing that came to mind was the juicy Bengali sweets. I had two favourites as a kid (and still do), Champakali (Cham Cham) and Malai Sandwich. I googled to find out which sweets are actually possible to make at home and to my surprise came across a recipe for Cham Cham. A few months ago I had tried to make Rasagollas at home, and they were perfect.I was pleasantly surprised that the method was so simple and easy.

Most Bengali sweets have Paneer as the starting base. Like so for the Cham Cham, which also has a mawa filling in between. Making this mawa/khoya was another procedure. More on that later. Now back to the juicy yellow Cham chams.

You will need:

For the outer layer:

5 cups Whole Milk
2 tbsp Lemon juice
1/4 tsp Lemon Yellow food colour
2 Cups Water
1 Cup Sugar

For the filling:

1 Cup Plain Khoya
3/4 Cup Heavy Whipping cream
3 tbsp Powdered Sugar
Cherries

Bring milk to a boil on the stove top. Stir frequently to prevent burning. When the milk begins to boil add the lime juice, this will curdle the milk and the whey will begin to split. Turn off heat and let sit for 5 minutes. Strain into a colander lined with a double layer of cheese cloth or any thin cloth. Run under cold water to rinse off the lemon residue.

Squeeze the cloth to drain as much water as possible. Place in the colander for 20 minutes to allow all the water to drain.

Once the water has drained, transfer Paneer to a smooth, clean kneading surface. Add the food colour and knead the paneer for 5-7 minutes till it comes together into a soft dough. As you knead the ball should give off fat, this is the time to stop. (Over kneading makes the end product very chewy)

Set water to boil in a pressure cooker. Stir in the sugar and bring to a full boil.

Divide the kneaded paneer into equal parts, and shape into long oblong pieces. Remember to make the pieces small,because they will double in size once they are cooked.

Once the syrup comes to a boil, slowly add the pieces into the cooker. Make sure your cooker is big enough to accommodate all the pieces without being too crowded. Close lid, place weight on cooker and pressure cook on high for two whistles. Reduce heat to low, cook for 5 minutes and then turn off heat.

Do not handle the cham chams when they are hot, they are very delicate. This holds true if you are making Rasagolla or Rasmalai too.

This is how they will look once pressure cooked. Let cool and refrigerate overnight or for alteast 6 hours before u make the filling.


In a pan on medium heat, mix cream, plain khoya and the powdered sugar. Stir till it thickens. Let cool well and then knead into a dough. This is the filling.

Slice each cham cham lengthwise, place a long piece of filling in between and press the two pieces together. Top with a halved cherry and serve. Keep chilled. The sugar syrup can be refrigerated and stored for a good while. Use it instead of sugar in milkshakes or anything else.



The same procedure goes for making Rasagollas, except that you don't need to add food colour, make round balls instead of oblongs and of course no filling is necessary.

Note: I probably cooked the filling more than required hence the brown colour, it should remain creamy white.

These yummy Cham Chams are headed over to the event RCI: Bengal hosted by Sandeepa of Bong Mom's Cookbook.