Chitrakut | চিত্রকূট মিষ্টি
Chitrakut is one of those Bengali sweets recipes which is rarely heard of. Not as popular as its counterparts like Rosogolla or Pantua, however, it is still quite popular among Bengali sweet-preferring community.
Servings 9 pieces
Calories 154kcal
Equipment
- Stove Top
- Non-stick frying pan
- Mixing Bowl
- Sauce Pan
Ingredients
- 600 ml Cow's Milk
- 1 Lemon
- 3 tbsp All Purpose Flour
- 1 tbsp Semolina or Sooji
- ½ tsp Baking Soda
- 3½ tbsp Water
- 2 tbsp Milk Powder If you don't want to use Milk Powder, replace the Water with Milk
- 1 tsp Ghee
- Ghee or Oil to fry
- 1 cup Sugar
- 1 cup Water
- 1 Green Cardamom Pod
- 1 Black Cardamom optional
Instructions
- To make Chena or Chana
- Bring the milk to a rolling boil first. Once it is there, add the juice of a lemon into the milk. Here, I have used 600ml of Cow's Milk and that required the juice of one golf ball-sized lemon. Add the juice gradually. Once you see that the cheese has curdled and whey left underneath is pale green in colour, stop adding the juice.600 ml Cow's Milk, 1 Lemon
- Turn off the heat. Take a cheesecloth and lay it on top of a sieve. Now, pour the contents of the milk pan into it. I would suggest you collect the whey underneath the sieve, as it is rich in nutrients.
- Gather the ends of the cheesecloth and let it sit on the sieve overnight to get rid of the moisture. If you live in a colder region, you may leave it on your kitchen counter, otherwise, keep it in the refrigerator.
- To make Sugar Syrup
- Take sugar and water in a sauce pan and gently bring it to a boil. Keep stirring so that the sugar is dissolved completely. Once you see that there are no more sugar crystals left, switch off the heat. Drop in the cardamom pods and stir.1 cup Sugar, 1 cup Water, 1 Green Cardamom Pod
- To make Chitrakut
- Take the chena or cottage cheese in a mixing bowl and knead it for 8-10 minutes to make it smooth and supple
- Add the rest of the ingredients in it like All-Purpose Flour, Semolina, Milk Powder, Ghee and Baking Soda and knead it again. Shell the Black Cardamom and pound the seeds. You can add this to the dough for an extra flavour. It is totally optional. Keep the Cardamom shell for your curries.3 tbsp All Purpose Flour, 1 tbsp Semolina or Sooji, ½ tsp Baking Soda, 2 tbsp Milk Powder, 1 Black Cardamom, 1 tsp Ghee
- Add Water to make the dough. It will be a dry dough, stiffer than the one we make for Gulab Jamun or Chanar Jilipi3½ tbsp Water
- Now, roll the dough on a floured surface and trim the edges to make it an equal square
- Divide the dough into 9 equal portions. You can roll the trimmed edges and make a couple of more chitrakuts out of those.
- Score the top of each of the Chitrakuts so that it doesn't burst open while frying
- Now, fry them in oil/ghee on very low heat. Once they turn brown, take them out and dunk them in Sugar Syrup. Let them soak for an hour or so before serving.Ghee or Oil to fry
Notes
