Bengali Chanar Jalebi

Chanar Jalebi, also known as Paneer Jalebi, is a very exquisite dessert from Bengali cuisine. A very rich and delicate dessert that is perfect for the festival season.

When I was looking for a Bengali sweet recipe to make for my Blogging marathon, this recipe caught my eye, and that is when it hit me that I could make the Bengali Chanar Jalebi that was given to us by Chandrani of Cuisine Delights .

SNC was started by Divya Pramil of “You Too Can Cook,” in which the Southern region and the Northern region compete against each other and, in the process, learn to make an authentic dish.

Why Make This Recipe

Chanar Jalebi or Paneer Jilebi is a famous Bengali sweet made on any occasion. This jalebi is made out of paneer or Chanar and then soaked in warm sugar syrup. The recipe is very easy to follow, but I had some trouble shaping the jalebis.

I did realize that this was caused because I did not strain the Paneer enough, and hence, moisture was abundant in the paneer, which caused the dough to be very sticky. I did overcome this issue, and I will explain in detail how I did so.

Bengali Chanar Jalebi and paneer jilebi - 3

Preparation time - 1 hr Cooking time - 20 mins Difficulty level - Medium

Ingredients

Paneer - from 1 liter of milk
Lemon juice - from 1 lemon (about 3 tbsp)
Maida - 3 tsp
Baking powder - ½ tsp
Cardamom powder - ½ teaspoon plus ½ tsp
Sugar - ½ cup
Water - ¼ cup
Milk - 2 teaspoon (optional)
Oil - for deep frying
Orange food coloring - a pinch (optional)

Procedure -

Make the Paneer from the milk. Please refer to my detailed post here to see how to make homemade paneer.

Once the paneer is drained enough that there is no excess liquid and yet it is slightly wet to the touch, add the maida, baking powder, and cardamom powder to it and knead well for about 10 to 15 minutes to get a smooth, soft dough.
Meanwhile, to make the sugar syrup, heat the sugar and water in a heavy-bottomed pan on medium heat. Once the sugar is dissolved and boiled, simmer the syrup until it reaches a sticky consistency. Now add the food coloring (optional) and the cardamom powder, and then turn off the flame. Keep the syrup covered until the jalebis are ready.

Divide the dough into 15 small balls and then roll it into a thin, long cylinder.

Now shape the cylinder in the form of jalebi (spirals) and arrange them on a plate.

Heat oil in a deep kadai and fry the jalebis on low heat to a golden brown color. Drain it on a paper towel.

Immediately soak the jalebis in the warm sugar syrup. Repeat the same for the rest of the dough.

Cover the sugar syrup and let the jalebis stand in it for a couple of hours.
The jalebi would absorb almost all the syrup, and it is now ready to be served. Serve it at room temperature or cold.

Expert Tips

My dough was very sticky, and I could not make any balls or roll it into a cylinder. This was because I did not drain the paneer enough. So make sure that the paneer is almost dry before making it. Also, if your dough appears too dry and cracked, add a couple of tsps of milk mentioned in the ingredients list to make it soft.
I stuck my very wet dough in the refrigerator for a couple of hours and then worked with cold dough. This way, I was able to get the shape and make the jalebis. So if any of you encounter the same issue, work with cold dough. The cold stiffens the dough a bit and makes it easier to work with.

More Recipes With Sugar Syrup

Kadalai Urundai | Verkadalai Mittai | Peanut Balls
Gulab Jamun Recipe | Home Made Gulaab Jamun
Labongo Latika | Lavang Latika
Kala Jamun / Kalo Jaam - Bengali Kala Jamun - My 400th Post

Recipe

Ingredients

▢ 1 liter Paneer from 1 liter Milk
▢ 3 tablespoon Lemon juice from 1 lemon about 3 tbsp
▢ 3 teaspoon Maida
▢ ½ teaspoon Baking powder
▢ 1 teaspoon Cardamom powder
▢ ½ cup Sugar
▢ ¼ cup Water
▢ 2 teaspoon Milk optional
▢ Oil for deep frying
▢ a pinch Orange food coloring optional

Instructions

Make the Paneer from the milk. Please refer to my detailed post here to see how to make homemade paneer.
Once the paneer is drained enough that there is no excess liquid and yet it is slightly wet to touch, add the maida, baking powder, and cardamom powder to it and knead well for about 10 to 15 mins to get smooth, soft dough.
Meanwhile to make the sugar syrup, heat the sugar and water in a heavy bottom pan in medium heat. Once the sugar is dissolved and it boils, simmer the syrup until it reaches a sticky consistency. Now add the food coloring (optional) and the cardamom powder and then turn off the flame. Keep the syrup covered until the jalebis are ready.
Divide the dough into 15 small balls and then roll it into a thin long cylinder.
Now shape the cylinder in the form of jalebi (spirals) and arrange them on a plate.
Heat oil in a deep Kadai and fry the jalebis in low heat to golden brown color. Drain it on paper towels.
Immediately soak the jalebis in the warm sugar syrup. Repeat the same for the rest of the dough.
Cover the sugar syrup and let the jalebis stand in it for a couple of hours.
The jalebi would absorb almost all the syrup and it is now ready to be served. Serve it at room temperature or cold.

Notes

My dough was very sticky and I could not make any balls or roll it into the cylinder. This was because I did not drain the paneer enough. So make sure that the paneer is almost dry before making. Also if your dough appears too dry and cracked, add a couple of tsps of milk mentioned in the ingredients list to make it soft.
I stuck my very wet dough in the refrigerator for a couple of hours and then worked with cold dough. This way I was able to get the shape and make the jalebis. So if any of you encounter the same issue, work with cold dough. The cold stiffens the dough a bit and makes it easier to work with.

Nutrition

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