Chum Chum Recipe - Bengali Sweet Chomchom

Chum Chum is a popular authentic Sweet Dish which hails from the Eastern Indian state of West Bengal. This post shows how to make soft and spongy Cham Cham.

Recipe Source Link:https://www.mygingergarlickitchen.com/chum-chum-recipe/

---

« Go back Print this recipe »

RECIPE INGREDIENTS

» For Chenna (Paneer):

• 5 cups Full Cream Milk (Preferably Cow Milk)
• 1-2 tablespoons Lemon juice or white vinegar

» For Sugar Syrup:

• 5 cups water
• 2 cups sugar

» For Mawa Stuffing:

• 1 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter)
• 1/4 cup crumbled mawa/khoya (milk solids)
• 5 tablespoons saffron milk (soak crushed saffron in hot milk for 1 hour)
• 5 tablespoons cream
• 2 tablespoons sugar or as per taste
• 1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder

» For Assembling Chum Chum:

• Desiccated coconut
• Chopped blanched pistachios
• Glazed cherries or tutti frutti

RECIPE INSTRUCTIONS

» Making Chenna:

1. Add full cream cow milk to a thick bottom pan and boil it.
2. Once it is boiling, then you add some lemon juice or vinegar to curdle it. Stir well.
3. When you see the greenish whey separated from the solids, then your milk is curdled. (You can use this whey for making chapati dough).
4. Line a strainer/colander with a cheese/muslin cloth.
5. Strain the curdled milk through the lined strainer.
6. Rinse it well with ice-cold water or under cold running water.
7. Now gather the cloth from the sides.
8. Remove all the water by squeezing the cloth.
9. Now you have your chenna/paneer (coagulated milk) ready. Chenna ­needs to be dried well for this Chum Chum recipe. So hang the cloth for 45 minutes to remove excess water.

» Making Chenna (Paneer) Dough:

1. Once the dough is hanged for about 45 minutes, remove the chenna out from the cloth.
2. Knead it well for about 8-10 minutes or until dough forms.
3. Paneer dough is ready when it starts leaving the fat. At this point, your palms are greasy. You can also use a food processor for kneading.

» Shaping Chum Chum:

1. Divide the dough into 8-10 equal pieces. Take one portion between the palms of your hands and roll into a 4 inch cylindrical or oval shape. Smoothen the rolls and make sure that there are no cracks.
2. Repeat the same to make more ovals. Set them aside.

» Making Sugar Syrup:

1. Add 2 cups sugar, 5 cups water to a large pot.
2. Stir with a spatula, and let the water boil for 8-10 minutes. (You don't need to look for any thread consistency.)
3. Sugar syrup is ready for cooking chum chum.

» Cooking Chum Chum:

1. Once the syrup has boiled, gently drop the cheese rolls into it and cover it.
2. Cook covered for 10 minutes on high heat. Turn the heat to medium-low after 10 minutes, and cook for 5 minutes.
3. Let them cool completely at room temperature.

» Making Mawa Stuffing:

1. Heat 1 tablespoon ghee in pan over medium heat.
2. Add 1/4 cup crumbled mawa to it.
3. Sauté for 1 minute and add saffron milk (crushed saffron strands soaked in warm milk.)
4. Once the mawa melts, add the cream and cook for 5-7 minutes over medium-low heat.
5. Add sugar and mix everything well.
6. Once the mixture starts to thicken, add cardamom powder and mix well.
7. Cook for 2 more minutes. Make sure to notlet it become dry completely, because this mixture thickens after cooling.
8. Once cooked, Let it cool completely at room temperature.

» Assembling Chum Chum:

1. Once the chum chum has cooled off, remove chum chum from sugar syrup and press it lightly between your palms to take out the extra syrup. Make a lengthwise slit halfway through, using a knife.
2. Fill it with the cooled mawa stuffing and smoothen the top.
3. Roll it over desiccated coconut.
4. Top chum chum with some chopped pistachios and glazed cherries. Repeat steps 1-4 to make all the chum chum.
5. Serve chum chum chilled as an aftermeal dessert.

RECIPE NOTES

1. Do not stir chum chum with a spoon while boiling, oe else they will fall apart.
2. You can also add some rose or kewara essence to the dough for a fragrant floral flavor.
3. I did not add any binder (flour) to the paneer because I like spongy chum chum. But some people like to add arrowroot powder, all-purpose flour (maida), cornstarch, or even semolina (suji) to get a firm texture. If you also want a stiff texture of Chum chum, then add 1 tablespoon of any of the above binders to the crumbled paneer before kneading it.