Prep 1 h
Cook 1h
Serves
4
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Ingredients

    2 l low fat milk 

    4 ½ cup or 900 gms sugar, granulated 

    5 l water

    1 cup ice 

    6 soap nuts broken and boiled in 9 tbsp of water (this will take a few minutes and water will be light brown, strain and keep the water aside for later use – do this in advance)

    400 ml white vinegar 

    10 green cardamom

    30 gms pistachios

    30 strands of saffron

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Ingredient Substitution Guide

Method

Add 1.5 liter of low fat milk to a milk pan.

Boil it on high flame for 15 minutes continuously and keep stirring.

Once done, turn off the heat and keep the pan aside.

In another pan, add vinegar and water and mix it well.

Add the vinegar mix to the milk pan. The milk will begin to curdle. Strain the mixture to remove the liquid content, which is also called whey.

Collect the curdled milk in a muslin cloth and squeeze it further to remove excess whey. Then rinse it in distilled water to remain any remaining sourness. And squeeze the cottage cheese or chenna in the muslin cloth, again.

Note: Whey is a lime-yellowish liquid, often considered a good source of protein. There are many ways to include it in your diet, add it to smoothies or use it for kneading dough instead of water.

Mash the cottage cheese or chenna for 10 minutes to smoothen it. When the chenna is smooth, you should be able to make balls out of it.

Keep the mixture in the muslin cloth.

To make the sugar syrup

In a separate pan, heat 1 cup of sugar and 4 cups of water and aritha fruit syrup. Wait till it comes to a boil and starts to froth. Drop the balls in the sugar syrup and cook for 15 to 17 minutes. The balls will double in size. Take the cottage cheese balls from the syrup, soak in a bowl of fresh water, and leave them for 5 to 10 minutes. Then take the balls out, squeeze the water and excess sugar syrup out. Keep aside.

In a heavy bottom pan, boil 500 ml of milk. Soak a few strands of saffron in a tablespoon of warm milk and set aside.

Once the milk comes to a boil, lower the flame and continue to stir the milk at regular intervals. After 10 minutes, add sugar and stir.

After 20 to 25 minutes, the milk will thicken to desired consistency. Then, add soaked saffron and crushed cardamom. Give it a stir and turn off the flame.

Allow the mixture to cool down for some time. Then add the cottage balls to the milk and place it in the refrigerator until well chilled.

Chef Guneet Singh Bindra

Head chef at India Palace restaurant, Abu Dhabi

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