Chum chum recipe, Cham cham

Chum chum/ Chom Chom/ Cham Cham is a rich, soft, spongy and delicious Bengali sweet traditionally prepared by rolling chenna (Indian cheese prepared by curdling milk) to cylindrical shape, which is then boiled in sugar syrup, then stuffed with mawa, topped with nuts and coated with desiccated coconut/ mawa.

Though it might sound like rocket science the actual making it very easy and simple compared to the written version as the base if this sweet is just a Rasgulla. Now sounds little easy and known right??

As you all know I have been constantly posting Diwali sweets and snacks specially South Indian style thought to post a simple yet delectable sweet from the other side too and here it is for you guys from my kitchen. Last year I posted,

So thought to post something different and here is Chum Chum/ Cham Cham in homestyle version so kept it color free so its white, but if you like food color you can try making it in pink, yellow or light orange or crazy green too. Also have you checked my my other diwali recipes that I posted for this year?? Not yet then check it out here:

I have added as much as points possible to make it easy for beginners so the direction might look longer pls forgive me for that and I hope it will help you guys and I am sure you guys will nail it. So let’s get to the making of chum chum/chom chom/ cham cham!!

Also, Do check out the below link for interesting diwali recipes:
60+ Diwali sweets and snacks recipes

Chum chum recipe, Cham cham

2021-10-26 21:58:10

Serves 6

Prep Time

25 min

Cook Time

25 min

Total Time

50 min

Prep Time

25 min

Cook Time

25 min

Total Time

50 min

Ingredients

1. Whole Milk/ Full cream milk – 1 liter
2. Lemon juice/ Vinegar – 1 tbsp
3. Pistachios - 1 tbsp (finely chopped, for garnish)
4. Saffron strands - few (for garnish)

For stuffing

1. Unsweetened khoya/ Mawa - 1 cup
2. Powdered Sugar – 2 tbsp
3. Cardamom powder- ¼ tsp

For sugar syrup

1. Sugar – 1 cup
2. Water – 4 cups
3. Cardamom – 2

Note

* 1 cup = 235 ml

Instructions

In a pan/ pot add ¼ cup water then add milk. Mix well and allow it to boil well. When the milk starts to boil put the flame to low and add lemon juice/ Vinegar little by little to the boiling milk and mix well. After few seconds you will notice the milk curdling, at that point put off the flame and add ice cubes to the curdled milk to prevent it from over boiling or to stop the process. This curdled milk is called chenna. Do not keep heating the curdled milk as it will yield rubbery output.
Remove the pan from the stove and keep it aside for 5 minutes.. Now after 5 minutes take colander/ strainer, on it place a muslin cloth/ thin cotton cloth. Place the strainer in clean sink/ over a big bowl as we will drain the chenna/ curdled milk in it. Now gently pour the chenna in the muslin cloth and the water will start draining gradually. Now wash the chenna well in running water to get rid of lemon/ vinegar flavors.
Now after all the water is completely drained tie the cloth really tight, squeeze as much as water possible and hang the cloth for around 30 to 40 minutes till all the water is drained. Do not allow it to hang for more than 30 to 40 minutes as the chenna might loose its texture.
Now after 30 to 40 minutes remove the chenna/ paneer from the muslin cloth and transfer it to a plate. Now using your hand knead the chenna/ paneer really well for about 5 minutes. This kneading is really important as it helps in forming proper balls of rasgulla and eliminates breaking of the rasgulla when boiling in sugar syrup. So take your time and knead it well.
After 5 minutes of proper kneading you will be able to make a soft dough with that chenna. Now divide pinch a small portion of chenna dough and roll it gently into log/ oval shape. Repeat the process till all chenna dough is complete. Make the ball very small as it will double in size when put in sugar syrup. When the balls are ready keep it aside covered with muslin cloth to prevent drying.
In a pan/ pot add water, sugar and cardamom. Mix well and allow to boil well. When the sugar syrup boils well, drop the rasgulla logs one by one. Put the flame to medium and cook it covered for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes open the lid and you will notice soft and spongy rasgulla doubled in size. (They will be really fragile when hot and they will look perfect after they are completely cooked) Put off the flame and allow it to cool down completely.
Meanwhile in a bowl grate unsweetened mawa/ khoya, to it add powdered sugar and cardamom powder. Keep it aside.
When the rasgulla is cooled completely remove them from the sugar water one by one, squeeze out little water. Now make a small cut in the center, by which the rasgulla should be attached still, now using a spoon fill the center with mawa stuffing. Garnish it with safrron strands and chopped pistachio. Repeat the process for all the rasgulla. Serve it chilled!

Notes

Allow the milk to boil well and only then add lemon juice or curd little by little. Adding too much lemon juice/ curd can make the chenna/ paneer hard.
Also put off the flame as soon as you notice milk curdling and start adding ice as we need to stop the mixture from further boiling which will lead to hard and rubbery chenna.
So if you have already tried above method of making rasgulla and if you have experienced cracking of the balls after cooking it could be because of improper kneading. This could be eliminated by adding 1 tsp maida to chenna/ curdled milk while kneading the dough, which can be shaped and dropped in sugar syrup for cooking. This method gives perfectly shaped rasgullas but the disadvantage is they will be little hard and will be off white in color. But being very beginner its ok to adapt this method according to me.

By Sandhya Riyaz

Sandhya's recipes https://www.sandyathome.com/

How to make Chum chum/ Cham Cham with step by step images

In a pan/ pot add milk. Mix well and allow it to boil well. When the milk starts to boil put the flame to low and add lemon juice/ Vinegar little by little to the boiling milk and mix well. After few seconds you will notice the milk curdling.
When the milk starts curdling, at that point put off the flame and add ice cubes to the curdled milk to prevent it from over boiling or to stop the process. This curdled milk is called chenna. Do not keep heating the curdled milk as it will yield rubbery output.
Remove the pan from the stove and keep it aside for 5 minutes. Now after 5 minutes take colander/ strainer, on it place a muslin cloth/ thin cotton cloth. Place the strainer in clean sink/ over a big bowl as we will drain the chenna/ curdled milk in it. Now gently pour the chenna in the muslin cloth and the water will start draining gradually. Now wash the chenna well in running water to get rid of lemon/ vinegar flavors. Now after all the water is completely drained tie the cloth really tight, squeeze as much as water possible and hang the cloth for around 30 to 40 minutes till all the water is drained. Do not allow it to hang for more than 30 to 40 minutes as the chenna might loose its texture. Now after 30 to 40 minutes remove the chenna/ paneer from the muslin cloth and transfer it to a plate.
Now using your hand knead the chenna/ paneer really well for about 5 minutes. This kneading is really important as it helps in forming proper balls of rasgulla and eliminates breaking of the rasgulla when boiling in sugar syrup. So take your time and knead it well.
After 5 minutes of proper kneading you will be able to make a soft dough with that chenna. Now divide pinch a small portion of chenna dough and roll it gently into log/ oval shape. Repeat the process till all chenna dough is complete. Make the ball very small as it will double in size when put in sugar syrup. When the balls are ready keep it aside covered with muslin cloth to prevent drying.
In a pan/ pot add water, sugar and cardamom. Mix well and allow to boil well.
When the sugar syrup boils well, drop the rasgulla logs one by one. Put the flame to medium and cook it covered for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes open the lid and you will notice soft and spongy rasgulla doubled in size. (They will be really fragile when hot and they will look perfect after they are completely cooked) Put off the flame and allow it to cool down completely.
Transfer the rasgulla to another bowl for it to cool down.
Meanwhile in a bowl grate unsweetened mawa/ khoya, to it add powdered sugar and cardamom powder. Keep it aside.
When the rasgulla is cooled completely remove them from the sugar water one by one, squeeze out little water. Now make a small cut in the center, by which the rasgulla should be attached still, now using a spoon fill the center with mawa stuffing. Garnish it with safrron strands and chopped pistachio. Repeat the process for all the rasgulla. Serve it chilled!

Beginner note

Allow the milk to boil well and only then add lemon juice or curd little by little. Adding too much lemon juice/ curd can make the chenna/ paneer hard. .
Also put off the flame as soon as you notice milk curdling and start adding ice as we need to stop the mixture from further boiling which will lead to hard and rubbery chenna.
So if you have already tried above method of making rasgulla and if you have experienced cracking of the balls after cooking it could be because of improper kneading. This could be eliminated by adding 1 tsp maida to chenna/ curdled milk while kneading the dough, which can be shaped and dropped in sugar syrup for cooking. This method gives perfectly shaped rasgullas but the disadvantage is they will be little hard and will be off white in color. But being very beginner its ok to adapt this method according to me.