CHAMCHAM

Rakshabandhan / Rakhi Poornima;  a bond of love and care between a brother and sister, a promise to stand by each other throughout life. On such occasions, the childhood revisits me inevitably.... with how much enthusiasm I used to go to the market with the mother to buy Rakhi for my brother the night before, how eagerly bhai waited the next day to wear it before going to the school. He used to come back with more of enthusiasm with two wrists full of Rakhis, tied by his classmates. Yes, in our student life we used to tie Rakhi on our friends' wrists. Tagore introduced this concept of tying Rakhi to promote brotherhood and friendship.... was it at the time of partition of Bengal?

Our mother's middle sister mashimoni used to come with her twin boys, Dodo and Deep. Only these two cousins stayed near by. Else, I have a couple of cousins spread over Nadia district, Nagaon, Gauhati in Assam! This the reason why I did not take any initiative  to get our only son know about all these! It cannot be continued forever! But it always feels on such days that my child would never know the beauty of such occasions! I do not recommend having a single child! Having a sibling gets one a happier childhood, unforgettable memories are made! I get scared thinking what if the son does not get along with his companion, he does not have a sibling to speak to! We would not be by his side forever! I am messed up with unnecessary thoughts! The son must have some good friends around.

For us any festival is a mean to eat to our heart's content; sweets are a must. I remember how mom used to prepare a couple of dishes on the  special occasions; luchi and payesh / kheer / rice pudding would be compulsory! Kolkata is a hub for sweets, Roshogolla and Sandesh were always store bought. I try to prepare sweets at home these days, those within my capacity. This is the CHAMCHAM / CHOMCHOM  sweet pretty famous in Kolkata. I have provided stepwise pictures for your convenience. Let us do it. Later I may share the malai chamcham sweet recipe!

INGREDIENTS : [for the paneer / chena]

Milk : 1litre
Lemon Juice : 4-5 tbsp
Water : 1/4 small tea cup

INGREDIENTS :[for the sugar syrup]

Water : 5-6 big cups
Sugar : 2 small tea cups

Cardamom : 3-4

INGREDIENTS : [for the chamcham]

The freshly made chana / paneer

The freshly made sugar syrup

METHOD :

Let us prepare the cottage cheese first. 

Pour the milk into a heavy bottomed vessel, bring it to boil at medium heat. Keep stirring continuously.

Mix together the lemon juice & water, add to the boiling milk slowly. As soon as the milk curdles, switch off the gas stove!

Take a thin, clean white cloth, strain the cheese immediately. Hold it under the tap to get rid of the smell of the lemon. 

Tie it to the tap & hang for about 45 minutes to an hour.

We have taken the sugar & water in a deep bottomed vessel and put for boil! As it starts boiling, we have added the green cardamoms tearing each a bit.

While the syrup is boiling, we would rub the paneer cheese well for about 10 minutes or until it comes out clean from the plate. This mashing part is important.

We would tear small portions from the dough, roll between our palms to get oblong shaped chamchams. 

As the syrup boils, add the chamchams carefully. Cover and let them boil for 20 minutes at medium heat.

The chamcham sweets are ready after 20-25 minutes of boiling in high heat. 

I took out the chamcham sweets and arranged them in a bowl! Thereafter, I boiled the sugar syrup further for about 10 minutes to thicken; then poured over the sweets! 

You can either enjoy them warm or chilled!