What I have for you today is a delicious DELICIOUS dessert that takes all of 12 mins to make. This is another gem that Darsh introduced me to and I was floored, just like I was with her tiramisu recipe.
The name she gave this – Chenna Payash – leads me to believe that this is a Bengali dessert, not that we are surprised by that, so I want to leave a disclaimer that this may not be an authentic chenna payash recipe or anything. But did I mention it’s delicious?
Paneer Payasam (Chenna Payash) Recipe
Preparation time: 2 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Serves 2-4 people
Ingredients:
3/4 cup of crumbled paneer (here’s how you can make paneer at home)
2 cups of milk (I used low fat)
1/4 cup of sweetened condensed milk (adjust to taste)
2 of green cardamom pods
1/2 tsp of sugar
A few strands of saffron for garnish (optional)
A few pistachios (or almond slivers)
How to Make Paneer Payasam
1. Powder the cardamom seeds with the 1/2 tsp sugar until fine. I don’t like biting into chunky cardamom seeds so I pound it fine. If you have powdered cardamom in hand, just omit the sugar and use a bit of that.
2. In a pan, bring the milk to boil on low heat.
3. Add the condensed milk and mix well.
4. Bring to boil again and then add the powdered cardamom.
5. Crumble paneer as fine as you can with your fingertips…
… and add it to the boiling milk. Stir well to combine. Let it simmer for about 5 minutes more. Test for sweetness and adjust the amount of milk/condensed milk as desired. You need to have enough liquid base for the paneer to swim in so keep an eye on the consistency. These proportions worked great for me.
That’s it! You can serve it hot but personally we prefer it chilled for a couple of hours. So bring the payesh to room temperature and then chill in the refrigerator.
Oh, and if you want to add saffron, add it at the end when the payesh is hot.
Garnish with pistachios before serving. The payesh looks very dull on it’s own and doesn’t convey how delicious it is without the help of the pistachios 😉
Thank you Nags. Will try to visit Kappabashi if i go there.
Wonderful Nags. I ll try this an send you some.I ve fallen in love with your cups specially. Where did u get it? Do suggest some places where i can find good display articles. Will be helpful
these are from tokyo. i have a series of posts on food photo prop ideas and shopping places. depends on where you live. https://www.cookingandme.com/2012/07/food-photos-prop-shopping-in-kappabashi.html