Food plays an important role in defining the culture of Bengal. It is rich, extensive and has a rich history that goes back to thousand years. When we say Bengali cuisine, it is basically a confluence of two regional cooking styles - West Bengal and East Bengal (now Bangladesh). Besides, you will also find settlements of various other communities in the state that has strongly influenced the overall food culture. The modern Bengali cuisine, which we enjoy today, finds essence of Mughlai, Marwari, Bihari, Odia, British, Chinese and different other food cultures. Hence, you will find countless number of dishes and recipes in Bengali cuisine, which makes it impossible to experience in a day or two.
Macher jhol, rosogolla and mishti doi defines Bengali cuisine to most of the world and we agree these dishes remain the unabashed winners. But if you dig deeper, you will find some amazing delicacies that can blow your mind with their simple flavours and texture. One such dish for us is chhanar bora. It is basically a fritter made with chhena (or cheese curd). What fascinates us the most is its unique texture! This fritter is crispy from outside and very soft from inside - it gives you a good crunch with the first bite, but melts in your mouth in just no time.
Chhena has a unique taste of its own which dominates the flavours of this fritter. It is simple, mildly spiced, yet quite addictive - leaving you want for more. You can either have it as is or add it like kofta in a simple tomato-cumin-ginger curry. Let's find out how to make Bengali-style chhena bora.
Also Read: Bengali Cuisine: 7 Bengali Curries That Have Our Heart (Recipes Inside)
Chhena is basically the early stage of paneer
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How To Make Chhena Fritters | Bengali-Style Chhanar Bora Recipe:
You need first prepare cheese curd at home by curdling milk. Strain the chhena and add 1 tsp maida, some salt, sugar and red chilli powder and mix everything together. Make sure the dough remains soft and moist.
Now, softly made cut small roundels from the dough and give it an almost flat oval shape. Heat oil and fry these chhena balls until it turns golden brown in colour. And the chhanar bora is ready in no time.
Click here for the step-by-step recipe of chhena fritters (chhanar Bora).
Try this delicious Bengali fritter at home and let us know how you like it.