Today being Krishna Janmashtami (a Hindu festival to celebrate the Birth of Lord Krishna), what could be a better way of celebrating it than with Lord Krishna’s favorite food: milk and milk products. In some parts of India like Mumbai and Pune Janmaashtami, also called Dahi Handi is celebrated with a lot of fervor and enthusiasm. The handi (clay pot) filled with butter milk is hung at a suitable height and the person right on top of the human pyramid tries to break the handi by hitting it with a blunt object, thus breaking it and spilling the contents over the entire group, symbolizing Lord Krishna’s childhood mischief.
Though I had no intention of participating in this event I certainly wanted to appease the Lord and also my taste buds with something delicious. I decided on Channar Payesh, a Bengali dessert. Having got the recipe from my Mother-in –law, I immediately set about making this and in less than 15 minutes it was done. The Channa (Cottage cheese in Bengali) absorbs the flavored milk thereby giving it a nice, spongy texture.
Ingredients
- 200 gm Cottage Cheese
- 500 ml milk
- 200 gm Condensed milk
- 2 tbsp raisins
- Cardamom pod- 1
Method
- Boil the milk and add the condensed milk to it, stirring continuously
- Chop the Cottage cheese in small pieces and add it to the milk
- Let it boil for around 5 minutes (stir continuously)
- Add raisins and garnish with powdered cardamom
- Serve chilled
Preparation time- 10 minutes
Serves: 4