Cheena kheer/ paneer payasam or Paneer kheer is a Bengali delicacy . Bengali’s made awesome desserts with cottage cheese and this is the most easiest dessert with cottage cheese or paneer.
If you want to make make a quick and delicious dessert then this paneer kheer is surely worth trying. The list of ingredients is quite small as you just need just some milk and paneer.
You can use store brought paneer /cottage cheese or make you own paneer but I suggest making paneer at home as some times the store brought paneer was not that fresh or it may contain some salt as preservative and in that case some times the paneer kheer may curdle so if possible make paneer at home with fresh milk.
Ingredients
3 liter Full fat Milk
3/4 cup Sugar / Chini
3/4 tsp Cardamom Powder / Elaichi Powder
12 Pistachio / Pista
10 Almonds / Badam
Pinch Saffron / Kesar
2 tbsp lemon juice
Method
* In a heavy bottom pan add 1.5 liter milk and let it simmer till it become half in quantity.
* In a separate pan add the remaining 1.5 liter milk and let it come to a boil.
* Now mix lemon juice with 2 tsp water and add in the boiling milk.
* The milk will curdle now after adding the lemon juice.
* Now pour the curdled milk in a big strainer lined with a muslin cloth and let the whey completely drain from the paneer.
* Now keep the strainer under running water and wash the paneer well so all the traces of lemon juice get washed else the kheer may curdle due to the lemon juice so this step should be followed well.
* Now tie the paneer in the muslin cloth and put some weight over it to remove the excess water from the paneer
* When the milk reduced to half then add saffron and sugar and give it a boil.
* Then add the crumbled or grated paneer in the milk and simmer for 5 minutes.
* Now add cardamom powder and remove it from the heat.
* Pour the kheer in the serving bowl and garnish with chopped nuts and rose petals.
* Serve warm or chilled and enjoy your delicious Paneer ki kheer.