Ingredients

• 2 litre milk, makes 450 gm. Paneer Indian cheese.

• 1-2 cups 2-3 days old, fermented whey. It is better to use fermented whey rather than lemon or vinegar when you are making paneer for Bengali sweets. Paneer made this way is softer. When you make ordinary paneer, save some of the whey in a clean jam jar

• 25 gm semolina or sooji

• 2 tbsp. plain white flour or maida

• A pinch or a few drops of yellow edible colour (optional). You can use a few saffron strands instead.

• For Syrup:

• 350 gm. sugar

• 1 cup water

• Hot water as necessary, a few cups.

• For garnish:

• 3-4 almond, shredded

• 5-6 pistachios, shredded

Instructions

1. Knead the paneer until soft.

2. Add semolina, plain flour and yellow colour/saffron and knead some more.

3. Shape into small, flat ovals or small cylindrical shapes (approximately 2 inches long).

4. Keep aside.

5. Boil sugar and 1 cup of water to make a thin syrup of 1 wire consistency. You can add a spoon of milk in it during boiling, to bring the scum to the top. Remove scum with a strainer.

6. Drop chum-chums in the boiling syrup one by one and cook till the they float to the surface.

7. Simmer for a further 30 minutes or so. Chum-chums are now ready.

8. Take them out of the syrup onto the serving platter and decorate with almond/pistachios

9. Serve chilled.