Cham-cham (bangladesh)

Total Time: 2 hrs 15 mins Preparation Time: 45 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 30 mins

Ingredients

• 8 1/2 cups milk
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon semolina
• 1 tablespoon plain flour
• 1 tablespoon self raising flour
• 1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder
• 4 cups sugar for syrup
• 4 tablespoons caramel syrup
• 1/2 cup powdered milk
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon ghee

Recipe

• 1 mix together the powdered milk, milk and ghee.
• 2 put the mixture in the microwave for 30 seconds. take it out and stir it. let it cool down for another 30 seconds.
• 3 put the mixture back in the microwave for another 15 seconds. take it out and stir. let it cool for 30 seconds.
• 4 repeat 15 second intervals in the microwave, followed by stirring and 30 seconds of cool down for a total of eight cycles.
• 5 reduce the microwave time to 10 seconds, stir and let cool down for 30 seconds.
• 6 repeat until the mawa becomes dry and grainy.
• 7 if the grains aren't powdery enough, when cool you can transfer to a food processor and grind to make smaller grains.
• 8 ready a fine mesh strainer by lining it with cheesecloth.
• 9 bring the milk to a boil (take care not to let it boil over) and add the lemon juice. you will almost instantly see curds begin to form.
• 10 pour the curds and whey (the liquid) into the strainer.
• 11 when the curds have cooled enough to be handled, knead them with your hands for about two minutes, or until there isn't any more liquid coming out.
• 12 transfer to a large bowl and mix in the semolina flour and the other two types of flour, along with the sugar and the cardamom powder.
• 13 knead the mixture with your hands until it starts to feel a little greasy, then divide the dough into 20 equal parts and shape them into ovals. note: i made a mistake converting liters to cups and i ended up with too little milk for this recipe, so my cham-cham were small and probably a little more doughy than they should have been.
• 14 dissolve the sugar in the water and bring to a boil. gently drop the cham-cham into the syrup and continue to boil for an hour and 20 minutes. you will need to add about a half cup of water every 10 minutes or so to keep the syrup at the right consistency.
• 15 at the end of the hour and 20 minutes, add the caramel syrup. keep boiling for another 10 minutes, then turn off the heat. add a cup of hot water and let the pot cool down.
• 16 when the cham-cham are cool enough to handle, take them out and roll them in the mawa.