Raj Bhog

Raj Bhog – A delicacy from the Royal table of Bengal 

Ingredients 

• 4 liters whole milk
• 6 tablespoons white vinegar 
• 2 level teaspoons self-rising flour
• 2 level teaspoons fine semolina 
• 2 level teaspoons castor sugar 
• 10-12 cups water 
• 3 cups of sugar 
• 1-2 open green cardamom pods 
• Milk if needed 

Ingredients for filling 

• 3 heaped tablespoons powder milk 
• 5 -6 generous tablespoons fresh milk 
• 14 ground almonds 
• 14 ground pistachios 
• Seeds of 5 cardamoms finely crushed 
• 2 heaped tablespoons castor sugar 

Preparation 

1. Bring the milk to a boil and switch off the heat. 
2. Add in the vinegar and stir, the milk will curdle and separate into a cottage cheese-like consistency. 
3. Line a sieve with a muslin cloth and strain the cottage cheese or paneer reserving the cheese and whey separately. 
4. Gather the edges of the muslin together and make a poultice. Run this bag of paneer under flowing water to dispel all the sourness of the vinegar. 
5. Squeeze out all the liquid and lay this paneer onto a large tray or thali. 
6. Rub and lead this paneer well. 
7. Add the self-rising flour, semolina, and 2 teaspoons of sugar and knead further. 
8. If you feel the paneer is too dry and crumbly you may add a wee bit of milk to give it a softer texture. 
9. Roll this paneer into 1.5-inch diameter balls. 
10. Put the cups of water into a large pressure cooker and add the three cups of sugar and open cardamom pods.
11. Heat this on a low flame until all the sugar fully dissolves.
12. Bring this liquid to a full boil then lower the flame to a gentle simmer.
13. Switch off the flame. 

For the filling

1. In a small pan heat the milk and the powder milk, add nuts, cardamom and sugar, and stir on a low flame till a dough-like consistency is formed. 
2. Allow this halva to cook, and once cooled roll into small marble-sized balls.
3. Take one ball of paneer (previously prepared) flatten it and lay the halva ball in the middle. Cover this ball with the paneer and roll into a nice round shape 
4. Do this with all the halva and paneer. 
5. You should have approximately 8-12 balls all in all 
6. Now bring the light sugar syrup to a boil and gently lower the stuffed paneer balls into the boiling syrup. 
7. Cover without the whistle and cook till the paneer balls swell up and are fully cooked (around) 8-12 minutes.
8. Cool and take each ball out of the syrup cut in half and serve.

Get more recipe by Seema Bhatia

---

Share

Picture Credit : Kailash Kumar from Freepik