Chum Chum Recipe | Soft & Spongy Bengali Sweet with Khoya Filling | Diwali Mithai | चमचम
Chum Chum (Stuffed with Khoya)
Soft, spongy Bengali chhena sweet with a creamy khoya and saffron filling
Homemade chum chum: fresh chhena kneaded into a soft dough, shaped into ovals, cooked in light sugar syrup and soaked until juicy, then slit and stuffed with creamy cardamom khoya and a dot of saffron. A festive mithai for Diwali, Bhai Dooj and every celebration.
Ingredients
For the chhena
- 1 kg full-fat milk
- 1 tbsp vinegar mixed with 1 tbsp water
- 1 glass cold water (for rinsing)
- 1½ tsp maida (all-purpose flour)
- A small pinch of red/pink food colour (optional)
For the sugar syrup (chashni)
- 4 cups sugar
- 4 cups water, plus 1 extra cup later
For the khoya stuffing
- Khoya (mawa), as needed
- 1 tsp desi ghee
- A pinch of green cardamom (elaichi) powder
- 1 tbsp milk
- 1 tbsp powdered sugar
For garnish
- A few saffron (kesar) strands
Instructions
- Make the chhena. 0:16 Bring 1 kg milk to a boil in a kadai, then let it cool for at least 10 minutes, otherwise the chum chum won't turn out soft. Slowly add the vinegar-water mix while stirring gently until the milk curdles and the whey separates.
- Strain and squeeze. 0:54 Strain through a thin cotton or cheesecloth. Pour a glass of cold water over the chhena to wash off the vinegar taste and cool it, then squeeze out all the water until you have a firm, dry block.
- Make the sugar syrup. 1:33 Boil 4 cups sugar with 4 cups water until dissolved. Pour half into a bowl and set aside to cool. Add 1 more cup of water to the syrup left in the pot to thin it, and keep it boiling.
- Knead the dough. 2:19 Mash the chhena on a plate with your palm until smooth. Add 1½ tsp maida and a pinch of food colour and mix into a soft dough. Don't over-knead, or the fat comes out and the chum chum spread in the syrup.
- Shape. 3:04 Take small portions and roll them between your palms into oval, slightly cylindrical chum chum shapes.
- Cook in syrup. 3:21 Drop the shaped pieces into the boiling syrup, cover with a lid and cook for 12–15 minutes.
- Make the khoya stuffing. 3:33 Roast the khoya lightly in 1 tsp desi ghee. Add cardamom powder, 1 tbsp milk (for a soft, creamy texture) and 1 tbsp powdered sugar, and mix until smooth.
- Soak. 4:14 Move the cooked chum chum into the reserved, cooler syrup so the sudden temperature change doesn't make them shrink. Soak for at least 2 hours.
- Stuff and garnish. 4:44 Lift the chum chum out of the syrup and gently squeeze out the extra. Cut a slit along the top with a knife, fill it with the khoya stuffing, and add a small dot of saffron on top for aroma.
Pro tip: Like your chum chum less sweet? Keep the syrup thin. For sweeter, halwai-style chum chum, cook the syrup a little thicker.
The Story Behind This Dish
Chum chum comes from Porabari in Bengal (now Tangail, Bangladesh), where it has been made for well over a century. Like rasgulla and sandesh, it is built on fresh chhena, and the stuffed, saffron-topped version is a favourite on festive mithai platters across India.
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