Chhanabora is a
sweetmeat from the
Indian subcontinent made from
chhena
Chhena () or chhana () are a style of cheese, originating from the Indian subcontinent, made from water buffaloDalby, A 2009, ''Cheese: A Global History'', Reaktion Books, p. 73, Kapoor, S & Kapoor, A 2006, ''Sanjeev Kapoor's No-oil Vegetarian C ...
and
syrup. It is attested from the 16th century. It is related to
rosogolla
Rasgulla, also known as rasagola, rosogola or rosogolla, is a syrupy dessert popular in the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent. It is made from ball-shaped dumplings of chhena and semolina dough, cooked in light sugar syrup made of su ...
and
pantua
Pantua ( bn, পান্তুয়া) is a local confection from the Indian subcontinent, notable in West Bengal, Eastern India and Bangladesh. It is a traditional Bengali sweet made of deep-fried balls of semolina, chhena, milk, ghee and sug ...
, sharing a cottage cheese basis with the former and a burnt brown crust with the latter. According to local legend, it was created when Maharaja
Manindrachandra Nandi of
Cossimbazar ordered his cook to create a dessert that was neither rosogolla nor panta. It is common in
Murshidabad and outsize chhanabora are a common gift for high-ranking visitors.
References
Sweets of West Bengal
Bengali desserts
Indian cheese dishes
{{Bangladeshi dishes