Ledikeni- The Bengali Gulab Jamun

Ledikeni was created by the legendary Bhim Chandra Nag in the honour of Lady Canning. Made with chhena, semolina, ghee, granulated sugar and raisins, it’s shaped into oblongs, and deep-fried in ghee. It is then soaked in sugar syrup flavoured with cardamom and saffron strands. When cooked in pure A2 ghee, it is suitable for consumption by lactose-intolerant individuals.

Ingredients

3 cups Chhena/Paneer

1/3 cup Semolina/Sooji

1/4 cup Breadcrumbs

2 tbsp Amrutam A2 Ghee

Pure A2 Ghee for frying as required

6 cups Water

2 tbsp Cardamom25 gms Khoya/Mawa

50 gms Nokuldana/sugar balls

3 cups Sugar

Steps

-Mix the chhena, sooji, breadcrumbs, cardamom seeds and Amrutam ghee. Make a smooth dough.

-Take little khoya and fill one nokuldana. Then, cover it with the chenna mixture and make round balls.

-Heat water and add sugar to make a syrup. Let it cool to room temperature.

-Heat Amrutam ghee in a pan to deep fry the balls. Stir the balls so that it is fried from all sides.

-Dip into the warm syrup for at least 1 hour. Serve hot and enjoy!

Notes

-It is important to knead the Chhena well for the Ledikeni to be soft. However, the outer layer will be crusty.

-Adding the flour little by little is very important for the balls to be soft and not become chewy.

-The oil must be hot but reduced to a low flame when adding the balls to the pan.

The Ledikeni is rumoured to have been named after Lady Canning, wife of Viceroy Lord Canning, who was visiting Calcutta in the 19th century. She was presented with this sweet, which was apparently created by Bhim Chandra Nag, a sweet maker. She loved it so much that it was added to the repertoire of Bengali sweets and named ‘Lady Kenny’ after her. Of course, it began to be called Ledikeni by the Bengalis soon after, and the name continues to hold.

With pure a2 ghee as a natural source of antioxidants, it eliminates free radicals and inhibits oxidation process. The medicinal benefits of all it’s ingredients, especially pure A2 Cow Ghee helps keep you healthy and miles away from diseases. You can purchase the purest ghee accompaniment to every dish here.