Tripura's Exotic Dessert, Kheertua! Is It A Cousin Of Rasmalai?
Image Credit: Delicious kheertua, Doorbell.net

Tripura is known for its non-vegetarian grubs, which have been the staple food for the locals. This North-Eastern state shares its geographical borders with West Bengal and other nations, particularly Bangladesh. Over time, it has picked culinary inspirations from these regions. Let's consider the traditional dessert from Tripura, kheer tua. It is integral to native festive celebrations. Many claim its roots hail from Bangladesh. At the same time, a closer look at it will remind you of another popular sweet, i.e., rasmalai. Is Khertua a distant cousin of ras malai? Or is there more to what meets the eye?

What is Kheertua?

Kheertua is delicious and has a distinctive, rich flavour. It is described as a fusion sweet made from rabri and ras malai. Kheertua's recipe calls for freshly prepared soft chhena or cottage cheese, milk, and sugar. Chenna dough is kneaded and formed into oblong dumplings. It is soft and not spongy like ras malai. After that, the dumplings are soaked in thickened milk. The thickening process gives the milk a raabri-like texture and a light brown hue.

Similarity to Bengali chanar payesh

Many compare it to the Bengali channar payesh or cottage cheese pudding. The only distinction is that in chanar payesh, a small round-shaped channa is added to the boiling milk, whereas the added channa or cottage cheese is medium-sized and oblong-shaped. Once the milk has been halved, the oblong channa is added one at a time. Similar to how Indian rabri is prepared, thickened milk is also made this way. 

Kheertua

Ingredients

For the milk syrup

  • 2-litre full-fat milk
  • 1/4 cup Sugar
  • 1/2 tsp green cardamom powdered

For the cottage cheese dumplings

  • 750ml full-fat milk
  • 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Creamy kheertua, Image Source: Tastebuds@YouTube

Method

  • Bring the milk for chaana to a rolling boil in a pan on medium heat.
  • Once it starts boiling, squeeze the fresh lemon juice. As the milk curdles and starts to separate from the whey, turn off the flame.
  • Pour the curdled milk into a clean cheesecloth or a thin cotton fabric placed in a colander. Wash it under running water until the cheese is free of the lemon juice scent. 
  • Completely squeeze out the water. The cheesecloth should be tied and hung for about 30 minutes to allow the water to drain thoroughly.
  • Now remove and place the channa on a plate and knead it until it does not stick to the plate and your hand gets oily.
  • Roll the channa into seven equal sections, then form each portion into a ball. Create oblong-shaped pieces from each ball and press each one to flatten lightly.  Set them aside on a platter.
  • Pour the milk for kheertua into a thick-bottomed wide pan and bring it to a rolling boil on medium heat.
  • Reduce the flame to low and boil the milk till it's half the quantity.
  • The cream layer on top of the milk should be removed and carefully pushed to one side each time the milk is boiled. Continue to stir every 4 minutes. Remember to scrape the pan's sides as well.
  • Once it's reduced to half, add the sugar and cardamom powder and stir gently.
  • Once the sugar melts, add the oblong-shaped channa pieces one by one into the boiling milk
  • Let both sides of the chana pieces cook for 6 mins each.
  • Once the milk thickens, turn off the flame, gently mix and let cool.

Serve it when it cools down to room temperature or refrigerate it.

When are you preparing this Tripura's exotic dessert, Kheertua?