Khirkadam / Kheer Kadam / Raskadam is my choice for K in the A to Z Bengali Sweets, featuring protein-rich Paneer.
I had an array of dishes in the Bengali Milk Sweets to select from. My initial choice was Kala Jamun, which has been on my to-do list for a while now. However, because of other dishes that will follow, I decided to drop it off for another day and selected this.
The other K in Bengali Sweets are Kala Paturi, Kulfi Sandesh, Kesariya Rosgolla, Komola bhog, Kaanchagolla, and Kalakand.
As I have a penchant for picking the tough one and slogging over it, I naturally picked up Khirkadam and made it over a span of three days. Each time the half-done dish would go back into the fridge and make an appearance out and then go into hiding. I adapted mine from this. The recipe details were a bit confusing, so I checked the video. However, with all videos that seem long, I lose my patience and went ahead with what I understood.
Before talking about how we can make this sweet, let's first understand what Khirkadam or Kheer Kadam means. This is a Kesariya Rosgolla stuffed inside Khoya and finally rolled over crumbled Paneer or Chhana. When I planned for my boiled Bengali sweets to be made, I made the kesariya rosgolla first, then prepared the Khoya and then realized that I had kneaded all the fresh chhana into soft and smooth paneer. I would be needing crumbled paneer as I have roll the final product over fine but stiff paneer. I read that even grated coconut can be used along with paneer for retaining the grains.
So I had to again wait to make a fresh batch, where the batch of sweets I had planned was just blended like the Ice Cream Sandesh. In this Khoya Kadam, the final rolling is again on a bed of fresh paneer and I even changed to ensure I mixed sugar with fresh crumbled paneer and then rolled over the prepared sweet in it.
If you are using homemade Khoya, it might be crumbly, I used store-bought and it was very soft to handle. So each time I had to refrigerate before going to the next step. Even this final rolling requires your sweet to be firm. Also, I feel one won't be able to eat the whole one as such, so ensure you make small rosgollas and then stuff it into khoya. Hubby dear enjoyed this so much and didn't want to share it with my friends.
This Kheer Kadam again requires well kneading of the chhana to make the Kesariya Rosgolla.
How to Make Soft Homemade Chhana for Bengali Sweets
How to Knead Chhana for Soft Bengali Sweets
In this A to Z Bengali Sweets for Protein Rich dishes:
A for Aam Sandesh
B for Bhapa Sandesh
C for Channar Puli
D for Danadar
E for Elixir Sandesh
F for Fruit Sandesh
G for Gajarer Sandesh
H for Hot Chocolate Sandesh Truffle
I for Ice Cream Sandesh
J for Jilapi
Step By Step Pictures for making soft Chhana for Bengali Sweets
Step by Step Pictures for kneading the chhana to a soft texture.
Step by Step Pictures for making Kesariya Rosgolla.
How to make Sugar Syrup
Step by Step Pictures for making Kheer Kadam
Roasting the crumbled paneer for the garnish
Rolling the stuffed Kheer Kadam in Sweeten Roasted Paneer.
Khirkadam | Kheer Kadam | Raskadam | How to make Khoya Kadam
Ingredients Needed:
For the Kesariya Rosgolla / Raskadam
1 cup Milk / 250 ml (Full Cream Milk will be best)
2 tsp Lemon Juice (you may not use all of this)
A pinch of Yellow food color
Few Saffron Strands
For Sugar syrup
1/2 cup Sugar
1 1/2 cups Water
2 Cardamom
For Khoya Stuffing
1 cup Khoya / Mawa
1/2 cup Sugar powdered, adjust as per taste
For Paneer rolling
1/2 cup Paneer / Chhana crumbled
2 tbsp Sugar
How to make Khirkadam
Making the Kesariya Rosgolla / Raskadam
Soak the saffron in a tbsp of warm milk and keep it aside.
Proceed to make the perfect chhana for making these soft boiled Bengali sweets. The paneer has to be soft and has enough moisture.
Once the chhana is ready and left to drain the excess whey, let it drip for about 30 mins or so.
Take the paneer on the kneading board/plate and proceed to knead till the granules are really small. Read more about how to knead the chhana really soft to get smooth and soft Bengali Sweets.
Kneading takes about 20 to 30 mins to get the chhana to the texture you need to make. When I made the Ras Malai or Cham cham, I never knew about this step and even used all purpose flour. In truth, these boiled Bengali sweets like the Rasgulla, Ras Malai needs just chhana that is really kneaded very well.
When you feed you have kneaded the chhana well, pinch out small balls, and roll between your palms. If the balls are smooth and soft, leaving a fat sheen on your palm, it means it’s done.
Now gather the chhana again, add just the saffron strands, yellow food colour and divide into equal balls. Shape them into tiny balls and set them aside covered. Continue with the rest.
Making the Sugar Solution for boiling.
The ratio of sugar to water is 1: 3 for these sweets. In a wide nonstick pan, melt the sugar and bring the water to a vigorous boil.
When the water starts rolling boil, gently drop in the Kesariya Rosgolla and let it get boiled. The sugar syrup water is just sweet water and not a thick syrup.
When the Kesariya Rosgollai is getting cooked, do not disturb or stir. Let it get cooked for about 10 mins. If you feel the syrup is getting thick, sprinkle some cold water on top. Switch off the flame, cover with a lid, and let it sit to cool down.
Let it sit like this for a couple of hours, then gently remove the yellow balls and squeeze out the excess sugar syrup.
Making the Kheer or the Outer layer.
On a plate, take the khoya and add sugar, blend well to form a uniform mix. Shape into 8 tiny balls and refrigerate until making the sweet. If it becomes sticky to handle, grease your palm with ghee and make the balls.
Making the crumbled Paneer
For rolling the stuffed rosgolla, you need not knead the paneer. So when you make the paneer, remove about 1/2 cup and grate well.
Heat a nonstick pan with add this grated paneer and slightly cook it over low flame. Transfer to a bowl, add sugar, and mix well. Mine paneer was really crumbly and didn't become too soft as I didn't knead at all.
Assembling the Khirkadam
When the Khoya is a little hard enough to handle, press each ball in the center, place one Raskadam on top, cover with another flatten the Khoya ball over, and cover all over as you will do with any stuffed balls.
If required refrigerate again or roll the balls right away over the paneer sugar powder. Refrigerate before serving with garnished chopped nuts.
Notes:
Make sure your Rasgollos are small as they bloat up after getting cooked.
Make sure the khoya is always hard and easy to handle and not too sticky
Remember that you will need to have your paneer to be a little coarse and not soft.
Instead of trying to cover with a huge khoya layer, make two small balls, and quickly cover the rosgullas.
Recipe
Khirkadam | Kheer Kadam | Raskadam | How to make Khoya Kadam
Ingredients
For the Kesariya Rosgolla / Raskadam
- 1 cup Milk / 250 ml Full Cream Milk will be best
- 2 tsp Lemon Juice you may not use all of this
- A Pinch Yellow Food Color
- Few Saffron Strands
For Sugar syrup
- 1/2 cup Sugar
- 1 1/2 cups Water
- 2 Cardamom
For Khoya Stuffing
- 1 cup Khoya / Mawa
- 1/2 cup Sugar powdered, adjust as per taste
For Paneer rolling
- 1/2 cup Paneer / Chhana crumbled
- 2 tbsp Sugar
Instructions
Making the Kesariya Rosgolla / Raskadam
- Soak the saffron in a tbsp of warm milk and keep it aside.
- Proceed to make the perfect chhana for making these soft boiled Bengali sweets. The paneer has to be soft and has enough moisture. Once the chhana is ready and left to drain the excess whey, let it drip for about 30 mins or so.
- Take the paneer on the kneading board/plate and proceed to knead till the granules are really small. Read more about how to knead the chhana really soft to get smooth and soft Bengali Sweets.
- Kneading takes about 20 to 30 mins to get the chhana to the texture you need to make. When I made the Ras Malai or Cham cham, I never knew about this step and even used all purpose flour. In truth, these boiled Bengali sweets like the Rasgulla, Ras Malai needs just chhana that is really kneaded very well.
- When you feed you have kneaded the chhana well, pinch out small balls and roll between your palms. If the balls are smooth and soft, leaving a fat sheen on your palm, it means it’s done.
- Now gather the chhana again, add just the saffron strands, yellow food colour and divide into equal balls. Shape them into tiny balls Set it aside covered. Continue with the rest.
Making the Sugar Solution for boiling.
- The ratio of sugar to water is 1: 3 for these sweets. In a wide nonstick pan, melt the sugar and bring the water to a vigorous boil.
- When the water starts rolling boil, gently drop in the Kesariya Rosgolla and let it get boiled. The sugar syrup water is just sweet water and not a thick syrup.
- When the Kesariya Rosgollai is getting cooked, do not disturb or stir. Let it get cooked for about 10 mins. If you feel the syrup is getting thick, sprinkle some cold water on top. Switch off the flame, cover with a lid and let it sit to cool down.
- Let it sit like this for a couple of hours, then gently remove the yellow balls and squeeze out the excess sugar syrup.
Making the Kheer or the Outer layer.
- In a plate, take the khoya and add sugar, blend well to form a uniform mix. Shape into 8 tiny balls and refrigerate until making the sweet. If it becomes sticky to handle, grease your palm with ghee and make the balls.
Making the crumbled Paneer
- For rolling the stuffed rosgolla, you need not knead the paneer. So when you make the paneer, remove about 1/2 cup and grate well. Heat a nonstick pan with add this grated paneer and slightly cook it over a low flame. Transfer to a bowl, add sugar and mix well. Mine paneer was really crumbly and didn't become too soft as I didn't knead at all.
Assembling the Khirkadam
- When the Khoya is little hard enough to handle, press each ball in the center, place one Raskadam on top, cover with another flatten Khoya ball over and cover all over as you will do with any stuffed balls.
- If required refrigerate again or roll the balls right away over the paneer sugar powder. Refrigerate before serving with garnished chopped nuts.
Notes
This is part of the A to Z Protein-Rich dishes, where I decided to showcase A to Z Bengali Sweets with Paneer/Chhana as the main source.
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themadscientistskitchen says
Valli after reading your post I realize that though eating Bengali sweets takes 2 second making it takes a lot of work. Kudos to you.
Sharmila - The Happie Friends Potpourri Corner says
Seriously that is so much of hard work for this recipe ,and on seeing the final product i feel it is worth the try.. Yummy Koya Khadam!!
Sapana says
Omg, seriously drooling over the khoya kadam. It takes a hell lot of a time to make this but I bet it would have finished in minutes only.
Srividhya Gopalakrishnan says
wow chhena ku mela chhena ku chhena... I totally under no pain no pain. Hats off to all your effort.
Sowmya:) says
I discovered this sweet during my brother's brief stay in Kolkata and have been hooked ever since. Yours looks exactly as I remember eating it all those years ago. Amazing effort and persistence Valli. Hats off
vaishalisabnani says
That surely is a tough one to make ! Kudos Valli ! Now I need not ask the shop guy anything regarding Bengali Sweets .. you have explained so well . In fact you could open up a shop now .:))
gayathriraani says
When we were in Pondicherry, my dad used to bring this sweet whenever he goes for shopping. Both of being great fans of milk sweets, we would compete at who finishes off the whole box. When I saw the post I was taken back to my childhood. I made it once for the blog, but as the procedure is too lengthy I didn't make it again. Seeing your beautiful plate of khirkadam, I am so tempted now..
Kalyani says
oh I love this next to malai sandwich ( which I thought u would make for letter M), this is a great pick !
Mayuri Patel says
By the looks of the photos, all the work is well worth. Unique sweet preparation for me. Learning so much about Bengali sweets.
Rajani says
Too much of effort has gone into these golden beauties, but they look well worth it. I have a feeling I have sampled this as a kid though I am not 100% confident. Hats off to you for your research and effort in documenting these sweets.
Priya Suresh says
Kheer kadam is my most favourite and my dad never failed to get them from one of the popular Ashram sweets, makes me nostalgic to see this fantastic sweet. Have to make this alluring sweet very soon, thanks for sharing Valli.
Anlet Prince says
Kheer Kadam must be so delicious. That is too many steps. Definitely i dont know if i have this much patience to make these many layer. Great effort.
Ruchi indu says
This seems to be a laborious task. I am sure the sweet would have been equally fryitfull. Kudos to your efforts
Atul Vishwakarma says
thnks for sharering wonderfull recipe.