GULAB JAMUN CHEESECAKE, an Indian cheesecake made with paneer, hung yoghurt and gulab jamun.
Did you ever have a craving for Gulab Jamun and Cheesecake at the same time? Well, this one is for you then :).
You must be having doubts on the combination of these two classic desserts. And I can understand that, I had the same feeling when I saw it for the first time in India’s most loved chef Sanjeev Kapoors show. I made a few changes here and there from the original recipe according to my taste and gave it a try.
And when I mixed two of my most favourite desserts into one it was magic. I was so impressed with the result that I made it thrice in two weeks, seriously, no kidding! 🙂 My family and friends loved it. Such a yummy Innovation!
In this recipe I haven’t used cream cheese, instead I used our very own Indian cottage cheese, Paneer. For the slight tartness, hung yoghurt is used here. Combination of Paneer, yoghurt and sweetened condensed milk is simply amazing.
This one is a no-bake cheesecake, it is set with gelatine. Vegetarians can replace the gelatine with either agar or carrageenan.
It is very very easy to make the cheesecake mixture. You just have to blend paneer, condensed milk, cream and yoghurt in the blender. Mix in the gelatine, saffron and keep it to set. No whipping or whisking is required.
Since I loved this dessert,I thought, why not make a video for you all. So here it is. I hope you like it 🙂
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 1/2 cups powdered Digestive Biscuits/graham crackers
- 140g butter
- 1/4 cup Cashew chopped
- 1 1/2 cups Paneer crumbled
- 3/4th of a 395g tin sweetened condensed milk
- 1/2 cup Hung Yoghurt
- 1/2 cup Cream
- 1 tbsp Gelatin
- 1/4 cup warm water
- A pinch of saffron
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
- 15 Gulab jamun
- Ground Pistachios for garnish
NOTES:
- Make sure to strain the gelatine before adding it to the paneer mix.
- Check for the sweetness and add more or less of condensed milk according to your preference.
- If you don’t like the taste or smell of saffron, omit it.
- Do not use the yoghurt as it is. Hang the yoghurt in a muslin cloth or put it in a strainer overnight in the refrigerator and then use the thick yoghurt.
- If your paneer is frozen, just heat it in the microwave oven till it is soft and then crumble it.
DIRECTIONS:
For the crust:
- In a medium bowl, combine the biscuit crumbs and cashews. Stir in the melted butter and mix until well-combined. Press the mixture into the bottom and 1- or 2-inches up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan.
- Refrigerate until the filling is ready.
To make cheesecake mixture:
- In your blender, blend together the paneer, condensed milk, hung yoghurt and cream. Blend well until smooth.
- Meanwhile, take some saffron in a glass and pour in milk. Microwave it for about 20 seconds. Let it cool. Also in a small bowl add in gelatine and warm water. Mix. Microwave this also for about 30 seconds till it is well dissolved. Let that cool slightly.
- Pour the paneer mix into a large bowl. Add in the saffron, cardamom powder and gelatine. Make sure that you pour the gelatine through a strainer. Mix well.
- Take out the biscuit base from the refrigerator, place a layer of gulab jamun. If the gulab jamuns are big, then cut it into half. Pour the paneer mix over this. Refrigerate for 4 hours minimum.
- Garnish with pistachios.
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… Sadia السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته
After Carrot Halwa Spring Onion, another awesome fusion recipe from the ‘Fusion Queen Sadia’… …
Absolutely gorgeous pics… n I am sure it’s super delicious too…
The buds on the cheesecake are real na? Stunning idea for decor… …
Miss trying new recipes from your blog… have not been doing elaborate cooking these days because of a small accident I had last month… Leg needs rest… Anyways, keep them “yummy recipes” coming dear…
Take care…
Walaikumsalaam Sunithatha! I was actually thinking of writing to you to ask if all is good. Have not seen your comment for long. Sad to know about the accident. Do take rest.
Thanks a lot for the lovely comment. Yes those are edible roses.
Have you seen the video? I think it didn’t get embeded in the post when you opened.
I just love love love making this dessert and it is always everyone’s favorite. Thank you for putting together such an easy and delicious piece.
Thank YOU Shahneela for such a lovely feedback.
Oh my god!what a beautiful dessert Sadia!No words.Stunning photography too!Will try this for sure. ..
Thanks a lot Shazia!
Looks lovely…..
Thanks a lot Shruthi!
just one word , AWESOME ,,,, but will you post a recipe and demo on how to make gulab jamuns,, 🙂
Thanks Wafa! In shaa Allah I will post sometime. I used readymade mtr brand gulab jamuns here.
This looks so awesome. Gulab jamuns are my favorite
Thanks a lot Alok!
What is paneer??
Hello Lolo!
Paneer is a cheese commonly used in India. It is made by curdling heated milk with lemon juice or vinegar. It is crumbly and moist. If you are from the middle east it will be easily available in most of the supermarkets freezer section. If not try the Indian stores. You can make it at home too.
Is it cream or cream cheese that you gave used?
Its cream Rasha!
Hi,
This is a lovely recipe.. I am planning to bake it this weekend. Would it be okay to use cream and condensed milk? Instead of hung curd, paneer, cream and condensed milk
No dear. Without panner or hung curd it will taste completely different. These two are the main ingredients in the cheesecake.
Hi! I am so excited to come across this recipe of yours. I’ve been thinking of what to make for this coming Eid and this looks like the perfect celebratory festive dessert! I live in India and I’m worried I’m not going to find unflavored gelatin so easily. I’ve actually been looking for this particular ingredient for another recipe I’ve been wanting to try. Do you think I could substitute gelatin for agar (commonly known as china grass)
omg duh i just reread your post and saw that you did mention agar is fine. sorry and thank you! 🙂
That’s okaay! Hope the cheesecake turns out to be a hit in your place. Please let me know.
Is it possible to use Philidelphia cream cheese and greek yogurt instead of paneer and hung yogurt? If yes, then in what quantities?
Hey Rahma! I have not tried making this cheesecake with cream cheese, but I guess it would be fine if you use cream cheese. Take the same 1 1/2 cup measurement like paneer. Greek yoghurt can be used too.
Hello Sadia,
I recently saw ur website and I must say I’m hooked to ur blog. I’ve made few recipes for iftaar and they taste great .my whole family loves it. Thanks so much for all the hard work and keep the recipes coming. May allah bless you with health ,happiness and more creativity for yummy recipes 🙂 Searching for halal gelatin has been futile. I’ve found agar agar. Could you tell how much I should use and the. Method to prepare it.
Thanks,
Saby.
Hey Saby!
Welcome dear! Really happy to have a new follower. I am very glad that you are hooked on to the blog. Hope you will be glued here always.
Yes, you can use agar instead of gelatin. For this recipe use 5 grams of it. Just soak it in water for half an hour. Then boil it in about half a cup of water or just enough water to cover the agar. Boil till it is completely dissolved. Cool it a bit, strain it and pour into the cheesecake mix. Hope you got it. Do let me know if you have any more doubts.
Hi Sadia,
Thanks for the cook response. I got all the ingredients today. I have a follow up question.Can agar agar be boiled. I was reading online if gelatin is boiled it doesn’t set. I was wondering if it’s the same case with agar agar too.
Thanks,
SABY
Yes Saby, agar should be boiled. Only then it will get dissolved. But gelatin shouldn’t be boiled like you said. Make sure that the agar cools down a little bit before pouring into the cheesecake mixture and also strain it and pour.
Very beautiful dessert. In sha Allah will definitely try. May I know whether the gulab jamuns are added before adding to the sugar syrup or after adding?
Thank you. You have to use gulab jamun soaked in syrup. I used the readymade canned gulab jamuns. Hope this turns out good for you.
I was wondering if I can make it in advance and freeze/refrigerate it? If yes, how long will it stay good? Thanks!
Hello Sunny!
Yes, you can make it and refrigerate it for 2-3 days, not more than that.
hi,
I am trying to make this. I generally make paneer at home. SHould i use the paneer as it is without putting in the fridge when i first stained and removed all water?
Also, by cream you meant here, heavy whipping cream churned to peak and then used 1/2 cup or cool whip cream?
Let me know. Cant wait to try this for this Diwali. 🙂
Thanks
Hello Pooja!
Homemade paneer will be better than the frozen one. Just make sure that you have drained all the water.
By thick cream I meant fresh cream. Not whipped cream. Here in the Middle East we get a clotted cream like thick cream. But if you don’t get any of these, just use whipping cream. Once you blend it with all the other ingredients it will thicken a little.
Hope this cheesecake turns out good for you. Let me know.
Thanks for the quick reply. I will surely send u picture of how it will turn out. Can you also tell me how much agar powder to use instead of gelatin and any specifications to follow while using agar powder.
You can use agar instead of gelatin. For this recipe use 5 grams of it. Just soak it in water for half an hour. Then boil it in about half a cup (or less) of water or just enough water to cover the agar. Boil till it is completely dissolved. Cool it a bit, strain it and pour into the cheesecake mix. Hope you got it. Do let me know if you have any more doubts. 🙂
Hi I loved the racipe I am planing to making today I know u said u can use Agar instead of
Gelatin. Can we use unflavored vegan jel? Or just Agar is better?
I have the unflavored vegan jel so just conseren? Can u pls let me know Iam making today
Thanks
Paulomi
Hello Paulomi!
Very sorry for replying late. I would recommend using agar. I haven’t heard of vegan gel before, so I really have no idea about it.
how can you take the bottom of the springform pan out with out it breaking
Place a baking paper underneath. Then it will be easier to slide the cheesecake out of the pan. If still difficult, then use a flat spatula to slightly lift the cake from one side and then slide it out.
Looks Interesting!!!
I am planning to make this for my child’s birthday dinner next week.
I want to make this as dessert shots, as I have to serve this for approx 40 people.
But I am going to make this type of dessert for 1st time.
Can I follow the exact recipe, or you have any suggestion.
Please help.
Yes Deepali, you can follow the exact recipe. If you get mini gulab jamuns, it would be good when making shots. Hope your family and guests like this dessert. Please do let me know.
Thanks a lot for your quick reply. 🙂
And yes, I am going to use mini gulabjamuns.
Great. All the best
Hi thanks for your reply … also how did you get hung yoghurt .
The gelatin how many spoons of gelatin to water did you use .
Cream which brand did you use.
Sorry I am planning to make this soon and needed some advice
Hey Abeer,
I placed the usual yoghurt in a strainer and kept it in fridge overnight. The next day all the whey had drained out and I got thick yoghurt in the strainer.
I mixed 1 tbsp of gelatin in 1/4 cup hot water.
I used puck cream. You can use any brand actually.
Hope this helped. Please let me know how it turned out for you. All the best.
How did you get hung yoghurt. Which brand of cream you used
The gelatin how much gelatin to water ratio
Thanks
Hi Sadia, this looks interesting! Planning on making this. Is it possible to provide the measurements in grams instead of cups? Hope to hear from you soon. Thank you
Hello Dhanno,
Glad to know that you liked this recipe. But I’m really sorry as providing the measurements in grams would be difficult now if you want it soon. I can update the recipe but it will take time. The measurement of the cup I used is 250ml, if this would help.
Thank you for your prompt reply. I understand. No worries. I’ll update you once I’ve tried your recipe. Thank you once again
You are most welcome. Hope you will like it.
Alternative of gelatin.
Agar can be used
Hi! I tried this recipe but unfortunately it didn’t set. The mixture stayed runny…. any ideas where I went wrong??
Oh no! That’s sad. Did you follow the exact recipe? Maybe the gelatin you added was less or it must have not got dissolved well in warm water before adding it to the cheesecake mix leaving few undissolved gelatin back in the bowl.
Hi Sadia, how are you doing? Must say that this dessert is simply wow ! A big thanks for sharing. I have made it a number of times using gelatin and everytime turned out perfectly fine. But when i put the same amount of agar agar powder, it did not set at all. Kindly advise.
Thanks.
Hey Preety. I’m very sorry for replying so late. I’m doing good, thank you. Hope you’re well too. If you are using agar, for this recipe use 5 grams of it. Just soak it in water for half an hour. Then boil it in about half a cup of water or just enough water to cover the agar. Boil till it is completely dissolved. Cool it a bit, strain it and pour into the cheesecake mix. Hope you got it. Do let me know if you have any more doubts. 🙂
Thank you so much sadia for your reply. Really appreciated. Will give it a try and come back to you again if have any doubts
Where do you get edible rose petals?
Hey Ashy,
It will be easily available in old souks or spice markets in Kuwait/Dubai. Not sure about other places. You can check online too.
Super excited to be trying out this recipe for a party of 20 tomorrow. I have doubled the ingredients and have just set my cheesecake to freeze with my crossed fingers and toes. Even if the end result looks 80% of what you have, I’d be pleased. Just one thought – for a novice cook like me, it will be helpful if you could add how many gelatin sheets you would use along with the number in grams (since we only managed to get gelatin sheets in the supermarket) and I took awhile to figure out the gm to sheet conversion after lots of Googling.
Hey Divya. How did the cheesecake turn out? Hope it came out good for you. I am so sorry Divya, I don’t get gelatin sheets here, so I have no idea about it. If I come across that, I will definitely update the recipe with gelatin sheets measurement.
Okay, something must have gone wrong with the conversion and the cheesecake didn’t set. Since I had seen this a few hours before the party (thankfully!) Husband dearest suggested we put it in the freezer to set it. This set the cheesecake perfectly but the base got too hard. We rescued it by serving the cheesecake pieces without the base. But the taste was great!
Oh noo. That’s sad. But glad you liked the taste of it. I will try to put up the measurement of gelatin sheets needed for this soon. Thank you for the feedback. 🙂
Hi,
Loved your recipe. Can you please tell what kind of cream is used in this recipe. Can we make it at home? If yes, please share the recipe. Also what if I don’t want to use the gelatin? Want to try it very soon.
Hello Priya. I used thick cream. I didn’t make it at home, used the ready-made one. You can use agar instead of gelatin. For this recipe use 5 grams of it. Just soak it in water for half an hour. Then boil it in about half a cup of water or just enough water to cover the agar. Boil till it is completely dissolved. Cool it a bit, strain it and pour into the cheesecake mix. Do let me know if you have any more doubts.:)
Hello,
The cake looks amazing. I am from the United States and want to know what cream to use? We have heavy whipping cream. Is that the one I should use?
Hi Samson,
Yes, you can use that.
Thanks so much for the reply. I am making 2 of these for Thanksgiving . Will let you know how it turns out.
God bless you
Oh woow. Hope everyone likes it. 🙂
Hello!! I tried this recipe today and my batter turned out grainy. At first I thought it was because I used a food processor, but when I used the blender after, it was still grainy. Is it meant to be like that?
It will be a lit bit grainy but not too much also. Did you strain the gelatin?
Hi,
I tried this recipe..It tasted excellent,but my cake didnt set at all.. I used vegetarian Gelatin..Is that the reason?
Thanks,
Gayatri
Hey! Maybe you used less quantity of gelatin.
How much quantity of carrageenan can be used
Hey Aparna! I am very sorry, I don’t have any idea because I never used carrageenan before.
How many packets of digestive biscuits did you use to get 2.5 cup powder? Also does the powder have to be very fine or grainy or what’s the texture/consistency?
Sorry, I didn’t note the number of packets I used. I ground the biscuits to an almost fine texture, not too fine and not very grainy also.
Hi, this dessert looks amazing and would love to try it. Did you use normal paneer or Malai paneer?
I used normal paneer
Hello Sadia,
I tried this cake and it was a big hit in our house. Thankyou.
Komal
Hey Komal,
I’m so happy to know that you all liked the cheesecake. Thank you for the feedback. ❤️
Did this n it turn out soooo pretty. Ur recipe is so spot on . Luv it n my family n friend luv it for our Deepavali . The cake was gone within minutes! Tq so much. Glad I found U n ur blog!
Hello. I am so sorry for replying so late. I missed this comment somehow. SO glad that you and your family liked the cheesecake. Yay! 😀
Hi! This looks absolutely divine.
I want to make this for eid this year, can you please tell me how to reduce the qty for a 8 inch mold?
So sorry for replying so late. This recipe will work for 8 inch mold as well.