Sondesh can be served chilled or at room temperature makes it an ideal dessert to make in any kind of weather.
While the man savored a big tin of protein powder and looked down upon me for stuffing my face with sweets I had to secretly smile cos he doesn't know what he is missing! I failed to convince him that this is the pure form of protein ahh minus sugar of course... with the wicked motive of having a lion share :))) donoo if we were siblings in previous birth :))
Recipe: Adapted from here and here.
Ingredients: ( Yields around 20-25 pcs depending on the mold)
Whole Milk - 1/2 gallon(around 2 ltrs)
Sugar - 3/4 th cup
Cardamom powder - of 4 pods
Lemon juice - 2 tbsp
Pistachios - few crushed for decoration.
(Note: Reduce or skip sugar to make it for NO sugar diet dessert )
Method:
Steps to make chenna /paneer:
1. Boil the milk and when it begins to rise immediately add lemon juice mix well once and wait for a few minutes so the milk curdles completely.Then add 2 trays of ice cubes. This stops the cooking process. Drain off the whey (the greenish water ) and keep aside. It is nutrient rich hence it could be used to make Whey Chicken.
2. Prepare a colander with two layers of cheesecloth on top of it and a bigger container under the colander to catch remaining whey flowing out. Onto the cheese cloth pour the milk solids and close the cloth by gathering the ends. Keep it tight then keep put a heavy weight so all the excess whey flows off. Leave it aside for one to two hours.
Sandesh making steps from paneer:
3. Take out the milk solids and knead all the grains with the heel of ur palms till the whole milk solid becomes soft and smooth.
4. Now heat the milk solid in a non-stick pan for 5-6 minutes until the raw smell and taste goes away. Make sure to keep the heat to the lowest. Add cardamom powder give it a few more stirs remove from flame and add sugar and knead again till soft.
5. Apply oil/ghee to grease the serving platter. Grease any pretty looking mold (I used vegetable oil). Take a small portion of the knead milk solid and press inside the mold until impressions transfer.Remove from mold carefully without damaging the shape and keep it directly on the platter u are going to serve in. Shape the entire milk solid in desired shapes and sizes.Repeat lightly greasing the mold for all portions.This ensures neat shapes and makes demolding easy.
6. Sprinkle some crushed / finely chopped pistachios on each Sandesh. Serve immediately or slightly chilled.
Sandesh stays good only on the day its made and tastes best when fresh.
Can be refrigerated up to two days.
Note:
If u keep boiling milk after curdling for long the texture of the milk solid will change and become grainy.
I have repurposed chocolate packing tray for the mold
Sending this recipe for Sonal's Holi collection on her blog Simplyvegetarian777.com
Hope u enjoy making Sandesh.
Meena
Sowmya Sundararajan
Virtual Calcutta!Nice photography.
Sonal Gupta
I was thinking of making the same but with Rose color and flavor :).
Your pictures are so gorgeous..like a bangla house from 60s...
Thanks for sharing!
Shibi Thomas
They look perfect for anytime sweet!! How many do you get? I counted 20 on the platter 🙂 . Does it yield more?
Meena Kumar
Thank you Sowmya.:)
Meena Kumar
Thank you Sonal. 🙂
Sujatha Arun
I'm always in for any milk based sweet Meena. Beautifully molded and that makes it more pretty !
Meena Kumar
20 for the pics:) 3-4 went for taste testing while making itself :)).The recipe yields around 20-25 depending on the mold used.
Thank you Shibi.
Meena Kumar
Milk based sweets are my weakness Sujatha.:) for that matter any sweet :):)
Thank u dear.
Veena Theagarajan
so yummy and tempting dessert
Tisa Jacob
I have made something similar to this, with just the curdled milk, no kneading. Something I remember eating in college and wanted to recreate. Anyway yours is a hundred times much better looking and looks so delicious too. Thanks for the tip on the chocolate packaging...now I know 😉
Framed Recipes
I have always wanted to try this Meena. And your recipe is motivating me more. Soon.. will tag you when I do. :). - Sreelatha
Sapana Behl
Love your styling and pictures Meena. Wonderful and pure bliss !!
Rafeeda AR
I am drooling at those sweets... I can buy one box and sit and eat the whole thing shamelessly in one sitting... hehe... as usual amazing pics...
Sandhya Hariharan
You got me drooling right on Facebook Meena.. The tones on the picture are soo gorgeous.. I wish to have lived next door to grab some as you shoot them.
POOJA PATIL
wow..so yummy...
Navaneetham Krishnan
Never heard of this sweet treat but I love what I am seeing. Such a sheer pleasure.