Make Sondesh Like a Pro with This Quick Dessert Recipe

Sondesh or sandesh is a popular milk-based sweet originating from Bengal. It's soft and airy and melts easily on the tongue. It's popular during Durga puja and other festivals, including Diwali. There are many ways of making it. It can be as simple as mixing some paneer with sugar and making balls and letting that set in the fridge. Or it can be an elaborate process where every step is measured and strictly followed. What we have here is a recipe that’s perfect for amateur cooks and home cooks, who have some experience around the kitchen and confidence in their ability to create new dishes. Simply follow this detailed guide and you'll have some delicious sandesh waiting to be devoured.

Ingredients:

• 1 liter whole milk
• 5 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar or add as required
• 2 tablespoons palm jaggery or substitute with 2 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons sugar or as required
• 5 pistachios or 5 almonds, sliced or 10 to 12 golden raisins

Directions:

• In a large bowl, add the milk and heat on medium heat until it comes to a boil. Then lower the heat and add the lemon juice to the milk. It will curdle and fall apart. Turn off the heat once it's a greenish color. Line a bowl with a muslin cloth and pour the curdled milk into the cloth. Hold the muslin cloth from its four edges, bringing them together, and pull it up. Squeeze all the liquid out and rinse the chhena or paneer in the cloth. Place a heavy weight like a pestle or stone bowl on the paneer which should be wrapped up in the cloth. Set aside.
• Now, take the chenna on a plate and knead it gently. As you knead, you will notice that the mixture becomes smoother and less granular. Continue doing so until the entire mixture becomes smooth.
• Then add sugar and jaggery to the chenna and knead for another 5 minutes. The sugar and jaggery will melt and dissolve, and some moisture will be released into the mixture. Knead it well until it's well incorporated.
• Transfer this mixture to a pan and cook on low heat. Stir continuously and cook for about 10 minutes. The sandesh will have a paste-like consistency. But as it cooks, the moisture will start to disappear and the mixture will come together. We want the evaporation but we don't want a dry sandesh mixture either. So make sure you turn off the heat at the right time.
• Once the mixture has cooled, knead again to get a smoother texture.
• Now you can shape it however you want. Traditionally they are round or ovals. But there are also many molds in the market and you can create any shape that you like with those molds. Then you can also use a toothpick to write initials or make any other designs on the top. You can also press nuts into each piece of sandesh. Once you’re happy with what you have, refrigerate them for 30 minutes. Then serve.
• The sandesh can be stored in the fridge for 3 days. If they’re left outside at room temperature they will get spoiled.

Notes, tips and tricks:

• It's best to use full-fat whole milk to make sandesh. Using low fat or skimmed milk simply wont give the same results.
• It's better to make the fresh paneer from scratch instead of using readymade paneer. This way you can knead it and achieve the desired consistency and smoothness. It's harder to work with store-bought paneer.
• When you’re kneading the dough, make sure you use a very light hand. If you knead with too much force, the fats and oils will start to release and we don't want that.
• Sandesh is traditionally topped with almonds, pistachios or raisins. But you can use any topping you like. Some options include rose petals, lemon zest, bits of chocolate or toffee, hard candy, or any other topping of your choice. This will affect your overall flavour so be mindful of what you're adding. Or you can simply serve without any toppings and garnishes.
• You can easily halve or double this recipe, depending on how many people you want to serve.