This is a basic recipe for the popular Bengalese sweet made from sweetened cottage cheese.
By Dassana Amit
Sandesh: Bengalese Sweet Fudge
- Total Time: 45 mins
Description
This is a basic recipe for the popular Bengalese sweet made from sweetened cottage cheese.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 litre milk
- 1 to 1.5 tbsp lemon juice or vinegar
- 2 tbsp palm jaggery or substitute with just 2 tbsp sugar
- 3 tbsp sugar or as required
- 4–5 pistachios, almonds, sliced or 10–12 golden raisins
Instructions
- bring the milk to boil.
- line a deep bowl or pan with a muslin or thin cotton napkin.
- when the milk begins boiling, lower the flame.
- add lemon juice and stir.
- when all the milk curdles, turn off the stove.
- pour the entire content in the lined muslin.
- take the four corners of the muslin in your hands and join together.
- the chenna or paneer would be in the muslin. so gather all the curdled paneer together in the muslin and squeeze the whey.
- rinse the chenna with the muslin in running water very lightly. this is to remove the sourness of the lemon juice or vinegar from the paneer.
- place a weight, like a stone bowl or a stone pestle, on the muslin for 25-30 mins.
- put the paneer on a plate or a tray.
- knead with the knuckles of your palms
- gather the whole mixture at intervals and then again continue to knead till the mixture becomes smooth and less granular.
- add jaggery and sugar and knead for 2-3 minutes again.
- the jaggery and sugar both will melt and release moisture in the mixture.
- add this mixture to a thick bottomed non stick pan.
- with continous stirring cook on a low flame for a total time of 9-10 minutes.
- first the mixture will have a smooth and molten consistency.
- slowly slowly the moisture would begin to dry up and the mixture would start coming together.
- we do not want a dry sandesh mixture.
- the paneer should have some moistness and must not have a dense rubbery texture.
- remember the mixture should have some moistness and not be dry and no oil or fat should be released from the mixture.
- let the mixture warm or cool and then knead the mixture again to get a smooth consistency.
- shape into round flattened balls or a peda.
- with a toothpick or fork you can even make designs on the sandesh.
- press some pistachio or almond slices or raisins in the center.
- serve the sandesh immediately or refrigerate and then serve them.
- if not serving immediately then refrigerate them as they get spoiled if you keep them out at room temperature.
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Category: Dessert
