Kalakand – Quick and easy
2014-10-20- Cuisine: Indian
- Course: Sweet Dishes
- Skill Level: Beginner
- Yield : 400gms
- Servings : 10
- Prep Time : 10m
- Cook Time : 15m
- Ready In : 25m
Kalakand is traditionally made from curdling the milk on the stovetop, reducing more milk and adding to it, adding sugar to it and reducing it further. But I love recipes that save time and taste just as good. So instead of Boiling the milk and curdling and reducing the milk, I used readymade paneer and sweetened condensed milk. The result was soft and delicious Kalakand in minutes. Try it, I am sure you’ll love it too.
Trivia
You thought Kalakand is a Bengali dish, right? I thought so too till I stumbled on it’s Wikipedia page.It says “Kalakand, or qalaqand or “kalakanu” also known as sandesh (Hindi: क़लाक़न्द) is a popular Indian sweet made out of solidified, sweetened milk and cottage cheese. Kalakand was invented in 1947 by Baba Thakur Das in Alwar, Rajasthan, India.” Source: Wikipedia
Ingredients
- Paneer 300 gms
- Condensed milk 1 can
- Powdered milk 50 gms
- Milk 2 Tbsp
- Cardamom powder 1/4 Tsp
- Pistachios - 2-3 Tbsp cut in thin slivers
Method
Step 1
Crumble paneer to a not very fine powder. Mix milk powder to crumbled paneer.
Step 2
Keep a heavy bottomed pan on the stovetop and heat the condensed milk on very low flame.
Step 3
Add paneer and milk powder mixture to the pan containing warm condensed milk and mix well. Add Cardamom powder and half of Pistachio slivers.
Step 4
Keep stirring. Soon the mixture will become thick and will start leaving the sides of the pan. Remove it on a butter paper or a parchment paper.
Step 5
Spread it evenly in a foil lined deep dish. The layer of the mixture should be about 3/4 inch thick. Use a ring or square made out of kitchen foil to contain the spread if you feel so. Garnish it with the remaining Pistachio slivers.
Step 6
Let it cool completely (keep it in the fridge for some time if you want). Take a knife and cut squares.
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