Kalakand

Kalakand is a popular Indian sweet made out of solidified, sweetened milk and cottage cheese. This is a moderately sweet dessert and you can't stop at just one piece.

The dish originated in Alwar, Rajasthan, India. Kalakand is made in Indian during different festivals and celebrations such as Holi, Diwali, Navratri and Eid.

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Serves: 4-5 people

Recipe Courtesy: Smt Somayajula Gayatri Devi Sharma

Ingredients	Quantity
Sweetened Condensed Milk	200gms
Paneer	250gms
Milk Powder	10gms (1 heaped tbsp)
Cardamom Powder	1 tsp(optional)
Pistachios/ Cashewnuts	for garnish
Ghee	1 tbsp

Method

Take a square cake tin and brush all the sides and bottom with ghee. Line with butter paper and brush ghee on it.

Crumble paneer or grate. Take care to retain the grainy texture of the paneer.

Add hot water to pistachios/cashewnuts and soak them for few minutes. Peel the pistachios/cashewnuts and chop them to small pieces.

Take a thick bottomed pan and heat it. Add grated paneer, milk powder and sweetened condensed milk. Mix well and lower the heat to low flame. Keep stirring otherwise the mixture will burn. After few minutes the mixture starts thickening. Cook for few minutes and then add the cardamom powder and mix well. Don’t let the mixture dry completely.

Once the condensed milk is almost dry transfer the mixture to the prepared cake tin and spread evenly with a flat spoon. Dip a spoon in water and use the back of the spoon to smoothen the surface.

Cool the kalakand for a while and cut into desired shapes. Then separate the pieces and arrange them in a plate. Garnish the kalakand pieces with chopped pistachios/cashewnuts and serve.

To make kalakand in different shapes use cookie cutters. Make a ball of kalakand and flatten it on a plate. Then press the cookie cutter and remove the excess portions and lift the cookie cutter gently.

Points to remember

• Using sweetened condensed milk making this dish very easy. If we have to make it traditionally, milk has to be boiled and then reduced. Sweetened condensed milk is a better option to save time.
• Remember to retain the grainy texture of paneer.
• Use a thick bottomed pan so that the condensed milk does not burn. And also keep stirring the mixture while cooking so that the mixture does not burn. As there is very little moisture in condensed milk and paneer the mixture needs attention while cooking.
•  Cut and decorate as per your choice.