Shondesh | Bengali Sandesh

When I announced Celebrate sweets with the theme Bengali sweets, I wanted to prepare Rasgullas.I kept postponing the thought of preparing it and finally I decided against it and made two types of Shondesh last weekend.

This one is the basic Shondesh recipe.There are numerous and innovative Sondesh varieties that can be developed from this one.

Shondesh makes use of Paneer [like most of the Bengali desserts] and is sweetened with sugar and a garnish is added. Such a simple recipe for a finger-licking yummy sweet. I am sure you just can’t stop eating it.

I used:

Homemade paneer from 1 Liter milk .Make sure that the whey has been completely drained out.
Castor Sugar – 1/4 cup [ add more if you like it sweeter
Saffron- a few strands soaked in a tablespoon of warm milk
Raisins to garnish

1. Take the paneer in a pan and add sugar.Heat the pan on low flame and cook the paneer for 5 minutes.The color of the paneer should not change.If you over cook the mixture, it will become crumbly.
2. Transfer the paneer onto a flat surface and add the saffron and the milk used to soak it.
3. Knead well for some time.You will know that you have kneaded enough when a ball rolled out from the dough does not crack on the edges.If you want to get it done fast, put the paneer mixture in a mixie jar and blend for a couple of minutes till it is creamy.Do not add water / milk to blend.Its very easy and quick.
4. Use moulds to shape the shondesh or just roll them into balls and slighly flatten them.
5. Garnish with raisins / chopped nuts

Note :

Use fresh homemade paneer for a good texture and delicious taste. The Shondesh prepared from the store brought paneer will not taste as good as the ones prepared with fresh paneer.

Coming up next is a crunch Pista Shondesh…..

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Bon Appetit…