Sandesh or sondesh is a delicious Bengali sweet that is often made for festive or other special occasions and is popular all over India and abroad. It is made with only milk and sugar but some recipes substitute milk with the use of chhena or paneer.
Are you even a dessert lover if you don't crave the Bengali sandesh, every now and then? The preparations for Diwali are well underway, with the festival just around the corner and while there will be large feasts and spreads, there is no better way to wrap the revelry than with a sweet ending.
Use this festive and puja season as an excuse to whip up your own stack of homemade Baked Kesari Sandesh with this easy recipe given below.
Ingredients:
Paneer
Khoya
Sugar-free natura diet sugar
Ghee
A pinch of saffron.
Method:
Put the paneer/chhena into a mixer jar. Add the sugar-free diet sugar and blend until you get a smooth paste. Place a non-stick pan and heat some ghee and then add the chenna mixture on a medium flame.
Stir around with a spatula for 8-10 minutes until it is somewhat dry and comes together into a ball. In the final stage, add the kesari saffron powder and mix well until uniformly blended into the sandesh, giving it a golden hue.
Remove this into a lined baking tray. Press this down and smoothen the top. Garnish with a strand of saffron or a bit of chopped pistachio. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to an hour to allow it to set before cutting into desired shapes.
(Recipe: Homechef Nibedita Pal, Godrej Jersey)
Benefits:
Paneer or cottage cheese is loaded with the goodness of healthy fats and milk proteins and helps builds a strong immune system which is on everyone’s top priority currently amid the Covid-19 pandemic, aids in the normal functioning of the digestive system and builds better bones and teeth courtesy its rich calcium content. It is not only an essential component in weight loss programs but is also an ideal food for diabetic patients and reduces the risk of cancer.
