Sandesh

Some things are simply delicious or simple and delicious. This is one such Indian sweet. Requires very few ingredients and turns out delicious. Here's how you can make them. Thanks Parnika for sharing your recipe.

Ingredients:

Full cream milk- 1 Litre
Lemon juice- a few drops
Rose water- to taste
Boora (thick powdered sugar) or Tagar in English- to taste
Cardamom powder- to taste
Rose petals to decorate


Process:

Boil milk in a heavy bottomed container. When it comes to a boil add the lemon juice to it so that the milk curdles. Take off the flame as soon as the milk has curdled. This is important to make sure your sandesh is soft. Sieve the water and take what is left (Cottage cheese/Chaina/Paneer) and hang it in a muslin cloth for at least an hour or two so that the remaining water flows out.

Now take a flat bottomed pan/paraat and put the paneer in it and start to mash it with your palms. Continue to mash till the time you have a smooth creamy texture and no granules can be seen. This is the only step where a little bit of hard work is required so please don't shy away from it. Once you have the creamy texture add in the boora/sugar, cardamom powder and rose water.

Mix well, taste and adjust the ingredients if needed. Make balls out of this mixture and keep on a greased plate, decorate with rose petals and keep in the fridge for a few hours before serving.

Rasgullas- A classic Indian Desert

Superbly easy to make and delicious, of course.

Ingredients:

Full cream milk- 1 liter 
Lemon juice
Sugar- To taste
Water- 1 to 1.5 liters
cardamoms

Process:

Boil milk in a heavy bottomed container. When it comes to a boil add the lemon juice to it so that the milk curdles. Take off the flame as soon as the milk has curdled. This is important to make sure your rasgullas are soft. Sieve the water and take what is left (Cottage cheese/Chaina/Paneer) and hang it in a muslin cloth for at least an hour so that the remaining water flows out.

Now take a flat bottomed pan/paraat and put the paneer in it and start to mash it with your palms. Continue to mash till the time you have a smooth creamy texture and no granules can be seen. This is the only step where a little bit of hard work is required so please put in that work. 

You can consider this as an exercise to burn the calories that you are about to consume ;)

When the texture is smooth, make small balls out of this cheese. Make sure they are small because when you cook them, they double in size. 

In a separate pan boil water, sugar and cardamoms together to make a sugary liquid- chachni. Make sure this is thin and your pan is wide so that the rasgullas get enough space to expand. 

When the water is boiling, add the cheese balls into it and let it boil for 20 minutes. Take off the heat, let it cool and your rasgullas are ready.

They taste best when refrigerated over night or at least for 8 hours. It makes sure all the sweetness has travelled inside each Rasgulla, after all that's what the name is right, Ras- juice and Gulla- balls :)

O