Kalakand ~ A Milky Delicious Indian Sweet

Kalakand - The sweet, grainy dessert loved by me and my loved ones a lot. For me, this is a sheepish and shy way of satisfying the sweet cravings especially when you do not want to pack the pounds and yet want bites of grainy pistachio laden Kalakand squares.

I came across this recipe by Bong Mom. I tried it and cannot thank her enough. I did not go an ambitious trial route and went frugal with the trial, hence a small batch. I made 9-10 Kalakand squares out of the recipe, they are delightful and all finished clean by two hungry foodies in 2 days.

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Recipe Source: Bong Moms Cookbook - Kalakand recipe

Yield: 9-10 Kalakand Bars

Ingredients:

Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese - 14 oz. pack ~ I used 14 oz. out of 15 oz. pack

Condensed Milk (sweetened) - 14 oz. can

Pistachio - 1/4 cup

Almonds (slivered) - 1/4 cup

Cardamom powder - 1/3 teaspoon

Method:

Grease a glass pyrex which is microwave safe (8" by 8") with a butter stick. Mix the Condensed milk along with Ricotta Cheese, I used only 14 oz. of Ricotta Cheese. Use a fork if required so that the Cheese blends evenly with the Milk and forms a smooth texture. Mix the Cardamom powder as ensure they blend in evenly.

Microwave for 5 minutes with occasional peek to check for any mixture spurting around in the microwave area.

Remove and mix well.

Microwave again for 5 minutes. The milk will begin cooking at this stage and the volume will slowly turn into milk solids and a gooey mass. Remove and mix well.

Microwave now with 1 minute breaks. Microwave for 1 minute - Pause - Remove - Mix and place again.

Repeat this for next 5-6 minutes. The milk solids will gradually collect to a collective grainy mass which will slowly take over a light brown hue which is very pale. I took exactly 17 minutes to finish the Kalakand.

Remove from heat, spread well. Sprinkle Pistachio and Almonds. Cut them into pieces with a knife as desired. Leave the little milk babies alone for 3-4 hours. Once done, remove each one by one. Store in an air tight container, consume within 3-4 days.

Suggestion: One could use fresh Paneer (non-fried) instead of Ricotta Cheese; however I have not tried the combination in my kitchen.