Raspberry Basundi

Basundi is a traditional Marathi dessert with a sweet, milky flavour. I had a box of farm fresh Raspberries which I wanted to try out with Basundi, so blended the berries along with the Basundi consistency. The tang of berries blended well with the sweet flavour of Basundi. Very easy dessert packed with punch of fruity goodness. Condensed milk with flavourful colored fruits add a different texture and taste to Indian desserts.

Happy Birthday to my dear country, India & a big welcome to the month of Shraavan!!

Cooking time: 30-45 minutes
Processing time: 6-8 hours of refrigeration

Ingredients:
Whole Milk - 3 cups
Sweetened Condensed Milk - 1 can
Sugar - 3-5 tablespoon
Raspberries (pureed + few whole) - 10-12 or 1/2 cup canned puree
Cardamom powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Almonds (slivered) - 2/3 cup
Pistachios (crushed) - 2/3 cup

Contraption needed - Hand Blender or any electronic blending device.

Method:
Boil the whole milk and condensed milk together on low flame in a non-stick deep dish vessel. Once the milk begins to boil reduce flame and simmer. Time and again scrap off the milk solids which attach to the side of the vessel. During the simmering process, add sugar and stir in to enable blending. Once milk reduces to 1/3 quantity with a milky aroma, turn off the flame and allow to cool. Add Cardamom powder and mix well. Wash the berries and puree to a paste. Sieve through to remove the seeds. Mix this puree with the cooked Basundi blend. Blend with a hand blender if you can to ensure consistency and good spread. Alternately, you could use the canned puree which is available at stores. The whole mixture will catchy a baby pink color.
Transfer to a serving dish, garnish with Almonds and Pistachios. Add in few whole Raspberry toppings as well. Refrigerate for 6-8 hours. If desired, serve as a thickened milk dessert, or freeze and serve as ice-cream.

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.