Another Milk based Gem : Kalakand

I am sure after couple more posts you guys will certainly know that milk based desserts and my darling hubby have a very strong connection:) This post uncovers Kalakand – another one of my hubby’s favourites. In common English parlance Kalakand is a form of a milk cake – soft, and melting in the mouth.

I have made this Kalakand 3-4 times and by God’s grace it has come out very well each time. The confidence to share this recipe came from the fact that now my husband seldom brings Kalakand from outside stores – he simply gets the home made one nearly every 1-1.5 months.

The ingredients for making Kalakand are:

1. Milk : 2 litres

2. Lemon juice : 2-3 Tbsp

3. Sugar : 1/2 cup (powdered)

4. Cardamom : 2

5. Pistachios : 12

6. Almonds : 6

Method :

Take 2 pans and pour 1Litre milk in each of the pans. Put both the pans on the stove and allow the milk to boil. In one of the pans: Switch off the gas when the milk get boiled and, after 2 minutes add the lemon juice very slowly with continuous stir. This will make the milk curdle. Once the chenna/paneer separates from the whey (milk water), sieve the mixture with a clean muslin cloth and wash it with clean water twice or thrice (to get rid of the sourness from lemon) and, then squeeze out the excess water.

The milk being boiled in the 2nd pan should be boiled till it reduces to half the quantity. Keep on stirring the milk with a spoon at short intervals so that it doesn’t sticks at the bottom of the pan. The milk will become extremely thick once it is reduced to half.

Now add that chenna/paneer to this reduced milk and stir it continuously. Cook the mixture till it gets thick. Add sugar (powdered) to it and continue stirring the mixture. Cook it till the mixture reaches the consistency of making a burfee. Switch off the gas and add cardamom powder n mix it.

Take a tray and grease it with little ghee. Pour the mixture into the tray; garnish with chopped almonds n pistachios and let it set for 1-2 hrs. Then cut in square shape and serve these delicious Kalakand to your loved ones.

Insider Tips / Finer Points :

1. Adding sugar at the right time is the most important thing. If you add sugar before then it will become too soft and, if you add sugar late then it will become chewy. So make sure that when you are adding sugar there should be no water in the mixture.

2. Putting few spoons of water in the pan before putting milk reduces burning the milk at the bottom of the pan.

3. If the Kalakand is too soft put the plate in a microwave oven (ensure plate is microwave-safe) for 2-3 minutes. However make sure that doing so does not makes the Kalakand dry.

4. If you don’t want to make Kalakand by this traditional method, the easiest way is to make it from condensed milk and chenna/paneer.

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