Instant Mango sandesh

The Bengal connection has been a strong one in my life.. having loved bengali sweets since a very young age, I can never resist a malai rasgulla sandwich or a syrupy cham cham.. and how about that spongy rasgulla?and who does not know about the sandesh ? this easy to make sweet is very popular and comes in many flavours like kesar, mango, pistachio etc

It is due to the influence of karachi sweet mart Pune,  in my life, the owners wife was my mom’s best friend and these treats were very often on our table, this kind aunty would never lose an opportunity to send us sweets ,very often the door bell would ring and we were handed a packet of cold rasmalais which were so soft  that they literally melted in your mouth.. these rasmalais were dunked in a saffron infused sweet milk base, oh how we relished these delicious sweet treats ..Even today, on all my visits to India I still head direct to the karachi sweet mart to buy their Bengali sweets..

Bengali sweets are no doubt on the sweeter side of life, but they are lighter than most IIndian sweets because they are paneer or cottage cheese based.. chenna as it is called by Bengalis. Another plus point being the absence of ghee or oil…

Today I will share with you a very simple instant sandesh which makes use of condensed milk and is made in a jiffy… you can substitute the mango essence with soaked and ground saffron or use any other flavouring. This sandesh is best had cold.It also keeps up to a week in the refrigerator.. do try it out…

INSTANT MANGO SANDESH

125 GMS FRESH PANEER.( COTTAGE CHEESE)GRATED

100 ML SWEET CONDENSED MILK

1 TBSP MILK POWDER

1 TBSP  FLOUR

1 TBSP OF POWDERED SUGAR

1/2 TSP MANGO ESSENCE

FEW DROPS OF LIQUID YELLOW COLOUR

METHOD…

1.. BLEND TOGETHER PANEER(COTTAGE CHEESE) , CONDENSED MILK , MILK POWDER , FLOUR AND SUGAR TO A SMOOTH PASTE.

2.. PUT THIS BLENDED MIXTURE INTO A NON STICK PAN AND STIR ON A VERY LOW FLAME FOR ABOUT 5 MINUTES UNTIL THE MIXTURE LEAVES THE SIDES OF THE PAN. IMMEDIATELY SHUT OFF THE FLAME.. OVERCOOKING WILL RESULT IN A GRAINY SANDESH WHICH WE DO NOT WANT, A SANDESH HAS TO BE SMOOTH.

3.. ADD 2 OR 3 DROPS OF LIQUID YELLOW COLOUR AND ABOUT 1/2 TSP MANGO ESSENCE..AT THIS POINT YOU CAN ADD ANY FLAVOUR OF YOUR LIKING..

4..POUR THIS MIXTURE ONTO A LIGHTLY GREASED TRAY AND CHILL…

5.. COVER WITH SILVER VARKH OR TOP WITH TINY BITS OF FRESH MANGO AND CUT INTO SMALL PIECES… SERVE COLD…ENJOY.