Sandesh...A Bengali Sweet

First of all, I would like to thank you all for keep on visiting my blog regularly and checking on me that why am I not updating my blog these days. Actually, now I am taking Wilton's Fondant and Gum Paste class at Michaels, The Art and Craft store and also, we are in the processing of buying a house, which is eating up all our time and most of the weekends. So time is a little short these days :) Another thing I wanted to share with you all is, I couldn't make it to the Chefs.com Treasured Recipe Contest, at the end they selected the finalists themselves after conducting an audit of votes, but I will always be greatful for all your help and support. Thanks a lot once again....

So, the recipe of Sandesh that I am going to share with you today is a quick-fix sweet and no cooking required, accept boiling milk for making fresh Paneer. This is one of the most famous Bengali sweets (all of which are my favourites :D), which is cooked in almost every Bengali family. I learned this recipe from one of my Bengali friends back in India. She used to live near to our home and also have a lot of interest in cooking. She told me that this sweet can be made in two ways, either by cooking the paneer or by not cooking the paneer. We will be making the "NO COOKING REQUIRED" method today. So, lets get started and fill our kitchens with the flavors of Traditional Bengali cooking......

Makes 15-18

Ingredients:

Fresh Paneer (made from 1/2 gallon of milk)

Powdered Sugar (3/4 cup, or to taste)

Small Cardamom Powder (1 tsp)

Pistachios (25 unsalted, 18 whole and rest sliced)

Small muffin cups (15-18, optional)

Method:

1. Make fresh paneer from 1/2 gallon of milk and press it with something heavy for 45 minutes, so that all the water come out.
2. In a large bowl, start mashing it with your hands until smooth and a ball is formed. The heat from your hand will help it in becoming soft and smooth, which is very important since we are not cooking anything.
3. Now add powdered sugar and cardamom powder. Mix well with hands.
4. Divide the prepared paneer into 15-18 equal portions.
5. Roll one of them between the palms of your hands and flatten it.
6. Put one pistachio in the middle and roll into a ball.
7. Put each one of them in the muffin cups and garnish with sliced pistachios.
8. Let them set for 3-4 our in the freeze, before serving.