Kalakand

Cheat version

As the Crescent moon of Ramzan shines, I wish everyone Eid Mubarak!!

Growing up in Hyderabad I was lucky to have many Muslim friends who are fortunately foodies like me. Muslim cuisine is known for its use of rich spices, fragrant herbs and authentic recipes. Indian muslim cuisine is a food lover’s dreams….the sweets are out of this world. Of course Sheer Kurma is the king of deserts on Ramzan, kalakand is another desert that is prepared in most of the muslim houses as its quick and easy to make.

By the way visting hyderad during ramzaan period must be mandatory for foodies like me. Check out the below pic, how beautiful does chaminaar look.

Ok, back to Kalakand.

This is my most favorite desert ever, its a simple, a few ingredient sweet that’s sure to wow your family and friends. Its the one sweet I also get when my favorite people come home. Before I go on to this miracle of a recipe, let me talk a bit about Kalakand.

Kalakand is a refreshingly delicious and tastes the best when it’s fresh. Fortunately it’s not too difficult to make so you can enjoy it at any time. It has a soft crumbly milk cake consistency made from reduced thickened milk. Traditionally this is made with khoya (mawa) thickened reduced milk solids. It takes a while to reduce the milk to get the resultant khoya mix so to speed things up a lot of times people use fresh paneer.

If there is paneer at home, to make Kalakand would be a breeze. Once its grated the remaining ingredients just need to be mixed through and heated with condensed milk together, then cut them into squares and boxed up, this makes a gorgeous party desert and will win hearts of all the guests!!

Ingredients:-

Fresh Cottage Cheese / Paneer (crumbled) 250 gms
Cardamom Powder (Elaichi Powder)- 1 tsp
Condensed milk – 1 Tin- 400gms
Dry Fruits (for garnishing)
Rose water/Kewra water- 1 tsp (Optional)

Method:-

In a nonstick pan heat condensed milk for few minutes.

Crumble paneer with hands and add to the condensed milk, I like to have small chunks of paneer to chew while eating kalakand. If you want smoother consistency use finely grated paneer. Its always ideal to use home made paneer for that rich flavour. If using store brought paneer, get fresh batch only.

Once the paneer starts to cook add cardamon powder and kewar water if using. Also a lot of places use milk powder to get that perfect white colour. I dint have it handy so if you got it add a tsp of the powder.

Keep stirring continuously and let this simmer on low flame for a minimum of 10 minutes until it thickens and starts to leave the pan.

Once the texture is crumbly mostly and there’s no extra moisture in the mix, remove from heat and transfer the mixture to the greased plate or aluminum foiled plate. Add dry fruits on top and flatten with the top of the spatula and let it cool completely. Store it in refrigerator for 2 to 3 hours and then cut into squares and serve.