sandesh recipe with step by step photos – sandesh is one of the most popular sweets made during durga puja. making sandesh is not difficult and is an easy recipe and this step by step tutorial will help you further to make these delicious fudge at home.
basically, sandesh is a sweet moist fudge made from cottage cheese. for making them you have to first prepare the fresh paneer or cottage cheese. mash the paneer and then cook it with a mixture of sugar and jaggery. the cooking is important and if you over do it, the paneer becomes dense and rubbery. it took me a total of 9 minutes on a low flame to get the right texture and consistency in the sandesh.
once you make them you will wonder, why you didn’t make this delicious sweet before. since the actual preparation of sandesh is very simple and quick unlike making gulab jamun or rasogulla.
like all popular indian sweets, sandesh is loved by many and is quite popular in west bengal. there are many variations of sandesh made for festive occasions like kaju sandesh, pista sandesh, bhapa sandesh (steamed), dates sandesh, ice cream sandesh, and chocolate sandesh.
since i had palm jaggery, i have used it in this recipe along with sugar. you can easily use sugar in the whole recipe. the color would be creamish then instead of brownish. however, palm jaggery gives a really nice rustic flavor and taste to the sandesh.
few more sweets recipes for durga puja festival
sandesh recipe
INGREDIENTS FOR sandesh recipe
- 1 litre milk
- 1 to 1.5 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar
- 2 tablespoon palm jaggery or substitute with just 2 tablespoon sugar
- 3 tablespoon sugar or as required
- 4 to 5 pistachios (pista), almonds (badam), sliced or 10-12 golden raisins (kishmish)
HOW TO MAKE sandesh recipe
making chenna for sandesh recipe
- keep the milk to boil.
- line a deep bowl or pan with a muslin or thin cotton napkin.
- when the milk beguns boiling, lower the flame. add lemon juice and stir. when all the milk curdles, switch off the fire.
- pour the entire content in the lined muslin. take the four corners of the muslin in your hands and join together.
- the chenna or paneer would be in the muslin. so gather all the curdled paneer together in the muslin and squeeze the whey.
- rinse the chenna with the muslin in running water very lightly. this is to remove the sourness of the lemon juice or vinegar from the paneer.
- place a weight like a stone bowl or a stone pestle on the muslin for 25-30 mins.
making sandesh recipe
- take the paneer in a plate or a tray. knead with the knuckles of your palms.
- gather the whole mixture at intervals and then again continue to knead till the mixture becomes smooth and less granular.
- add jaggery and sugar and knead for 2 to 3 minutes again.
- the jaggery and sugar both will melt and release moisture in the mixture.
- add this mixture to a thick bottomed non stick pan.
- with continous stirring cook on a low flame for a total time of 9-10 minutes.
- first the sandesh mixture will have a smooth and molten consistency.
- slowly slowly the moisture would begin to dry up and the sandesh mixture would start coming together.
- we do not want a dry sandesh mixture.
- the paneer should have some moistness and must not have a dense rubbery texture.
- remember the sandesh mixture should have some moistness and not be dry.
- also no oil or fat should be released from the mixture.
- let the sandesh mixture warm or cool and then knead the mixture again to get a smooth consistency.
- shape into round flattened balls or a peda. with a toothpick or fork you can even make designs on the sandesh.
- press some pistachio or almond slices or raisins in the center.
- serve the sandesh immediately or refrigerate and then serve them.
- if not serving immediately then refrigerate the sandesh as they get spoiled if you keep them out at room temperature.
RECIPE TIPS
- the sandesh recipe can be doubled or tripled.
- use freshly made paneer or cottage cheese to make sandesh.
how to make sandesh recipe
1. first begin with preparing the paneer or chenna. keep the milk to boil and then curdle it by adding lemon juice. in a a deep bowl lined with a muslin or thin cotton napkin, pour the curdled milk.
2. take the four corners of the muslin in your hands and gather all the curdled paneer together in the muslin. squeeze the whey. rinse the chenna with the muslin in running water very lightly. this is to remove the sourness of the lemon juice or vinegar from the paneer. place a weight like a heavy bowl or a stone pestle on the muslin for about 30 mins. the paneer will be set by then.
3. take the paneer in a plate or a tray. knead and mash with the knuckles of your palms. gather the whole mixture at intervals and continue to knead till the mixture becomes smooth and soft. add jaggery and sugar and knead for 2-3 minutes again. the jaggery and sugar both will melt and release moisture in the mixture. you can also pulse the paneer with the sugar in a blender.
4. add this mixture to a thick bottomed non-stick pan. with the continuous stirring cook on a low flame for a total time of 9-10 minutes. after 2-3 minutes the mixture will come to have a smooth and molten consistency.
5. slowly slowly the sandesh moisture would begin to dry up and the mixture would start coming together. we do not want a dry sandesh mixture. the paneer should have some moistness and must not have a dense rubbery texture. also no oil or fat should be released from the sandesh mixture. you can see the consistency of the paneer that is required to make sandesh in the pic below.
6. let the sandesh mixture warm or cool. again knead the mixture with the knuckles of your palms like you did before. then take small portions and shape them into round flattened balls or a peda. with a toothpick or fork you can even make designs on the sandesh. press some pistachio or almond slices or raisins in the center. you can even use moulds to shape them.
7. serve the sandesh immediately or refrigerate and then serve them. if not serving immediately then refrigerate the sandesh as they get spoiled if you keep them out at room temperature.
Hello, I have a query.. should we use low fat milk , cow milk or full cream milk..
Thank u in advance
use full cream milk or cow milk. avoid using low-fat milk.
Hello dassana, first of all thanks you doing this incredible job, really for 2 years I am follow ur your recipes most of time, I have problem most of time with chenna kneading as it start leaving oil very early stage ( under 1 min) which spoil my most chenna sweets, I dry chenna for 30 to 40 min, what could be problem, may I should dry the chenna more
thanks a lot bunty. could be you are using too much pressure and weight from your hands while kneading chenna. knead with a light pressure from your hands, then oil will not be released. knead very lightly with minimal pressure and weight from the hands. hope this helps.
I tried this recipe exactly as suggested but the paneer, gur and sugar mixture never became homogeneous as shown in the pics and till the end the mixture was distinct whose pedas couldn’t be made. Plz suggest where could I have been wrong ?
may be the chenna became too dry and hence the pedas were not able to be formed. otherwise the recipe is not difficult.
Was nice will try it out
Very very useful & delicious
thanks fakhruddin
Thanks for sharing this recipe. I prepared it and it was simply yummy. Thanks again
welcome kriti
Very delicious.
thanks minnat
This new for me , surely try this super sweet recipe.
Thanks Dassana, I will definitely try this one on our Bijoya, and Happy Durga puja to you.
welcome papri. happy durga puja to you and your family.
Sandesh looks so tempting Dassana
thanks vimitha