Instant Kalakand Recipe for you that makes soft, moist and just the right amount of grainy kalakand in just under 15 minutes of active time.
And the best part? It is made with just 3 basic ingredients.
If you are looking for a quick Diwali sweet that doesn't require you to stand in the kitchen for hours, this is it!
If you also love traditional Indian Desserts like me, try these Gulab Jamuns and these Jalebis too. You are sure to love this Kulfi Recipe as well. Find all Indian Desserts at one place on the blog.

This Indian sweet is traditionally made by reducing milk and sugar. But today we are making it in a quicker manner using chenna (homemade cheese) and condensed milk.
If you don't want to go through the hassle of making homemade chenna, you can easily use ricotta cheese instead. Can it get any easier??
Ingredients Required:
Chenna/Ricotta Cheese: If you have the time for it, I suggest you make the chenna at home. Reason? You can control the amount of whey that stays in your chenna.
Store bought paneer(cottage cheese) is stripped off of that additional liquid.
Substitute: If you don't want to make homemade cheese, get a 15 oz sized whole milk ricotta cheese container from store. That works as a perfect substitute.
Condensed Milk: You will need one can of Sweetened Condensed Milk. Or you can easily make your own with just three ingredients.
Cardamom Powder: Freshly ground cardamom will give you the maximum fragrance and potency in flavor.
Slivered Nuts: A combination of Pistachios, cashews and almonds is the best choice of nuts. However, you can alter them as per your taste and liking.
Rose Water/Kewra Water: These flavorings are optional but add a lot of flavor to this sweet. I love the combination of rose water with cardamom personally. I urge you to give it a try.
How to make this recipe?
Making Chenna (Homemade Paneer):
Boil full fat milk over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Curdle milk using lemon juice, vinegar or yogurt after turning the flame off.
Curdle the milk slowly by adding diluted lemon juice or vinegar. Dilute these both with a little water. Adding concentrated acidic liquids to milk can lead to hardened cheese.
Add a little at a time and stir constantly. If the milk doesn't curdle, keep adding a little more till it does. Strain the milk over a muslin cloth, keeping a colander underneath.
Rinse cheese under water a few times to get rid of the citrus smell. If you used yogurt to curdle the milk, you don't need to rinse it.
Wrap cheese in muslin cloth by twisting the ends together a few times.
Squeeze as much moisture off of the cloth as you can and hang it for 10-15 minutes to get rid of the excess.
I used about 6 cups of milk and ended with around 260 gms of cheese. Weighing it helps you decide the amount of sugar that goes in this recipe.
For Kalakand:
In a heavy bottomed pan, add condensed milk and homemade cheese together. Reduce it stirring frequently till is thickens.
Reduce this mixture on medium flame. You don't want the mixture to get burnt and get stuck on the bottom of your pan.
If you find even medium flame is getting a little too high for the mixture, reduce heat to low and continue to cook the mixture as it reduces.
Once you notice the mixture has reduced considerably but still looks moist and juicy, it is ready. Turn the heat off at this stage and add flavorings of your choice.
I have added cardamom powder and rose water here. Try to use freshly grinded cardamom as it will be more potent.
Along with rose water you can also use a hint of kewra water if you like. Remember kewra water is very potent in nature too, so around ¼ teaspoon will be more than sufficient.
Taste the mixture and add more only if you think it is necessary. Press the mix in a lined tray and allow to set in refrigerator for a few minutes.
Once chilled you can demold it and cut into the shapes of choice.
How to store it:
This sweet will stay good in refrigerator for 4-5 days. Please don't store it on room temperature as it is a milk based dessert.
You can serve it cold or set it on counter top for a few minutes before serving, if you like it better at room temperature.
It can also be microwaved just for a few seconds if you want to bring it to room temperature quickly.
Tips to make this sweet perfect in the first attempt:
- Adjusting Sweetness: If you like to make this dessert a little sweet, you can replace 2-3 tablespoon of sweetened condensed milk with whole milk.
- Use Full Fat Ingredients: Whether its whole milk or condensed milk you will need to use them in their full fat versions. Reduced fat ingredients never work in Indian sweets in my experience.
- Don't overcook Chenna/Paneer: Only cook the mixture till it thickens and isn't runny. But it should still be moist to touch. When this mixture sets, it dries out a bit more. If you over cook it, the mithai will set super hard.
- You can even make chenna/paneer ahead and store it in the refrigerator for a day. Keep it covered tightly.
If you liked this recipe or any other recipe on Greedy Eats, give it a star rating! Also tell me in the comments below how did the recipe turned out for you. How did you customize it. Reading your comments makes my day! 🙂
Recipe
Kalakand Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Pot (preferably non stick)
Ingredients
- 1 (14 oz) can Condensed Milk
- 250 gms Homemade Cottage Cheese or 15 oz (400 gms) Ricotta Cheese
- ½ teaspoon Cardamom Powder
- 1 teaspoon Rose Water
- 3 Tablespoon Chopped Nuts of choice
- edible Silver Leaf (optional)
Instructions
Makin Homemade Chenna/Paneer:
- Skip this step if using ricotta cheese. Pour 6 cups of milk in a pot over flame and bring the milk to a boil. Stir in between if required. Turn the heat off and curdle milk with 2 tablespoons lemon juice mixed with 3-4 tablespoon of water. You can also use ½ cup yogurt instead of lemon if desired.Strain the curdled cheese on a muslin cloth over a colander. Be careful as the whey and cheese will be very hot. Wash cheese 2-3 times if you curdled it with lemon. Hold the ends of cloth and twist the cloth to hold cheese tightly. Squeeze all the excess moisture from the cheese and hang it on kitchen tap for 10-15 minutes.
To make Kalakand:
- Over medium heat in a pan, cook chenna/ricotta cheese and condensed milk together stirring continuously. The mixture will thin down initially and then start to thicken.
- Turn the heat to low as it begins to thicken and keep stirring. This process should take around 9-10 minutes. Do not over cook this mixture, it should still be moist when done. Add cardamom powder and rose water at this stage.If you are cooking with ricotta cheese, it will take a little longer to reduce.
- Grease a cake pan or any tray or place a parchment paper/aluminum foil in it. When the mixture thickens and is moist but not runny anymore, pour and set this mixture in the greased pan.level the mixture off using a spoon or spatula to around ¾-1 inch thickness. Decorate with silver leaf and finely chopped nuts if adding.
- Cover and refrigerate kalakand for a minimum of 2 hours. Once set, take out of refrigerator at least 30-45 minutes before serving as its texture is best served at room temperature. Enjoy!
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