Kalakand Recipe

5 from 1 vote

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.

Prep Time5

Cook Time10

Total Time15

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Indian

Servings: Slices

Calories: 156kcal

Author: Neha

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)

US Customary - Metric

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!

Nutrition