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Sandesh: recipe illustration
Desserts

Sandesh

A small Bengali dessert made from chhena, a granular fresh cheese cooked gently with sugar. Its texture is tender and slightly crumbly, its flavor delicately sweet. It is traditionally served at festivals and when visiting.

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Ingredients

Ingredients

Sirop

Spices & seasoning

Optional extras

Nutrition facts

250 kcal per serving

Protein
9.2 g
Carbohydrates
30.1 g
Fat
10.3 g
of which saturated fat
5.8 g
Fiber
0.4 g

Ecomely’s estimate, calculated from the ingredients with the ANSES Ciqual food composition table, excluding sides and seasoning added to taste.

Instructions

  1. Bring the milk to a boil in a large heavy-bottomed pan, then lower the heat.
  2. Add the lemon juice little by little, stirring: the milk should curdle and separate into white curds in a yellowish whey.
  3. Pour everything into a sieve lined with muslin or cheesecloth, rinse quickly with cold water to remove the acidity, then let it drain well for 15 minutes.
  4. Squeeze the cheese in the cloth to extract the water, then knead it by hand for 5 minutes until you have a smooth dough.
  5. Return the dough to the pan over low heat with the sugar and a pinch of salt. Stir constantly for 8 to 10 minutes, until the mass pulls away from the sides and becomes glossy.
  6. Add the cardamom and rose water if using, mix, then let it cool slightly.
  7. Shape into small balls or patterns with lightly floured or damp hands, or press the dough into a wooden mold.
  8. Decorate with chopped pistachios and let cool completely before serving. Keeps refrigerated for 2 days.

Variations and tips

Chocolate sandesh. Add 30 g of unsweetened cocoa with the sugar for a chocolate sandesh.

Using what's easy to find here. Replace the chhena with well-drained ricotta or a fresh cheese like Philadelphia, reducing the sugar slightly.

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Original Ecomely recipe.