Kalakand (Instant)

Kalakand is a dessert popular in India and Pakistan. It is prepared from chenna and condensed milk. For best results I prefer homemade chenna. Kalakand is a very soft dessert, however, you can still cut it into cubes or you can refrigerate and serve kalakand in small serving cups. It is extremely easy to prepare, but while you prepare it you need to be careful to continuously stir the mixture else the mixture will start scorching at the bottom.

The traditional way of making kalakand is adding acid in small portions to the milk at intervals to slower down the process of chenna formation and continue cooking the milk. At the end what we get is a mixture of concentrated milk and chenna. This is exactly what we have at the end but this procedure is much straight forward and we need not go through the process of concentrating the milk for hours.

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Indian

Preparation time: 5 mins

Cook time: 15 mins

Servings: 9 pieces

Ingredients

• 1 cup of chenna
• 1 tablespoon of sugar (You can skip this if you want)
• 1 drop of rosewater or ¼ teaspoon of cardamom powder
• ½ can or 200 grams of sweetened condensed milk
• 8-10 pistachios chopped for garnishing
• Rose petals for garnishing (optional)
• Ghee to grease the container

Directions

1. Take the chenna in a bowl and crumble it well.
2. Finely chop the pistachios or any nut of your choice. You can also blitz them in your blender for 4-5 seconds to make them a bit powdery (the way I like).
3. In a pot, take the condensed milk and add the chenna to the condensed milk.
4. Now, on a low flame stir the mixture continuously.
5. Add sugar and cardamom powder(if using) and continue for about 10-12 minutes or till the chenna and condensed milk comes together.
6. Add rosewater to the mixture.
7. Now, turn off the flame.
8. Take a tray in which you want to set the kalakand and grease it with ghee.
9. Pour the kalakand mixture to the tray and sprinkle the chopped/blitzed pistachios.
10. With a spoon gently push the pistachios. This helps in setting the nuts in the kalakand.
11. Now, leave it in refrigerator for a couple of hours and your kalakand is ready to serve.
12. Remove the kalakand tray from the refrigerator. Warm the base of the tray. This helps the kalakand to come out of the tray.
13. Cut them in size you want and serve.

Remember this is a soft dessert (norom paak) so it might not have sharp cuts while you cut them. But believe me they will be amazingly tasty.

Step by step instructions to prepare kalakand

Take the chenna in a bowl and crumble it well.

Finely chop the pistachios or any nut of your choice.

In a pot, take the condensed milk and add the chenna to the condensed milk.

Now, on a low flame stir the mixture continuously for 10-12 minutes.

Add rosewater and sugar in between. (You can also use cardamom powder)

Now, turn of the flame.

Take a tray in which you want to set the kalakand and grease it with ghee.

Pour the kalakand mixture to the tray and sprinkle the chopped pistachios. With a spoon gently push the pistachios. This helps in setting the nuts in the kalakand. (I have though run them in blender once for 4-5 seconds).

Now, leave it in refrigerator for couple of hours and your kalakand is ready to serve. Cut them in size you want and serve.

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