Sandesh with Nutella

Sandesh is an amazing bengali dish made with paneer and can be made in a variety of flavours. I have tried Sandesh with Nutella. A very easy sweet to prepare, these are a really good substitute of milk for my son who is not very fond of milk. No cajoling, reasoning, bribing or even threatning can make him drink even a single glass of milk. I try to substitute milk with curd, cottage cheese and milk based sweets. That is why sandesh are a staple in my house and I make them at least once a week.

Plain no nonsense sandesh are always my favourite as they hardly take any time to make. But this time I tried them with nutella (my kids new love) and they came out very nice. So nice that I had to make them three times in a week. There is something unique about these Sandesh with Nutella. So all you nutella lovers out there, this is a very healthy and delicious recipe to try.

How to make Sandesh
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
makes 8-10 pieces

Ingredients:
1 litre milk
1 lemon
1 tbsp rose water /kevda/cardamom powder
4 tsp powdered sugar
2 tbsp nutella

How to make Sandesh
Boil the milk. When it comes to boil reduce the flame and add lemon juice. Keep stirring for 2 minutes till chenna/paneer separates from the liquid. Line a strainer with a cotton cloth and pour chenna mixture in it. Tie the cloth and let it hang for 10 minutes to remove the whey.
crumble the paneer in a bowl, Mash the chenna with your hands for 5-7 minutes until it is smooth and fluffy. Add powdered sugar and rose water. Mix thoroughly. Mash for another 2-3 minutes. you can shape Sandesh at this stage also without heating the mixture. I have tried it both ways and i think it has a better texture if we heat it.

Heat the paneer mixture in a non stick pan on a low flame stirring continuously. This will take around 4-5 minutes. When the mixture comes together switch off the flame and let it cool a little. Mould the mixture into desired shape with your hands. Press the centre lighly with your thumb and put 1/4 tbsp of Nutella in it. As sandesh are still a little warm nutella will melt and fill the space itself. Serve them cold.

 

Tips:

Sandesh taste even better if they are made with cow’s milk.
You can use rose water or kevda or cardamom powder as per your taste for flavour.
It is better to use a non stick pan to heat chenna/paneer mixture so that it does not stick to the bottom. You have to keep it stirring continuously.

 

I know there are hundreds of way to make Sandesh. If you are making them in a different way please share your recipe with us by leaving comments.