A traditional Indian dessert, kalakand is a kind of milk cake made from curdled milk, flavored with cardamom and garnished with nuts and dried fruits. The hardened milk is cut into squares and best served chilled. This recipe is an easy version of the traditional kalakand, which takes some time to prepare and cook. Kalakand is a sweet prepared during religious holidays and special occasions. It is served during Hindu holidays like Krishnatashtami, which is the Bhagavan Krishna’s birthday.
Baby (or bala) Krishna was a happy and mischievous child as portrayed by the scriptures and was fond of all things milk. During this religious holiday, milk, cream, yogurt, buttermilk, venna (the cream layer from yogurt), and other milk-based desserts are offered to bala Krishna.
In this recipe for kalakand, full cream milk is curdled with the addition of
lemon juice. The resulting cheese is called paneer, also known as chhana or cheena. This fresh cheese is similar to cottage cheese and can be easily made at home. Cheena is mixed with milk thickened with sugar, called khoya, and the mixture is cooled, garnished with nuts and dried fruits and cut into squares.
In this
Chef Herve recipes, kalakand is flavored with cardamom and garnished with Pistachios, almonds and dried fruits like raisins or chopped prunes. Ghee or clarified butter is also used in making this recipe for greasing and to make it easier to take the kalakand squares out of the mold when it is chilled. This sweet treat has a very rich taste and is soft and luscious. It makes a wonderful finish to a spicy Indian meal. It also makes a thoughtful present for family or friends during special occasions.
Kalakand can be either milky-white in color or coral-pink, depending on the khoya-cheena ratio, the sweetener used, and the cooking process. The use of white sugar and continuous stirring in low heat will result in cream-colored kalakand. Red sugar called turbinado colors the kalakand and makes it coral-pink
No comments:
Post a Comment