Sandesh

I made yet another batch of those whole wheat oatmeal cookies whole wheat oatmeal cookies yesterday - only this time, I doubled the amount of chocolate chips. And reduced the oatmeal. It's still not the same as a decadent double chocolate chip cookie that I was craving for. Actually I wanted to have something really sweet, and a lot of it! So today I made an Indian dessert. Who loves Indian food? Mee me me!!! This one is as simple as it gets, and it only uses a few ingredients. Creamy, soft, decadent. That's what it is. 'Sandesh' is what it's called. And it is made with an Indian cheese - paneer. I am sure you have had a dish with paneer at least once in an Indian restaurant. If you haven't, boy, are you missing something in life or what! Go try one. My recommendation - Paneer tikka masala (somebody's mouth is watering!)
So here is how you make paneer.


Take 8 cups of whole milk. Bring it to a boil, preferably in a non stick pot. Add in about a quarter cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, little at a time. Vinegar also works fine. Keep stirring - and in a matter of moments you will see the whey seperating from the milk. Once that happens, strain it through a cheesecloth, twist it so the water squeezes out. Dip this in a bowl of water(just to get rid of any lemony taste it may have). Twist the cheesecloth and try to squeeze out all the water. If needed, put some weight on it for about 10 minutes to help get rid of the water. Now it is ready to use.
Here are the rest of the ingredients you will need
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
Pistachios - about 20 pistachios. 1 for each piece of sandesh. And some very finely chopped, just to sprinkle on top.
A pinch of saffron soaked in warm milk

Mix the sugar, cardamom in the paneer. Knead it for a few minutes. Now put it on low heat, and stir it continuously for about 6-7 minutes. This step is important because stirring, and mashing it with a rubber spatula will ensure a soft and creamy texture. Once it is cool enough to work with, roll it into balls, or any shape you like. For the garnish add a drop of the saffron soaked milk and pistachios on each piece, and enjoy!
This post goes to the JFI Saffron Event Share