Indian Kalakand

Kalakand is a popular Indian sweet made of paneer/cottage cheese and condensed/evaporated milk.

Ingredients:

Milk - 8 cups (about 2 litres)

Lemon juice - about 2 tbsp

Green Cardamom/Elaichi - 2 pods

Saffron/Kesar - few strands

Almonds/Badam - 2

Sugar - 3 tsp

Ghee/Clarified Butter

How to make Indian Mithai Kalakand:

1. Boil half the milk (4 cups) in a thick bottom vessel. Add lemon juice as it comes to boil. Turn off the heat and let it rest for about 15 minutes. Once the curdling starts, milk solids/paneer and a clear liquid/whey will be formed.

2. Use a strainer/sieve to separate paneer and whey. Discard the clear liquid/whey or it can be used for kneading chapati dough.

3. Crush the cardamom seeds in a mortar pestle to a fine powder. Dice the almonds into thin slices.

4. Add the remaining (4 cups) milk. Boil till milk reduces to half its quantity. Now add paneer and boil till the mixture thickens, stirring continuously. When moisture is lost, add sugar, cardamom powder and saffron. Continue cooking till mixture forms a lump and Kalakand is ready. You can also add about 1 tbsp nuts (coarse powder) along with sugar.

5. Grease a plate/tray with few drops of ghee. Spread the Kalakand evenly on the plate and garnish with sliced almonds.  Refrigerate for about an hour and cut into squares.