Name: Bhapa Sandesh (Steamed Cottage Cheese Fudge) recipe by Antara Navin at BetterButter
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 5
Ingredients: Full Fat Milk: 2 litres; Powdered Sugar: 6-7 tbsp or as per taste; Lemon Juice: 3 tbsp mixed in 2 tsp of water; Cardamom Powder : 1/2 tsp; Chopped Walnuts (optional) : 2-3 tbsp; Saffron - few strands or edible food color (optional)

ABOUT Bhapa Sandesh (Steamed Cottage Cheese Fudge) RECIPE

Bhapa means steamed and sandesh is a Bengali sweet made from milk and sugar. Some recipes of Sandesh like this call for the use of chenna or paneer. This dish is inspired from Rumela Roy on her blog, " Mix and Stir". This dish is made from homemade paneer, mixed with powdered sugar and dry fruits, it is then steamed, cooled and cut into squares or diamond shapes to serve. It's a very simple and easy recipe.

Instructions

Bring milk to a boil in a container at medium high heat. This will take 7-8 minutes.
Lower the flame and add lemon juice. Stir the milk and wait for 2-3 minutes. Once the milk starts curdling, remove the container from the heat and let it stand for 5-7 minutes.
Drain all the water using a soft muslin cloth or cheese cloth. Only chunks of cottage cheese will be left behind in the cloth.
Wash the paneer (cottage cheese) in cold water for 2-3 minutes so as to remove the smell of lemon juice.
Tie the cloth containing the paneer securely and hang it on the kitchen tap for 30 minutes. It's very important that the paneer should not be too dry else the paneer dough won't be soft.
After 30 minutes, take out the crumbled paneer into a mixing bowl. Add powdered sugar and mix using your fingers.
Once the mixture is soft and smooth, add cardamon powder and chopped walnuts (optional). Knead it into a soft and smooth dough, you will see oil on your palms.
Take a steel container and grease it. Add the cheese mixture into the container. Sprinkle some saffron threads or mix a little paneer with food edible color in a separate bowl and put it on top of the cheese mixture.
Cover the steel container tightly with a lid. You can also cover it tightly with an aluminum foil .
Take a pressure cooker and add enough water such that the level of water should be 1 inch below the top rim of the steel container. Place the steel container carefully inside.
Cover the cooker with a lid. The lid should have rubber gasket but the whistle should be removed. Cook on a low medium heat for 15-20 minutes.
Once the cheese mixture is steamed, let it cool completely at room temperature then refrigerate it for atleast 40-45 minutes.
Take out the cheese mixture from the refrigerator and cut it into squares or diamond shaped pieces.
Let it cool, then sprinkle some pistachios and serve.

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