Kalakand Recipe - Learn How To Make Kalakand

Kalakand is an authentic sweet dish of India that is made during festivals like Holi, Diwali, Eid etc. and other celebrations. It an exquisitly beautiful and milky sweet dish that can be served as a dessert or can be made during fasting as well. Learn how to make this tempting and delicious sweet with the help of step by step photos and detailed recipe given below:

Preparation Time: 5 minute

Cooking Time: 60 minutes (35 minutes for rabri + 10 minutes for chhena + 10 minutes to prepare Kalakand + 5 minutes for garnish)

Recipe Yield: 6

Ingredients:

• Full Cream Milk (doodh) - 1.5 litre
• Sugar (cheeni) - 3 table spoon
• Cardomom Powder (chhoti elaichi powder) - 1/4 tea spoon
• For garnishing
  • Pistachios (pista)
  • Almonds (badam)
  • Saffron Strands (kesar)

Procedure:

1. Set 1 litre full cream milk (doodh) to boil in a thick based kadhai. Stir the milk from the base at regular short intervals. (The milk should reduce in its volume and get thickened in consistency to form rabri like texture. Do not overcook the milk otherwise it will become hard like khoya.)
2. Then transfer this rabri like thickened milk to bowl or any other vessel to be used later.
3. Now pour 1/2 litre full cream milk (doodh) into a deep vessel (bhagona) and set it to boil.
4. When the milk (doodh) comes to boil squeeze some lemon juice (nimbu ka ras) into it and stir. This will cause curdling of the milk (doodh ka phatna) in a few seconds.
5. Now pour the curdled milk (chhena) into a sieve or colander to seperate it from the remaining liquid. 
6. Then pour plain water over the chhena to wash off the taste of lemon juice (nimbu ka ras).
7. Now press the chhena with a spoon to squeeze off the excess water. (Do not make the chhena very dry. It should retain some moisture.)
8. Transfer the chhena to a plate and then crumble it with your hands to form small crumbs of the chhena (do not mash the chhena to make it smooth)
9. Now heat a non-stick pan or kadhai and transfer the rabri prepared to it.
10. Then add the chhena, sugar (cheeni) and 1/2 tea spoon cardamom powder (chhoti elaichi powder) to it. Stir to mix the ingredients together.
11. Stir continuously and rigorously as you cook the ingredients together to form the kalakand mixture.
12. Whn all the ingredients are cooked together to form a uniform kalakand mixture continue to stir so that all the milk is dried up and gets absorbed by the chhena. Mash the mixture a little to smoothen it. (Do not over mash the mixture to form a paste like texture. The mixture should have granular texture). Then turn off the flame.
13. Now transfer the kalakand mixture to a plate and spread it evenly to form a uniform layer of desired thickness.
14. Garnish it with chopped dry fruits (pista, badaam) and saffron strands (kesar).
15. When it has cooled to room temperature then cut it into pieces of desired shape. The kalakand is now ready to be served.