Homemade sweets are superb way of making picky kids eat food. If you can control sugar content or make it using natural sugar sweets are fabulous. Milk based sweets are a delight. Be it Bengali sweets, halwa or kalakand. Nowadays, you get it in many fruity flavors. Popular ones are mango & strawberry. Mango Kalakand is a yummy treat. Especially if you have nut and egg allergies. This helps you indulge in a sweet tooth without missing out too much in life.
I find it a great way of having milk. Sometimes kids don't want to have milk. Having sweets in moderation helps. Of course, kids are super active. They burn the extra calories in a jiffy. It is we who need to worry. By making it at home, we can avoid extra sugar. Generally people make the milkmaid kalakand recipe. It is easy to make but you cannot control the sugar content in it. Also, you need to rush to the market to get the ingredients. We can also use natural sugar instead of commercial one. Adding fruit pulp can also help us reduce sugar. Natural sugars from fruits are better. They are not processed and digest easily. Also, making it at home ensures no adulterated mawa. I find homemade sweets always better.
There are many mango based sweets you can make. Most common ones are mango payesh, mango sandesh, mango peda, aam doi/mango mishti doi. We also use mango to make mango lassi, mango kulfi, pudding and cake.
History of Kalakandh
Kalakand is a simple yet famous Indian recipe.
It originated in Alwar, Rajasthan in 1940s.
Travel tip: You must try Thakurdas Kalakand whenever you visit Alwar.
Another version is famous in Jhumari Talaiya,Jharkhand.
A creamier one .Created by Bhatia brothers who arrived post partition.
How to prepare kalakand?
read the recipe of mango kalakand :
Mango Kalakand - Mango milkcake
Ingredients
- 250 gms/1 cup soft khoya
- 250 gms/1 cup paneer or fresh cottage cheese obtained from 1.25 ltr milk
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 cups mango pulp
- 8-10 strands of saffron soaked in 2 tbsp. milk
- 2-3 cardamoms crushed.
- Handful of sliced pistachios for garnish
Instructions
- Blend mango pieces to get smooth mango pulp.
- Add sugar and start cooking on low flame.
- Add khoya and paneer to mango pulp with remaining ingredients
- Continue cooking on low flame until it starts coming together.
- Stop cooking once it stops being sticky.
- place it in a greased tray to set for few hours.
- Cut in pieces,garnish with pistachios.
- Add the paneer to this reduced milk and add cardamoms and saffron to it.
- Mix well and cook for 15 minutes.
- Add blended mango pulp and ghee.
- Cook for another 10 minutes till you get a barfi/fudge like consistency.
- Line a tray with ghee and spread this mix to it.
- Press with a spatula and cut shapes using a knife.
- Refrigerate for 2 hours.
- Garnish with sliced pistachios and serve fresh.
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