The sandesh or the shondesh as it is popularly known in Bengal, is a popular sweet that was given India from the beautiful state of Bengal. The sweet is simple to prepare at home, and every home that prepares it, has a unique & special flavour to it.
You can elevate your dessert game with the help of the sandesh. It is a dry sweet that makes it even more popular because you can take it with you wherever you want to. You see, because each sandesh recipe can provide you with a unique taste experience, leaving you waiting for more.
We leave you with a bonus easy chocolate sandesh recipe at the end of the post. Of course, you are not here only to learn how to prepare this delicious, elegant, and opulent sweet that can tickle your taste buds the moment you pop it inside.
You are also here to learn & understand, how to get that perfectly shaped sandesh dipped in some luscious chocolate. Well, we have your back, and have done all the research that you require for that.
It is a simple dish with just a few ingredients. You need some chenna or cottage cheese along with sugar.
Sandesh, a brief overview, and its origin
Sandesh comes from the Indian state of West Bengal. The state is one of the most culturally rich states in India. They have provided the country with some of its best culinary delights. The dessert goes all the way from the 16th century, and has become an integral part of the Bengali cuisine.
You can prepare it using chenna, sugar, and a barrage of extravagant ingredients that make it a one-of-a-kind dish. The dish can be moulded according to the shape that you require, making it an aesthetically pleasing dessert.
Tips to get that perfect shape of the chocolate sandesh
We will be reading how you can get that perfect shape of the chocolate sandesh through the recipe given below. The recipe is quite simple to make. Besides, if you are not able to get the shape right the first time, you can try it again.
If you do it a few times, you can get it right, even with your eyes closed. It is not that difficult. Trust us. Even novice chefs got it right within a few times of preparing the recipe. Remember practice makes perfect, so don’t be too hard on yourself.
Now, let us start reading the recipe carefully so that we can get the shape of the sandesh as we desire.
- To begin making the dark chocolate sandesh that comes dipped in the chocolate, you need to get your hands-on cottage cheese or chenna as it is known in most parts of India. We may want to add that the chenna is the base for many sweets that are prepared in India. Moreover, when it comes to Bengali sweets, the chenna is the vital part of it.
- It is nice to use homemade chenna, and when you don’t have access to cottage cheese, then you can prepare it yourself at home. You need to take a full fat milk in a pan, and bring it to a boil. As the milk is getting heated in the pan, you can add some lemon juice, and remove from the heat. By doing that the milk coagulates within seconds.
- After 1-2 minutes, you can see the cheese on the top of the pan on which you had boiled your milk. It has now separated from the milk. You can take a dry & clean cloth, and place the cheese on it. Remove the excess water from the cheese that you have procured from the milk.
- You may want to hang it for some time, to get rid of the excess water that is present. This process may take a few hours to complete. Besides, you may not want to force out the excess water. It will take some time. Remember, the softer the cheese, the easier to get the desired shape of the chenna. So, please be patient with yourself.
- This is an optional choice. If you want, you can add chocolate to the sandesh to enhance the flavours. So, when you want to add the chocolate, you will want to melt it. To do that, you need to use a sauce pan with water on medium heat.
- On top of that, you need to place another bowl, and add the chocolate into it. This helps in melting the chocolate. You can also melt the chocolate using a microwave. Both methods can help get melted chocolate.
- As the chocolate melts, you can lower the heat, and then gently stir the mixture using a spatula. You can add some cocoa powder and vanilla essence, and keep it aside.
- Now, you need to see if the chenna is ready. You can place it on a flat surface, and then begin kneading the chenna. It is the same as kneading the dough for roti & chapathi. This is a very critical process to get the sandesh in the desired shape. You may want to take your time, and knead the cottage cheese. The softer the cheese, the better it will be.
- You may want to use a blender if you want to. Now, you need to take a small bowl, and add some melted chocolate to the kneaded chenna. Then pour in some of the condensed milk, and mix the contents again, until it is well combined.
- Use a heavy bottomed pan and pour the chenna mixture. You need to cook the contents on medium heat. You can stir the contents until they begin to form a ball. Remove the mixture, add raisins, and other ingredients as you want.
- Allow it to cool down. Then divide the contents into equal parts, and then shape them into round balls. You don’t have to get worked up, if the round shapes are not accurately round. They are slightly off shape as well.
- However, if the cheese that you prepared is soft, then you can easily flatten them and make any design or shape that you are comfortable with. You may also want to dip your fingertips in ghee.
- Now, the final step. You have to dip the balls into the melted chocolate and then place them on a large plate. Make sure that there is some gap between each of them. You can garnish them with almonds, nuts, or hazelnuts. This is entirely up to you.
Conclusion
We hope you enjoyed reading the tips & ideas for getting that perfectly shaped chocolate sandesh or shondesh. Besides, we also provided you with a simple sandesh recipe with the infusion of chocolate, which is optional.
What is stopping you from getting that perfectly shaped Bengali sweet now? Go ahead, and surprise yourself & your family as well this weekend. Why wait till an occasion when you can prepare it anytime you want to?
