You need –

Glutinous rice – 2/3 cup
Thick coconut milk – 3/4 cup + 1/4 cup for the sauce
Granulated sugar – 3-4 tablespoons + 1 tablespoon for the sauce
Ripe mangoes – 2
A pinch of salt
Yellow split peas – 2 tablespoons, dry roasted

How to –

Rinse the rice in several changes of running cold water. and soak the rice over night in bowl of fresh water.

Drain the rice well and spread it evenly in a steamer lined with muslin or cheese cloth. Cover and steam over a pan of simmering water for about 25-30 minutes or till the rice is tender.

To make the sauce, In a pan warm 1/4 cup of coconut milk over low heat. Add 1 Tablespoon. sugar (Add more to suit your taste), stir till the sugar dissolves. Turn off the heat and set aside.

In pan pour 3/4 cup of coconut milk salt and sugar. Over a medium heat, stir continuously and dissolve the sugar. Bring to a boil. Now add the rice and stir well. Turn off the heat. Cover and leave the rice mixture to stand for 10 – 15 minutes.

Peel the mangoes, cut into slices. To serve spoon the rice on to the serving plates and sprinkle the peas over. Arrange the mango slices on the side and drizzle the sauce over.

Note – Traditionally bamboo baskets are used for steaming. So if you have one go ahead and steam the rice in the basket lined with muslin or cheese cloth as mentioned in the recipe above.

Sandesh–A Bengali sweet

October 22, 2013February 22, 2014 | Rekha Vengalil

Like many of you there, I love this time of the year – the festive season in India! It’s time for family gatherings, friends, fun, and some great food. Good time to try out some homemade sweets!

Here’s my first recipe for the season. I am trying my hand in doing up a Bengali favorite – Sandesh. Made from fresh cottage cheese/paneer, it is indeed a delicious treat. One big plus of making sweets at home is that you are in complete control of the sugar that goes in.

You need –

Whole milk – 1 liter
Lime juice – 2 teaspoons
Powdered sugar – 1/3 cup or to your taste
Warm milk – 1 tablespoon
A good pinch of saffron
Few drops of Vanilla essence

How to –

Soak the saffron threads in the warm milk and set aside.

In a heavy bottom pan, bring the milk to a rolling boil. Reduce the heat to low and add the lime juice. The milk will start to curdle and the whey will separate. As soon as you see the greenish water on top, turn off the heat.

Line a colander with cheesecloth and strain the chenna. Rinse the chenna under running tap water to remove the citric flavor. Now gather the corners of the cheesecloth, twist and squeeze to remove any excess water in the chenna. Hang the cheesecloth on the tap (as shown in the pic) or put it on a flat plate and weigh a heavy object on top to drain all excess water. Leave this for an hour.

Now remove the chenna from the cheese cloth and kneed with the your palm to a no lump and smooth ball (5-6 minutes). Now add the sugar (please add the sugar gradually to get the sweetness you desire), Vanilla essence and continue to kneed till chenna and sugar is well blend and smooth.