Sandesh is a confectionery from Bengal and a very popular one at that. It is made from fresh paneer and sugar and flavoured /coloured with essences and additional items like nuts ,dryfruits, coconut, saffron etc. There are several types available ranging from simple mixing of sugar and fresh paneer to elaborate ones. I have made a simple almost no cook sandesh flavoured with pistachio nuts.
Ingredients:
Fresh paneer /channa : prepared from 1 l of milk : almost 3/4 cup I got
Pistachio Powder: 2 tbsp alteast
Powdered Sugar: 4 tbsp or more as per taste
Pista extract: 1-2 drops (optional)
Pistachio Nuts:few lightly toasted and chopped for garnish
Preparation:
Lighly mash paneer with hands till it sort of feels light. Make sure you use dried paneer -it should not give out liquid on mashing. But incase it gives out liquid or becomes wet at any stage of cooking, then cook the paneer or the mix at that particular stage of cooking in a deep pan for a few minutes, making sure it does not change colour.
Once you mash the paneer and it is ready,mix in the pistachio powder and sugar and mix well together till you get a doughy texture.
Pinch small balls from the dough and shape it into rounds or whatever shape you require.
Serve garnished with toasted and optionally chopped pistachios.
This was a simple sandesh which did not require any cooking except for making channa or paneer. You can add your choice of flavouring or nuts or even cocoa or dry fruits for making your own version. You can avoid the extract if you do not have any and optionally add green colouring for the green eyed festive look.