Sandesh is a delicious Bengali milk sweet popular in India. Sandesh also known as Bengali Sondesh is made using milk, sugar, nuts and saffron. Sandesh is most commonly made for Navratri and Durga Puja. Learn to make Sandesh with step by step pictures.
Sandesh is a cheese based rich milk sweet. This sandesh sweet can be made for special occasions, festivals like Navratri and Durga Pooja. It is made with just simple ingredients found in your kitchen and can be made easily within just few minutes of time.
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About Sandesh
Sandesh is a popular Bengali sweet made using milk, lemon juice, sugar, nuts and saffron. Traditionally Sandesh is made by first curdling milk to form chenna then mixing it with sugar and cooking until soft, non sticky, then shaping into small discs and garnished with nuts.
This is the easiest paneer sweet I have tried, just few minutes and you are done with this yummy milk sweet. To make the best tasting sandesh, chenna should be prepared fresh and using store bought paneer may change the taste of sandesh.
The garnishings are end less you can add chocolte chips or nuts or dry fruits of your choice. Sandesh tastes incredibly delicious making it one of the popular sweets in Bengal.
Sandesh Ingredients
- Milk – Use full cream milk either farm fresh or packed milk.
- Lemon juice – Lemon juice is used to curdle milk, you can use curd too.
- Sugar – Grind sugar to a fine powder then use it.
- Nuts – I have used chopped pistachios for garnish. You can even use almonds, cashews etc.
- Saffron – Saffron is the main flavoring agent here.
How to make Sandesh Step by Step
1.Bring milk to a boil, then add lemon juice. The milk will start curdling and the water will separate, keep stirring to avoid burning at the bottom and until the water completely separates, Switch off. Collect the paneer and transfer it to a muslin cloth, tie and hang it for at least 30 minutes for all the remaining water to get strained.
2.Then open and wash it well with water to get rid of the sour taste of lemon. Squeeze excess water. Then add powdered sugar with this paneer and grind it a smooth paste. You can even knead it until smooth instead of grinding.
3.Now transfer this grinded mixture to a tawa and cook for 8-10 minutes not more than that. First it will be sticky slowly it will turn into a non sticky mixture.
4.Can you see the difference, now while it starts turning non-sticky then add saffron strands and mix well. When the saffron is absorbed and is totally non-sticky it will slightly change its texture and color. Switch off at this stage. Collect this mixture in a bowl , the final stage mixture is called “Makha” – the not yet molded sandesh. When it is warm make a small ball and flatten it slightly with your palms. Make a small dent and garnish with chopped pistachios.
Sandesh is ready!
Expert Tips
- In total, the paneer cooking time should be just 8-10 minutes or little less, but sure not more than that else it will get dried and become crumbly then you will not be able to shape it.
- If the paneer is over cooked we cannot roll them into balls if it is undercooked you will feel the raw taste of paneer so take care while cooking.
- If in case the mixture gets dried then add little milk, knead it once then mould it to your favorite shape.
- You can also add kesar or saffron while kneading itself but I added it while cooking.
- I usually grind the paneer to a paste to make smooth melt in the mouth sandesh else it may be coarse in texture while eating.
Serving and Storage
Sandesh is served as a snack. It can be stored in fridge for 3-5 days.
If you have any more questions about this Sandesh Recipe do mail me at sharmispassions@gmail.com. In addition, follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest ,Youtube and Twitter .
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📖 Recipe Card
Sandesh Recipe | Sondesh Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 litre milk
- 1 and 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/8 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon pistachios finely chopped
- 6 strands saffron
Instructions
- Bring milk to a boil, then add lemon juice. The milk will start curdling and the water will separate, keep stirring to avoid burning at the bottom and until the water completely separates, Switch off. Collect the paneer and transfer it to a muslin cloth, tie and hang it for at least 30 minutes for all the remaining water to get strained.
- Then open and wash it well with water to get rid of the sour taste of lemon. Squeeze excess water. Then add powdered sugar with this paneer and grind it a smooth paste. You can even knead it until smooth instead of grinding.
- Now transfer this grinded mixture to a tawa and cook for 8-10 minutes not more than that. First it will be sticky slowly it will turn into a non sticky mixture.
- Can you see the difference, now while it starts turning non-sticky then add saffron strands and mix well. When the saffron is absorbed and is totally non-sticky it will slightly change its texture and color. Switch off at this stage. Collect this mixture in a bowl , the final stage mixture is called “Makha” – the not yet moulded sandesh. When it is warm make a small ball and flatten it slightly with your palms. Make a small dent and garnish with pistachios. It will harden while cooling so sure it will not be as fragile as when we mold it.
- Then shape into small disc, make a dent and garnish with chopped pistachios. Sandesh is ready!
Notes
- In total, the paneer cooking time should be just 8-10 minutes or little less, but sure not more than that else it will get dried and become crumbly then you will not be able to shape it.
- If the paneer is over cooked we cannot roll them into balls if it is undercooked you will feel the raw taste of paneer so take care while cooking.
- If in case the mixture gets dried then add little milk, knead it once then mould it to your favourite shape.
- You can also add kesar or saffron while kneading itself but I added it while cooking.
Kalpana Sareesh
Happy Deepavali Sharmi to u n to ur family!!! this is such an yumm sweet .. too good..
Suma Gandlur
Droolworthy sandesh. I too was planning to make some for this diwali.:)
Sunshine And Smile
I love sondesh and now I too want to make it again. Very nicely presented!
San
Mouthwatering sandesh sharmi, presentation is mind blowing.
sangee vijay
Sandesh looks so delicious and such a yummy sweet…superb presentation…Happy Diwali!!!
Suja
Mouthwatering here,delicious and tempting sweet
Kitchen Flavours
Love this simple and gratifying recipe of Sandesh….Sandesh look very yum…..
Kurryleaves
happy diwali to you …awesome clicks dear…love the second one
Sobha Shyam
wow, they look yum yum..Happy Diwali dear..
divya
Mouthwatering sandesh sharmi, presentation is mind blowing…..Happy Diwali…
Nalini's Kitchen
Happy diwali to you,sandesh looks so tempting.
Gayathri NG
well prepared for diwali. Sandesh looks gorgeous n fabulous… Wish u n ur family a happy diwali…:)
Kalyani's Platter
Happy diwali … Wow looks yummy and delicious ….
Nags
this is easily one of my fave sweets 🙂 have a good deepavali sharmi 🙂
Hyma
Happy Diwali Sharmi! Amazing recipe..am so going to try it today and post the recipe tomm:-))) thx for this super quick recipe!
Nithya
Looks stunning 🙂 Perfect or rather looks better than the shop ones. Amazing recipes this season 🙂 Lend me some energy to work like you 🙂 You rock 🙂
Kadhyaa
They look beautiful and nice click..wish you and your family a happy and prosperous deepavali..
nithya
Easy and quick recipe. I will try it. Shall i replace store bought paneer(milky mist) instead of home made?
"Wish you a very Happy Diwali", (i have mailed you my kaju picture).
Sharmilee! :)
@Nithya : You can but the texture and taste with homemade fresh paneer is good compared to shop ones.
Cham
Anything with milk I am ready at anytime, like ur presentation, Happy Deepavali to u and ur family!
Priya
Super delicious and cute looking sandesh,happy diwali wishes sharmi..
Anna
Thanks Sharmi…the recipe looks a breeze..its for sure a Diwali treat from you..for all your efforts to share your gooodie secrets, with us…Here's wishing you Happy Diwali, a very beautiful one with your loved ones…!
Navya
Hi, it looks awesome.. I wanted to know if I can prepare this with store bought paneer slabs?
Gayathri Kumar
Awesome snaps. Sandesh looks so inviting…
Rinku Naveen
Wow! Mouthwatering sweet. Superb clicks Sharmi!
Happy Diwali!
Prathibha
Nicely done sandesh and beautifully presented..loved it
Nisa Homey
you are making me drool here…happy diwali.
Prathima Rao
These are gorgeous, perfect sandesh!!! Happy & prosperous diwali Sharmi!!!!
Tina
beautiful clicks as usual dear…sandesh looks yummy nd so cute..happy diwali..
Jeannie
Looks delicious and so easy to make, would love to try one day:) Happy Diwali to you and family!
Vanamala Hebbar
very nice sweet..happy diwali
Ramya
Hi Sharmi, Firstly am head over heels over the cute little pedas:-) Awesome clicks!!
Secondly:I tried it today and came out perfect!! Thank u…I have put the clicks in my blog:-)
Happy Diwali to you and family:-)
Zareena
Hey Sharmi, amazing snaps dear. A nice way to celebrate diwali. Lovely and tempting too.
Babli
Wish you and your family a very happy and prosperous Diwali.
Sandesh looks delicious, yummy and tempting.
Cook@Vatsalas
Have a fun filled Diwali. awesome presentation.
priya ravi
Happy diwali to u and ur family.. wonderful presentation.. love this sweet
TheYummyMorsel
Wish you a very happy Diwali :-). Very beautfully presention and so cute.
Pavithra
Perfect looking Sandesh, Happy Diwali to u and family dear. I had blast seeing all ur sweets sharmi…since I am commited with so many works this year 🙂
Swathi
Sandesh looks delicious. Wish you and family a happy and prosperous Diwali.
Kavita Kalra
These looks so delicious! Question–how many balls can you make using one liter of milk?
Sharmilee! :)
@Kavita: It will yield around 15-18 small balls.
Srimathi
Very well documented post. The photos look amazing and the sandesh looks delicious.
Sanchitha
Thanks for the recipe. pictures are great! Was infact looking for some Sandesh recipe. This seems perfect!
Hasna
wow… easy & yummm !!! nice pic too…. ll defenitely try it
Saraben
Just made it. didn't rinse to get rid of the sourness since i like its little bit sour. I put the saffron strands from the beginning and at the end added a little bit of cardamom powder. It came out just great.
Just for your information, I make pedhas for a long time out of milk powder, sour cream and etc. but was very lazy to make it from paneer. Therefore, I think you are a wizard otherwise i cannot understand how I started making so many things since my daughter found your blog. I sent the link of your blog to my non-Indian friends and you won't believe but even they started making varieties for the weekends. Now you can believe me that you are A WIZARD!!!!!!
Awaiting for the next posts.
Saraben
I think next time I am going to use the Ricotta Cheese with a cup of sour double cream instead of paneer and that's just because I, live out of India, is just lazy and lazy.
Unknown
excellent description/photos
4N GIRL
Looks yummy! Can you add mango puree to this to add flavor?
dhivya
They just look amazing:) Love ur site… 🙂
Dpka
hi sharmi..can we use store bought paneer to make this receipe..plz reply asap!!!
SHARMILEE J
Yes you can use
Dpka
thanks much!! 🙂
FloristinUSA
hi
i made this today n dont know wer i went wrong , its not sweet n raw in taste ,pls tel me wat can i do ?
SHARMILEE J
You should cook the paneer well to get rid of the raw taste……..