Kalakand

Kalakand 

(Indian Milk Cheese Fudge) 

It seems that right after the partition of India a 'Halwai' (Indian sweet chef)  named Baba Thakur Das who had migrated from Pakistan to Alwar, Rajasthan in India had started his day with experimentation with milk and having added lemon juice to the milk he was fascinated with the resultant cheese and legend has it that he uttered the famous Sentecne 'Arey ye to kala hai' (This is art) which led to the creation of a magnificent sweet dish, Kalakand a kind of Indian Milk Cheese Fudge. Freshly homemade cottage cheese is cooked with reduced milk till it reaches an extremely thick consistency which is milky, cheesy and completely lip smacking.

Now Baba Thakur's descendants say with great pride that recreating the original magic of the Kalakand produced at their store is impossible due to the water and the soil around Alwar which I believe to a certain extent but then again you can still make a gorgeous Kalakand which might not be as good as the ones created at Alwar but with a bit of patience you can create some lip smacking gorgeous dessert.

Before I give the recipe let me emphasize on the fact that certain desserts cannot be made easy by cutting down on time and effort else you shall simply not get the proper taste and flavour. The internet is filled with recipes which uses packaged condensed milk and a short cut method which wouldn't simply give you a superior taste. Believe me I speak from experience. A bit of hard work  is worth the effort. The entire process takes about 2 hour 15 minutes to make and another 1 hour to 2 hours for setting.

Makes 10 large sized Kalakand :-

2 litre full fat milk and yes it must be full fat
1 tbsp to 2 tbsp vinegar diluted with 2 tbsp water
5 to 6 tbsp sugar (please adjust the sweetness as per your taste)
3 green cardamom
2 tbsp blanched halved pistachios
2 tbsp ghee

Simply start of by taking 1.2  litre of the milk and add 1 tsp ghee to it. (The ghee helps in keeping the reduced milk smooth)

Start reducing it. Take the remaining milk and bring to a roaring boil in another pan and then lower heat and add the diluted vinegar and when the cheese forms in 2 minutes. You should have white masses floating in an olive green whey switch off gas once the entire milk is well curdled and then cover it and leave it for 5 minutes. Gather the cheese in a cheesecloth and drain it of its water. After 10 minutes squeeze out the excess water and crumble the cheese as finely as possible.

Meanwhile keep stirring the other pot of milk which you are reducing to avoid scorching the bottom. Once it gets reduced to half its original content add the crumbled cheese and crushed cardamom seeds along with the sugar.

The best way to add sugar as per taste is adding it little by little and checking the taste.

Now keep reducing the mixture of cheese and milk together stirring it from time to time and when it gets reduced to a mass where you see bubbles all over keep stirring the mixture continuously from this point on.

Here is an useful tip. At this point transfer it to a non-stick pan and use a masher to mash the content continuously . Non-stick pans reduces the chances of  scorching. Once the mass is dried up add the remaining  ghee saving a bit for greasing the plate on which you would set it and mix well .

Transfer to the greased plate and make a rectangular block and stud it with blanched halved pistachios and leave it to set at room temperature for 1 hour to 2 hours . Never ever set it in the refrigerator which dries out the Kalakand. Cut squares and enjoy this delightful dessert.

Tips :-

1. You must use full fat milk else the taste will be compromised upon 
2. The leftover whey used to cook curries gives it a full bodied flavour and when used to knead chapati or make bread renders it extra soft 
3. Use the pistachios on the Kalakand while its warm so that it remaisn studded once the Kalakand sets the nuts won't remain intact on it.
4. Enjoy a bit of warm Kalakand as suggested by the creator's descendants. It tastes amazing when served warm. 
5. Using the masher ensures that the cottage cheese is evenly distributed and does not form any big lumps anywhere. In case you don't have a masher use the back of a big ladle to use it for the mashing effect. 
6. For storing it , do use an air-tight container and then put it in the refrigerator. I would personally suggest eating it as fresh as possible but in case you are storing ti the air-tight container helps in retaining the moisture. 

Source of information 

Tehelka 

The Hindu 

This is part of Kolkata Food Blogger's ongoing event Deepavali Festival of Lights with Sweets and Savouries

Soft Homemade Cottage Cheese Salad

Soft Homemade Cottage Cheese Salad 

Indians do not traditionally use a lot of cheese in their food but there is one cheese which is used extensively in India and that is Homemade cottage cheese aka Paneer in India. The truth is most people buy the readymade paneer these days but then again readymade paneer can never match up to a well made homemade paneer. Basically it is split milk clustered together and then drained of all its water to make firm cheese.

In Bengal people are more specific with this homemade cottage cheese for Bengal has an intense love affair with cottage cheese as is proven by the extensive use of cottage cheese known as 'Chana' not 'Chena' in Bengal. Not only do they make the softest chana ever they use it in one other form which includes kneading the cheese really well.

Now recently there has been an increased popularity of flavoured Paneer which I love but quite frankly paneer as a whole is firm in nature and on this particular day I wanted a soft melt in the mouth cheese without the calories that come along with most good cheese.

I was struck by this idea and I put it to good use with a very satisfactory result. Basically everything remains the same except for the technique.

So here is the recipe :-

Serves 2

For the Cheese:-

1 litre toned milk
1.5 tbsp vinegar diluted with 2.5 tbsp water
Wooden platform for kneading

For flavouring :-

Herbs of your choice, I used rosemary
Salt as per taste
Chili flakes or freshly ground pepper

For the salad :-

4 cups of assorted shredded lettuce
2 green apple

For the dressing

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
2 tsp white wine vinegar
Salt as per taste
1 large clove of garlic finely minced

Bring the milk to a roaring boil and then lower the heat and add the diluted vinegar. Within 2 minutes white cheese will be floating about in green whey. Now switch off the stove, cover the pot and leave for 5 minutes.

Now gather all the cheese in a cheesecloth or muslin cloth and wash it under cold water squeezing out all the water after you are done washing . If it still feel too hot for sqeezing out the water let it hang for 15 minutes.

Now start kneading the crumbly cheese , knead it well for 5 minutes , add the flavouring and keep kneading for another 10 minutes to 15 minutes (Remember that the more you knead the softer your cheese will be) and then make a fat roll and tie the cheesecloth after squeezing it well so that it is moist but not wet and leave it to rest in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Now toss your salad. Whisk the ingredients for the dressing to make an emulsion and carefully slice the cheese. It is ultra soft and as a result it may break a little bit but its so soft that you can make perfectly shaped cheese cubes or balls or discs using clean hands, something which I did not do.

Enjoy a healthy meal.

Tips

1. Kneaded on a wooden surface does result in a softer texture. I can vouch for this from experience.
2. When you are kneading the cheese try rubbing it well against the wooden surface and then gathering the cheese with the sides of your finger and palm. 
3. Since you are using your hands make sure its absolutely clean for hygienic purpose