Chits Kitchen

Kalakand is a traditional Indian Sweet Dessert Recipe usually prepared during festivals like Navratri, Diwali, Holi and many other Indian festivals. It is similar to Barfi and is prepared mainly from two ingredients, Milk and Sugar. Other ingredients are optional. There are various recipes that we prepare from Milk of which Kalakand is one of them.

There are different flavours of Kalakand that we can prepare at home such Mango Kalakand, Strawberry Kalakand, Chocolate Kalakand, Vanilla Kalakand, etc. The process of preparing all these flavours of Kalakand is similar. The only difference is the addition of an extra ingredient which decides the flavour of the Mithai. In Mango Kalakand, Mango puree is added in Condensed Milk while in Chocolate Kalakand, Chocolate syrup or chocolate powder is added. In Strawberry and Vanilla Kalakand, strawberry and vanilla essence is added to condensed milk while preparing the Kalakand Mithai.

There are two version of preparing Kalakand. One is the lengthy version which is the traditional method and the other is the quicker version which takes less time to prepare. In the lengthy version we use Milk to prepare Chenna and Condensed Milk and then mix them together to make Kalakand. In the quicker version we cook Grated Paneer and Readymade Condensed milk together to prepare the recipe. Here we can replace Grated Paneer with Milk Powder also. Today I will be sharing both the version. If you have time you can choose the first version to prepare the sweet. Else you can go for the second version.

To prepare Kalakand using the traditional method, first heat Fresh Milk in a deep heavy base kadai over medium flame. Heat the milk till it comes to boil. Once it comes to boil, switch off the stove. Now add Vinegar or Lemon Juice to the milk to curdle it. Stir the milk so that it completely curdles and Chenna is completely separated from the green coloured whey. If the milk does not curdle completely, add extra vinegar to it. Once the milk completely curdles, strain the Chenna using a strainer. Squeeze out the extra water from the chenna. Take out the Chenna in a large bowl and mash it with your palm to remove the large chunks of chenna. Keep it aside.

Now in a separate heavy base kadai, heat Fresh Full Cream Milk to prepare the thickened milk or the so called condensed milk. Add Sugar to the milk and boil it by stirring it regularly so that it does not stick at the edges and at the bottom. As the milk is boiling you will see that the volume of milk starts decreasing and also starts becoming thicker. When the milk becomes thick, add Chenna to the thickened milk. Also add Cardamom Powder and mix them well. Cook the mixture till we get the required consistency. Once we get the required consistency, switch off the stove. The consistency should be such that if we cool down the mixture, it will set properly on its own.

Take a pan or tray and grease it with Butter or Ghee. Transfer the mixture to the tray and level it flat with the help of spatula. Sprinkle Chopped Pistachios over the mixture and press it slightly so that it holds the mixture. Allow the mixture to cool down to room temperature. Once it cools down, cut it into square shapes and serve it fresh after a full course meal or as per requirement.

To prepare this recipe using the quicker version, we use Grated Paneer or Milk Powder along with Condensed Milk. In this method we don’t need to add Sugar while preparing. Here we will be using Homemade Paneer but you can opt for Readymade Paneer also. Heat Condensed Milk over medium heat. Add the Grated Paneer and Cardamom Powder into the condensed milk and mix them well. Cook the mixture till we get the desired consistency.

Once we get the consistency, switch off the flame and transfer the mixture to a greased pan or tray. Level it and sprinkle some Chopped Pistachios over it. Slightly press the nuts so that it can hold the mixture. Allow it to cool down to room temperature. Once it cools down, cut it into square shapes. Tasty, Juicy and delicious Kalakand is ready. Serve it fresh to your loved ones whenever you want. This Mithai taste best when served fresh as it is juicy. If it is refrigerated, it will loose its juiciness.

If you loved this recipe, do give your valuable feedback in the comment section below. Please rate and share this recipe with your friends and relatives. Also share this recipe in social media such as facebook, twitter, instagram and pinterest.

Try our other Mithai Recipes such as Coconut Barfi, Rasmalai, Rasgulla, Rajbhog, Balushahi, Besan Ki Barfi, Cham Cham, Malai Chop, Sweet Boondi, etc.

You may also like our other Sweet Recipes:

Halwa Recipes

Kheer Recipes

Cake Recipes

Ice Cream Recipes

Let’s start preparing tasty and juicy Kalakand Recipe,

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4.96 from 21 votes

Kalakand Recipe: Method 1 (By using Homemade Chenna):

Kalakand is a traditional Indian Sweet Dessert Recipe usually prepared during festivals. It is prepared mainly from two ingredients, Milk and Sugar with other ingredients as optional.

Course Barfi, Dessert, Mithai, Sweets

Cuisine Indian, North Indian

Keyword Kalakand

Preparation Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes minutes

Resting Time 2 hours hours

Total Time 2 hours hours 50 minutes minutes

Servings 12 servings

Calories

Author Recipe by Chits

Equipments:

• Heavy Base Kadai or Pan
• Spatula
• Large Bowl
• Strainer
• Muslin Cloth
• Tray or Plate

Ingredients:

• 2 litres Full Cream Milk (1.5 litres for preparing Chenna)
• 1/2 cup Powdered Sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon Cardamom Powder
• 2-3 tablespoon Lemon Juice/Vinegar
• 2 tablespoon Finely Chopped Pistachios
• Ghee or Butter for greasing

Instructions:

• Take 1.5 litres of Fresh Full Cream Milk in a wide and heavy base kadai or pan.
• Heat the Milk under medium flame till it comes to boil. Once it comes to boil, switch off the flame.
• Now take 1 tablespoon of Vinegar or Lemon Juice and add it to the boiled milk. Stir the Milk with spoon for few seconds. You will observe that the milk starts to cuddle.
• Next add another tablespoon of Vinegar and stir the milk. Stir the milk till it completely curdles and green coloured whey is separated from the chenna.
• If the milk does not curdle completely, add another tablespoon of vinegar and stir the milk.
• Once the milk completely curdles and the Chenna is separated from the green whey, stop adding vinegar to it.
• The quantity of Vinegar or Lemon Juice required for curdling the milk depends upon the quality of the milk. So even if the milk does not curdle with 2-3 tablespoon of vinegar, you can add extra vinegar to it.
• Now take a large bowl and place the strainer over it. Over the strainer place a muslin cloth or clean handkerchief.
• Pour the curdled milk in the strainer to separate the Chenna from the whey. Squeeze the muslin cloth to remove excess water from the Chenna.
• After squeezing take out the Chenna from the muslin cloth and place it in a large bowl. With the help of your palm mash the chenna to remove the large chunks and make it partially fine with smaller granules. Once done keep it aside.
• Now take 1/2 litre of Full Cream Milk in a heavy base kadai and heat over medium flame.
• Add Sugar to it and boil the milk continuously over medium heat till it reduces to almost half the initial quantity.
• As the milk keeps boiling you will see that it starts thickening. Keep stirring the milk regularly so that it does not stick at the bottom and at the edges of the kadai.
• When the Milk attains the required thick consistency, add Chenna and Cardamom Powder into the thickened milk. Mix it well.
• Cook the Chenna under low to medium flame. Once the mixture reaches the consistency when it looks like that it well set properly on cooling, then switch off the flame.
• Now take a tray or plate and grease it with Butter or Ghee.
• Transfer the mixture to the tray. Spread the mixture and level it flat with the help of spatula.
• Sprinkle Chopped Pistachios over the mixture. With the help of spatula, slightly press the Chopped Pistachios so that it sticks at the surface of the mixture.
• Allow the mixture to cool down to room temperature. Once the mixture cools down, cut into square shapes or any other shape as you like.
  
• Tasty and Delicious Kalakand are ready to serve. Serve it after full course meal or as per your wish. To keep it fresh for longer time, refrigerate it.
  

Notes:

1. To curdle the Fresh Milk, add Vinegar to Milk in batches. Milk will curdle in 2 tablespoon of Vinegar. If it does not then you can add extra amount of Vinegar. The amount of Vinegar required totally depends upon the quality of milk. You can replace Vinegar with Lemon Juice also.
2. While preparing the Condensed Milk, adjust the quantity of Sugar as per your taste. If you like more sweetness in your recipe, you can add extra sugar to it.
3. Here we have used Pistachios for garnishing. You can use any type of nuts to garnish as per your choice such as Cashews, Raisin, Almonds, etc.
4. Prepare Kalakand and serve it fresh. Keeping in refrigerator for increasing the self-life will slightly make it hard. So refrigerate Kalakand only when required.

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4.96 from 21 votes

Kalakand Recipe: Method 2 (By using Condensed Milk & Grated Paneer):

Kalakand is a traditional Indian Sweet Dessert Recipe usually prepared during festivals. It is prepared mainly from two ingredients, Milk and Sugar with other ingredients as optional.

Course Barfi, Dessert, Mithai, Sweets

Cuisine Indian, North Indian

Keyword Kalakand

Preparation Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Resting Time 2 hours hours

Total Time 2 hours hours 25 minutes minutes

Servings 12 servings

Calories

Author Recipe by Chits

Equipments:

• Heavy Base Kadai or Pan
• Spatula
• Large Bowl
• Strainer
• Muslin Cloth
• Tray or Plate

Ingredients:

• 2 cup Crumbled/Grated Paneer
• 400 grams Condensed Milk
• 1/2 teaspoon Cardamom Powder
• 2 tablespoon Finely Chopped Pistachios
• Ghee or Butter for greasing

Instructions:

• To prepare Kalakand you can use Readymade Paneer or Homemade Paneer. You can follow Homemade Paneer Recipe to prepare paneer or chenna at home. Here we are going to use Homemade Paneer only.
• Take the Fresh Homemade Paneer and grate it using grater. You can also crumble it using mixer grinder or using your palm. To crumble the paneer in mixer grinder, just grate in pulse mode 2-3 times. Grate the paneer in such a way that it is little grainy. Keep it aside.
• Now take a heavy base nonstick pan or kadai and pour the Condensed Milk into it. Heat the Condensed Milk under medium flame.
• Add the Grated Paneer into the Condensed Milk. Also add Cardamom Powder and mix them well.
• Now at low to medium flame cook the mixture by continuously stirring it so that it does not stick at the bottom and edges.
• Cook the mixture till the required consistency is obtained where it will set itself on cooling down to room temperature.
• When the required consistency is reached, switch off the flame and remove the kadai from the stove.
• Now take a pan or tray and grease it with Ghee or Butter.
• Transfer the cooked mixture into the tray and level it flat using spatula.
• Sprinkle Chopped Pistachios over the mixture. Press it slightly using spatula so that it holds the mixture.
• Now allow the mixture to cool down to room temperature. Once it cools down, cut into square shape using sharp knife.
  
• Tasty and Delicious Kalakand is ready. Serve it after full course meal or as required. Refrigerate to keep it fresh for longer time.
  

Notes:

1. In the first method we have used Fresh Milk to prepare Condensed Milk. You can replace the Milk directly with Condensed Milk also. It will shorten your time of preparation of Kalakand.
2. To prepare Kalakand, you can use Readymade Paneer or Homemade Paneer. I would suggest you to use Homemade Paneer since it is fresh and free from adulteration.
3. Here we have used Pistachios for garnishing. You can use any type of nuts to garnish as per your choice such as Cashews, Raisin, Almonds, etc.
4. Prepare Kalakand and serve it fresh. Keeping in refrigerator for increasing the self-life will slightly make it hard. So refrigerate Kalakand only when required.