Shubh Navratri, Happy Dasara and Durgashtami wishes to you all!
Sometime back I made a guest post on Mango Strawberry Yogurt Granola Parfait for my lovely friend Kankana of playfulcooking.com where I told you how our friendship began. And today, Kankana is here with a guest post on a Bengali sweet that is very special to me, which I just cannot get enough of! And, I thought it would be quite apt for this auspicious occasion of Durgashtami to be celebrated with a Bengali sweet, what say? How I wish I could actually get to eat this oh-so-delish treat!
Back in Bangalore, my visits to a Bengali sweet shop would never be complete without a box full of this amazingly juicy sweet. How sweet of Kankana to thoughtfully make this for me!
Couldn’t wait for your guest post! Over to you Kankana..
This time of the year calls for family get together, it calls for shopping and it calls for lots of eating.. rich flavorful meals followed by different types of sweets. We are celebrating Navratri, Durga Puja and Diwali is just around the corner!
As a kid, the preparations used to start a month in advance. Buying new clothes, new pair of shoes and of-course matching accessories to go with the dress. Growing up in a Bengali family, Durga Puja has always been The Festival we look forward to the whole year. There would be no school, no homework; those few days was only about meeting up with friends, dressing up in fashion and spending the whole day visiting different locations for Durga Puja.
It’s a 4-day celebration and if I start talking more about Durga Puja, it would turn out to be a very long post and I don’t want to bore you with that 🙂 Lets talk about food now.. one topic we all love!
When my dear friend Radhika asked me to do a guest post for Navratri, I decided to make something sweet for her. She had once mentioned to me that she likes Bengali sweets and she loves Ras kadam. So, I thought this would be the best time to make Ras kadam.
She is one of the sweetest friend I met in the blogging world and I treasure our friendship a lot.. we both love to talk and can spend hours talking over our passion for food and photography 🙂 I wish we were staying close by and that way we could have enjoyed this treat together!
Ras kadam is a very popular Indian sweet treat which has a soft creamy texture and juicy in the center. It’s made with ‘khoya’ (dried whole milk) and curdle milk. The curdle milk is used to make Rasgulla (juicy sweet balls dipped in syrup) which is then wrapped with the khoya dough.
It may sound a little complicated but once you read the recipe in detail, you will know that it is very easy. There is no baking involved in it and hardly any cooking too!
I want to thank Radhika for mentioning this sweet to me or else, I would have never learned how to make this sweet. I adapted the recipe from here.
Wish you all a very festive season!
GIVEAWAY WINNER
Now, it is time to announce the winner of my blogiversary TUPPERWARE Giveaway. And the winner is Kirsten of My German Kitchen…in the Rockies
Congratulations! Kirsten..
I will be getting in touch with you shortly for the contact/shipping details.
Bengali Milk sweet made of Paneer
- 3-1/2 cup whole milk
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1-1/2 cup sugar
- a pinch of saffron threads
- 1-1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 4 cups khoya grated or mashed
- 1 cup paneer grated
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In a deep pan, bring the milk to boil. Remember to stir it occasionally or else the milk will get burnt.
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Once it starts boiling, reduce the heat and pour the lemon juice while stirring it constantly.
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Within 3 to 4 seconds, the milk will curdle and you should see clear green water. At this time, turn off the heat completely.
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Let it cool for a minute and then strain it through the cheesecloth.
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Wash the collected cheese with cold tap water to remove the lemon flavor.
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Tie the sides of the cheesecloth together tightly and hang it somewhere to drain the remaining water from the cheese. This should take about an hour. Take out the cheese from the cheesecloth and knead for about 10 minutes, or until it's smooth.
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Make small balls out of the dough and keep it aside.
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Now, add sugar with 4 cups of water in a pressure cooker and bring it to boil.
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Add the small balls of dough in it and let it boil for around 4 minutes.
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Cover the cooker with the lid and boil for another 3 minutes.
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Once it's cooled completely, strain the balls and spread it in a kitchen towel.
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Next, to make the dough with khoya: Mix a pinch of saffron threads with 1-1/2 tbsp milk.
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In a bowl, mix the grated khoya, powdered sugar, saffron milk and make a dough out of it. Keep it aside.
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In a non stick pan, cook the grated paneer in low heat until it changes to golden in color.
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Spread it in a kitchen towel and let it cool completely. Then, put it in a food processor and grate it to a coarse dust. Spread the dust in a separate plate.
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Take a little bit of dough in your hand and spread it flat. Place the rasgulla in the center and wrap it with the dough.
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Roll it slightly and make a ball out of it. Place it on the plate with the paneer dust and rub it slightly all around. Once you are done making all the ras kadam, let it chill in the refrigerator for about 5 to 10 minutes. Can be refrigerated in an air tight jar for up-to 3 days.
Wow ras kadam looks fantastic. It looks very professional. Very well presented as well 🙂
Wow Ras Kadam….never tasted it..but looks so yummy…I am also die hard fan of juicy bengali sweets….Have to try this…
ooooh i think i love this! Congrats to the winner!
What a beautiful sweet!
WOW! I have never made anything this elaborate in my entire life!! Looks amazing! I actually really like Ras kadam! Not sure if I will be able to make these at home like you but I appreciate your patience and talent!!
I am so tempted for some traditional sweets now!!
I’ve never heard of ras kadam but it looks so good. I love the photos too, especially the last one with the purple background – just gorgeous!
On which planet have I been living to have never tasted this delicious looking sweet….it looks gorgeous..wonderful guest post by Kankana.
Oh my, rasgulla wrapped in khoya…?!! So so sinful! And, seasons greetings girls!
Hey Radhika, Thanks to you and your friend Kankana for the recipe. I love this one. Back home, I used to have it often from a sweet stall. Will definitely try this one.
For me, it was always K C Das (near M.G. road) for my Bengali sweets. Were they your favorites too?
Hi Radhika,
You have a beautiful blog 🙂
Headed over here from Kankana’s blog! Wonderful guest post. I’ve never tried this Bengali sweet dish before. So tempting!
This is one stunning dessert. Headed over from Kankana’s blog. Glad I stopped by.
lovely guest post delicious looking sweet
Yummilicious!!!
Festival time and such a sinful treat…great one Kankana..though I too am the unlucky one to have never tasted this..but then when I go to India this time, I can give my mom a great surprise by making this!!
I am glad it turned out the way you wanted 🙂 Seriously if you wouldn’t have mentioned I probably would have never made this ever ! Thanks sweetie !
Oh Radhika what a wonderful guest post by Kankana. I love that girl. Have afantastic Indian Holiday Season!!
Hi Radhika! Very nice guest post by Kankana! I’ve never had this (I think) but I’ll be aware of this name now and love to try if I’ve come across (maybe at a friend’s Diwali party?! I hope!). Happy holiday to you!
Thanks Nami, I sincerely hope you get to try Ras Kadam sometime somewhere.. It is something not to miss!
lovely recipe…
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