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Malai Sondesh with cream, garnished with fresh cottage cheese and rosewater
Soft cottage cheese sweets with pistachios

Malai Sondesh

Author: Flavelo
Recipes Cakes and Desserts
Sandesh (or Sondesh) is Bengal's finest gift to the world. This milky sweet is born from the slow, careful caramelisation of 'chhena' (fresh homemade cheese) and sugar. The 'Malai' version enriches it with cream, making it even silkier, almost melting in the mouth. It's not just a sweet, but a textural experience: simultaneously crumbly and creamy, with the scent of rosewater and cardamom.
🕒 Prep Time 20 mins
🍳 Cook Time 20 mins
⌛ Total Time 1 hr
🍽️ Servings 4 servings
🔥 Calories 280 kcal
🌍 Cuisine Indian

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

  • Non-stick frying pan
  • Clean tea towel (for pressing the cheese)
  • Spatula

Allergen Information

⚠️ Milk
⚠️ Nuts

Instructions

1 ✓

Place the cheese in a tea towel and squeeze out the whey thoroughly. Then place on a tray and knead with your palm for 5-8 minutes until completely creamy and lump-free.

Tip: Kneading breaks down the protein structure, making the dessert velvety. If it remains grainy, the Sandesh will fall apart.
2 ✓

In a cold frying pan, mix the creamy cheese, cream, and sugar. Only then turn on the heat to low.

Tip: Temperature is critical! If too hot, the cream will split and the mass will become greasy.
3 ✓

Cook (or rather dry out) the mixture whilst stirring continuously for approx. 10-15 minutes. It is ready when it starts to pull away from the sides of the pan and comes together into a ball, but is still soft.

Tip: Don't dry it out too much, or it will crumble when shaping.
4 ✓

Remove from the heat, stir in the cardamom and rosewater.

Tip: Aromatics are heat-sensitive, so only add them at the end.
5 ✓

Let it cool to lukewarm. With oiled or wet hands, form balls, then flatten into discs. Make a small indentation in the centre.

Tip: You must shape it whilst warm; it will crack if cold.
6 ✓

Garnish with almonds and pistachios. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Tip: During cooling, the milk fat resolidifies like cocoa butter, giving it its final texture.

Recipe FAQ

Why was the result grainy?
Either you didn't knead the cheese thoroughly enough before cooking, or you cooked it at too high a temperature and it curdled.
Can I use shop-bought cottage cheese?
Hungarian crumbly curd is too sour and hard for this. It is better to pass full-fat curd cheese through a sieve, or make homemade paneer.

Ingredients

  • 400 g Fresh, unsalted curd cheese (or Paneer/Chhena)
  • 100 ml Double cream (min. 30%)
  • 75 g Icing sugar
  • 0.5 tsp Ground green cardamom seeds
  • 1 tsp Rosewater
  • 10 whole Almonds (flaked)
  • 1 tsp Ground pistachios