Pista Sandesh

Today is the first day of the final week of Blogging Marathon #22 and I am posting under the theme Dishes From Bengal. When I think of Bengali dishes, the first thought is all about milk sweets. Bengal is very famous for its paneer based sweets and I am a great fan of those sweets. I have already posted a Sandesh recipe ( It was for the fifth edition of Blogging Marathon. How time flies!!!) and this recipe is a variation of the regular sandesh. It is full of pistachio flavour and was awesome. I couldn't stop at one. The recipe is from the Indian Food Forever website.

Recipe Source: Indian Food Forever
Ingredients:
Cow's Milk-1 lt
Citric Acid-1/4 tsp
Caster Sugar-1/2 cup
Powdered Pistachios-2 tbs
Whole Pistachios-5-6

Procedure:
1. Bring milk to boil. Add the citric acid and switch off flame.
2. Keep on stirring until the paneer is separated from the whey.
3. Line a metal sieve with a muslin or cotton cloth.
4. Pour the curdled milk into it.
5. When the whey strains away, remove excess water by squeezing the cloth.'
6. In a pan take the crumbled paneer/ chenna and add sugar.
7. Cook on low flame for 2 minutes. Keep on crushing the paneer and sugar together.
8. Remove from flame and let the sandesh cook in the residual heat for a minute.
9. Grind this mixture in a mixer jar.
10. Transfer to a plate and add the pistachio powder. Mix well.
11. Divide the mixture into 12 equal portions.
12. When a little dry, roll each portion into a ball.
13. Apply a little ghee on the palms to avoid sticking.
14. Make a small depression in the middle and place some flaked pistachios.
15. Allow it to dry for 15 minutes.
16. Store in an air tight jar.