I am a sucker for easy ways to cook! The pandemic gave rise to a lot of time being spent in the kitchen and the Recipe Goodness group of the Bangalore chapter of ELSA became overactive. With no regular office work and having to keep the mind busy, when I came across this on the net I decided to give it a try. I had also decided who I would experiment on besides the family!
Take 1 litre of milk in a saucepan and set it to boil to thicken. Reduce it to half on a medium-low flame.
Simultaneously, on the other burner boil the other litre of milk. Let it sit for 5 minutes to cool a bit. Take the water mixed with vinegar and add it to this milk slowly in 3 parts. Keep stirring while adding and milk will curdle into paneer. If you add all the water and vinegar at one go, it will be chewy and hard.
Strain the paneer and wash with cold water to cool the paneer and also rid it of any remnants of the vinegar. Take it into a clean white muslin cloth and squeeze out all the water.
Meanwhile, the other thickened milk would have reduced to half. Add ½ tbsp cardamom powder and mix.
Add the sugar slowly in 3 lots so that it does not liquify the milk. Keep stirring till it is again back to the thickened consistency.
Meanwhile grease a dish with ghee and keep ready.
Add the mashed paneer into the thickened milk and stir well. It should blend with the thickened milk and become creamy. Do not overcook. This is not a stiff barfi but a scoopable dessert.
Cool for 2 hours. Mark the kalakand into desired shapes with a knife so it is easy to scoop out as and when required.
Garnish with saffron strands soaked in milk that give it the orange colour and pista slivers for the vibrant green. I have used almonds as did not have pista.
Refrigerate
