Sandesh Recipe
Updated: August 31, 2022, By Swasthi
Sandesh recipe – sondesh is a delicious Bengali sweet, popular all over India and abroad. It is often made for festive and special occasions, more importantly for Durga puja during Navratri. There are so many variations of making sandesh recipe. All are quite simple as much as just kneading up the three basic ingredients sugar, chena (paneer) and cardamom powder. Refrigerate for few hours and enjoy it.
Traditionally sandesh is made by curdling milk and draining all the whey to collect the chenna. This chenna is kneaded well to a smooth texture and then cooked on a low heat with powdered sugar.
Later it is cooled and rolled to small balls and then flattened. Indian sweet stalls usually sell sandesh in many different flavors.
To make sandesh, it is always good to use fresh chena or paneer that is still moist. Instead of sugar, even palm jaggery or a mix of sugar and palm jaggery are used. You can make these cheesy delights more attractive by decorating with whatever you like.
Decorate with Choco chips or Choco sprinkles. Nutty decoration using pista and badam. You can even garnish with Tutti Frutti.
Apart from the 3 main ingredients, I haven’t used anything else to make this. You can add 1 tsp. pista almond powder to the mix while kneading, however the color of the sandesh turns pale if added.
For more easy bengali sweets, you can check
Rasgulla
Rasmalai
Kalakand
Paneer kheer
Cham cham
Photo Guide
Preparation for sandesh recipe
1. If you are a beginner or making paneer the first time, then read this detailed post on how to make soft paneer. However I am also sharing briefly here.
2. Bring 3.5 cups full fat milk to a boil.
3. Add 4 to 5 tbsp curd or lemon juice diluted with water to the milk. Stir well. When you see the milk begins to curdle, switch off the heat. Make sure it is curdled well. Allow to settle just for a minute.
4. Place a muslin cloth on a colander. Drain off the paneer. If you have used lemon juice, Rinse the paneer under running water. If you have used curd, you can just skip rinsing.
5. Squeeze off the excess water from paneer. Make a knot of the cloth, hang it for sometime to drain up excess dripping whey. We just need moist paneer, so make sure there is no dripping whey or water from paneer otherwise sandesh will turn grainy.
How to make bengali sandesh
6. Add paneer to a plate along with almond powder. Knead it very well until smooth.
7. Move the chenna to a non stick pan. Add sugar (powdered) and cardamom powder begin to heat on a low flame. Fry for 4 to 5 mins.
8. Cool down completely. Then knead lightly.
9. Roll them to balls and flatten a bit. Tuck whatever you wish to garnish in the centre. Refrigerate for 2 hours and serve.
Tuck in Nuts or few strands of Kesar for a traditional look.
Shelf life is short. Refrigerate and finish sandesh within 2 to 3 days.
Related Recipes
Recipe card
Sandesh Recipe (Bengali Sondesh)
For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card
Ingredients (US cup = 240ml )
- ½ cup chenna or paneer or 3.5 cups milk
- 2 ½ tbsp powdered sugar
- ¼ tsp cardamom powder or ½ tsp rose water
- 1 tbsp blanched almond powder
Garnishing as desired
- 2 tbsps nuts chopped or any other garnishing
Instructions
How to make sandesh
- If you do not have chenna, then follow the step by step photos to make your own.
- Add drained chenna to a plate along with almond powder and knead it well until smooth.
- To a nonstick pan, add chenna, powdered sugar and rose water or cardamom powder .
- Mix well and taste it. If needed add more powdered sugar.
- Fry this on a low flame for 4 to 5 mins.
- Overcooking will make the chenna grainy.
- Cool down completely. Then knead lightly.
- Roll to balls and flatten slightly.Â
- Garnish with nuts or saffron.
- Refrigerate and consume sandesh within 2 days
NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)
© Swasthi’s Recipes
About Swasthi
I’m Swasthi Shreekanth, the recipe developer, food photographer & food writer behind Swasthi’s Recipes. My aim is to help you cook great Indian food with my time-tested recipes. After 2 decades of experience in practical Indian cooking I started this blog to help people cook better & more often at home. Whether you are a novice or an experienced cook I am sure Swasthi’s Recipes will assist you to enhance your cooking skills. More about me
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Comments
I have made this 3&1/2 years ago and making it again. Nice recipe
Hey as I added the paneer to the pan they turned into crumbles
What shud I do
Hi Monika
Did you not knead the paneer before adding to the pan? If kneaded well it should not crumble. To fix it – Once you remove from the pan, knead it well again. If it doesn’t work then blend it.
Making it again
Very nice simple and easy and instant receipe
Thanks Anubhavijay
Hey Swasti! Thanks so much for such a good recipe! I made it for my dad’s birthday. he was born and raised in Kolkata so wish me luck I hope he likes it the best thing about your recipe was the step by step pictorial tutorial! It made it so much easier
Hi Aditi
You are welcome. Good luck to you and Happy birthday wishes to your Dad. Thanks for sharing your joy.
Have a great day!
🙂
Hi Swasti!
The recipe was very good! It was especially helpful due to the step by step pictures provided and to-the-point instructions for something that’s tricky like sandesh ! Thanks so much! Made it for my dad’s birthday! He was born and raised in Kolkata so wish me luck ! I hope he likes it !
Hye swasthi sis.. Vanakkam.. I’m from Malaysia. All your recipe are so super.. I promoted your blogs to my relatives and friends.. I also learned to cook some variety of dishes from your recipe and it’s really superb. Thanks for the wonderful recipes.. God bless you sis…
Vanakkam Sis Kavitha
Happy to read your comment. So glad to know the recipes are helpful. Thanks a lot for suggesting this blog and more importantly your wishes. They mean a lot!
🙂
Please send good and tasty recipes on sweets and snacks do not forget thank
amazing recipe..hats off to u swasthi ..no words can express how amazing ur blog is! 🙂
too good ! all your recipes r extremely tasty! love all ur recipes !! thanks a lot……:)
You are welcome Disha
So happy to read your comment.
Thanks a lot for trying the recipes
🙂
Thank u for ur help swasthi
I need lil more info
For how long we need to cook chenna, sugar on stove in step 7
Anu,
it is not recommended to cook for long. But to tell the exact time it is not possible and is not apt to follow the time since that depends on the pan used, the flame and other things. Just when the mixture comes together it has to be removed. Cooking for any longer makes the chenna really hard, chewy and rubbery. The more moisture in the mixture the longer it cooks, so more sugar , more longer it cooks and turns chewy.
Just switch off when the mixture comes together.
Hi
I used the pulse button n finally made the sweet
After refrigerating it for abt 1hr i tasted it n felt sugar is very less
I dont think i over cooked chena b cos i made ras malai n rasgulla sweets of urs n they tasted superb.
Do u think its bcos of adding less sugar it dint turn gooey.
Can i add sugar n put it on stove n redo it
Hi Anu
Yes You can add more powdered sugar. But before I share a recipe I try atleast 3 times to check if that works out well. Hope you measured the paneer and powdered sugar correctly. Yes just go ahead and add more powdered sugar to suit your taste and heat it. Adding too much sugar will make the mixture very gooey and will have to cook for longer to bring it to consistency which results in harder and more grainy sandesh. Thanks for the mention I will check the recipe again
Hi swathi
I really love ur recipes…..app tried 15 recipes of urs n all of them turned out excellent except “”SANDESH”
i don’t know what went wrong
After making chenna, i mixed powdered sugar, elaichi pwdr n chenna together n put it on stove
The mixture dint become gooey n stayed granules apart….they dint bind
What to do?
Hi Anu
Thanks for trying the recipes
I guess the chenna was overcooked while curdling. I usually switch off the stove as soon as i see the milk begins to curdle. This is the stage at which it may get overcooked and turn grainy or hard.
These days some brands of sugar are very peculiar, While I was working on a different recipe recently, I too found that sugar did not melt until I added few drops of water. I guess organic sugar could be the cause.
However to fix, put the mixture in a blender and pulse a few times. I am sure it will come together. In case it turns sticky, then add few tbsps of milk powder.
Hope this helps
I like it’s swit & bangoli sondes
I am looking for a recipe to surprise my wife (she’s from Gujarat) by making her some sweets for Diwali. Can cottage cheese be substituted for the paneer?
Hi Khurt
Not sure if it tastes good. You may like to try these quick and delicious coconut ladoo or coconut burfi. Hope this helps.
Hi,
The recipe is very easy.
I have kept the sandesh in fridge.
But it looks hard. What mistake did I make.
Hi SWati
Did you overcook it? Leave it out of fridge for 1 to 2 hours, it should be fine
co ooooo ooool!
I also libe in Sgp. I love Sandesh and this recipe looks very easy. Can you tell me which brand milk you use to make paneer and if it is UHT carton milk or fresh milk whole fat?
Hi Suchi,
I use pura fresh milk full fat milk
Hi..thanks for the recipe. I had a query that can we use low fat milk for preparation of sandesh?
Hi Rashmi,
I don’t think using low fat milk will yield much chenna. I suggest using full fat or whole milk for this recipe
Yes you are right. I just finished making chena from 1 litre of double toned milk..and I hardly got 1 small bowl of it. But I think that will yield a low fat sandesh. Will low fat milk affect the final taste of this sweet?
Yes Rashmi,
Taste may not be the same.
Tri ed many recipes from this site. Your recipes are fab easy and tasty made these Sandesh. We loved them thanks
Welcome and Thanks Farida.
Thanks for the feedback
recipe making very good.
Thank you
Very easy to make it
Lovely recipe 🙂