Satiate Your Taste Buds – With Microwave Kalakand

It’s
always good to be home after a stint of staying at hotels (or inns as they
prefer to call it here) where food becomes synonymous with To-Go and drink is
always dispensed from the vending machines.





On
my return home this time, therefore, the first thing I did was peering through
my refrigerator ignoring my husband’s raised eyebrows. I was going to make
something. I absolutely had to. And given that we were going to a Ganesh
Chaturthi party later that afternoon, I decided it had to be something sweet.





Now,
even though I have learnt to appreciate, on quite a few occasions, that there’s
nothing quite like Ghar-ka-khana, I tend to get lazy when I calculate the
effort. So in my two steps forward and one step backward dilemma of whether or
not to undertake the hassle of actually preparing my favourite dishes at home, I
am always on the lookout for the easy alternatives for the traditional recipes.





And
so I have found this one: Microwave Kalakand. One of my favourite sweets of all
time. Even though it took my grandma hours to make it at home, this perfect
alternative takes just 20 minutes. It was super easy on my travel tired nerves
and my starved taste-buds were satiated. And most importantly, people at the
party loved it.





What you need:

1) Ricotta
Cheese

2) Sweetened
Condensed milk

3) Few
cardamoms (crushed)

4) Few
strands of saffron (optional)

5) Your
favourite dry fruits (crushed) – I used pistachio







 How you
do it:

1) In a microwave safe flat bottom dish, combine equal
amount of Ricotta Cheese and condensed milk until smooth, without any lumps.
Add the crushed cardamoms and mix well.

2) Microwave
uncovered, on for 3-5 minutes. Keep peering through the door, the mix should
not spill over

3)    Take
out and stir well.

4)    Put
it back in the microwave and cook for 2 more minutes.

5)    Mix
well again, scrapping the sides

6)    Keep
repeating step 4 and 5. Remember taking a mixing break every 2 minutes is very
important






7)  The
final consistency should be thick, creamy but granular. The mixture should not
be runny, yet should retain its moisture

8)    Transfer into a rectangular dish, and press
down

9)    Sprinkle crushed pistachios on top, and chill
for one hour

10)  Ta..da. The Kalakand is ready. Cut into
squares and serve.





Do try and let me know how it turned out. If I, being me, can do it,
you can too. It’s very easy. Writing about it took me more time than making it.




Tip: Ricotta Cheese can also be substituted with
Cottage Cheese and Sugar. Also half and half milk can be thickened on an oven
top if you have time and patience. 



Love,

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Riot of Random