Bengali Sandesh Recipe – Make with 3 Ingredients Only

I love making desserts. When I am entertaining and have friends over, I love to finish off with a homemade dessert. However, with everyone trying to avoid sugar nowadays, a lot of times my guests steer clear of them. So over time, I have come up with some solutions to combat the problem. One, I make frozen stuff which can be stored and eaten {by me} over a period of time hopefully in moderation or I make a bite-sized dessert. And then I can prod my guests into eating at least one (C’mon one small bite doesn’t hurt).

Bengali Sandesh Recipe – 3 Ingredients

Sandesh is an exquisite dessert which can definitely be made bite size, or maybe two bites 😛 Made from fresh cottage cheese, sandesh is never over-the-top sweet and have a refined and smooth mouth feel to them. Of Course, I am referring to the “Norom Pak Sandesh”, aka, the soft ones (And I am hopelessly lost in translation here). There are many types though and these are by far the simplest and the most delicious.

Now back home, the concept of one-bite desserts doesn’t exist. On many a scorching afternoon, I have seen Ma greeting guests with these and some water to drink and inadvertently one would reach out for two of these at a time and would go in for second helpings too. They have a non-fancy, no-nonsense, melt-in-your-mouth quality about them. These would be the choice of mishti (sweets) mom would offer to the deities during the everyday pujas (religious ceremonies) too. So this is one sweet which is interweaved very closely with my memories.

The recent batch that I made has been kicked up a further notch. These have “Nolen Gur” which is date palm molasses. The molasses add to the sublimity of the whole concoction. It leaves a subtle aftertaste, which is extremely light, and nouvelle. Nolen gur is derived from the tree sap of date palm and is quite comparable to maple syrup. The legendary Bengali sandesh would not be what it is without this humble ingredient. We are fortunate to get nolen gur year round here in the Bay Area in specialty stores. It is a very seasonal ingredient in the land of its origin and all our indulgences are limited to the brief winter that we have in India.

These Sandesh are perfect for little celebrations too. Tomorrow is Raksha Bandhan, an occasion where sisters tie a thread around their brother’s wrist and pray for the well-being and long life. The brothers in return pledge to protect the sisters till their last breath. This occasion does have mythological significance and it is said that a Rajput widowed queen, Rani Karnawati had sent a rakhi to the Mughal emperor Humayun and asked for help during the invasion of Bahadur Shah, sultan of Gujrat. The Mughal emperor did rise to the occasion and marched with his troops immediately to protect the queen.

Raksha Bandhan is also a gastronomic opportunity to feed and be fed. And most Indian households celebrating the occasion would see some dessert happening. We are two sisters and don’t have a brother. Although, there are many brother like figures in my life and a celebration with them would always be a nice thing. True, it does not happen often but if it happened I would definitely make them, the 3-ingredient Sandesh.

Along with Bengali Sandesh Recipe, You may also like:

• Kalakand (Ricotta Cheese Fudge) ^[2]
• Baked Nolen Gurer Sandesh ^[3]
• Komolabhog ^[4]

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