Mango sandesh recipe, an easy to make, delicious, traditional Bengali sweet made with fresh chenna, sugar and mango puree
mango sandesh
Mango sandesh recipe has been lying in my drafts since the past four weeks. 🙂 I am back from my break with a delicious, melt in the mouth, classic Bengali dessert that has the infusion of two of my favorite ingredients, chenna and ripe mango pulp. I have used homegrown mango pulp that worked excellently for mango sandesh. Sandesh is a sweet prepared with freshly made chenna aka moist paneer, powdered sugar and cardamom. It is offered to Goddess Durga during navratri festival celebrations as well as other festive or special events. In fact, in most Bengali homes, no celebration is complete without sandesh. You can make a number of variations with the basic sandesh recipe by flavoring it with rose, strawberry, pineapple, saffron, cocoa powder (chocolate sandesh) and mango puree during the summer months. There are a variety of moulds with which one can shape the sandesh and decorate it with nuts like pistachios, almonds and cashew nuts.
Recipe of mango sandesh (also known as aam sondesh) is easy to make though slightly time-consuming but worth the effort. It has a beautiful yellow shade and a wonderful melt in the mouth texture and an addictive flavor.
mango sandesh recipe
To make mango sandesh recipe, you need to make the basic sandesh. For that you need to make fresh chenna or moist paneer from scratch. I have already blogged how to make paneer. Please follow this paneer recipe post (till step 7) to make fresh chenna (moist paneer mixture). Once the whey is drained, take the residue chenna and tie it in a muslin cloth for the whey to drain completely. This could take at least 30 to 45 mins. You will have chenna ready to make sandesh.
Follow the below step by step procedure to make mango sandesh recipe. Take the moist chenna in a wide plate or vessel and knead it with your fingers and palm till smooth and soft. You should be able to form a smooth ball with the mixture. This could take at least 8-10 mins. To this kneaded mixture, add powdered sugar and cardamom powder and mix well.
chenna kneaded smooth and addition of powdered sugar
Mix to combine well. It will be a messy mixture so do not panic. Heat a wide pan on low flame, add the chenna-sugar mixture along with mango puree and mix to combine well.
chenna sugar mixture mixed and addition of mango puree
Cook the mixture on low flame stirring constantly. We are trying to remove the moisture in the chenna-mango mixture by cooking it on low flame. You have to be patient as this could take anywhere between 12-15 mins.
mango chenna mixture on low flame stirring constantly
Once the mixture turns dry i.e it should have a very soft, dough-like consistency. Turn off heat and remove it onto a greased plate or thali.
mango sandesh mixture ready
Allow the mixture to cool slightly so that you can shape the mango sandesh into smooth balls using your hand. Shape into small lemon sized balls and flatten lightly. Place chopped nuts of your choice or a whole pistachio in the center. Alternately, you can make a small dent in the center and place mango puree in it. You can serve it at room temperature or place in the fridge for a few minutes and serve chilled.
mango sandesh sweet
Do give this delectable mango dessert a try. Definitely a gem among mango recipes and Bengali recipes.
How to make mango sandesh recipe
