Bengali Soft Sandesh (Kancha Golla)

Bengali Sandesh, an Indian confectionery is a very popular dessert from the eastern part of India, Bengal. We find various kinds of Sandesh in every local sweet shops, but one of the popular Bengali dessert is soft Sandesh. Soft Sandesh in colloquial is called “Kancha Golla”. In Bengal, most of the sweets are made of curdled milk and sugar. This is named as such because it melts in your mouth. It is mildly sweet and very soft, but it can only stay fresh for a couple of days.
During the summer vacation this year when I visited Kolkata, I went to the famous “College Street”, the largest book market in India which is nicknamed Boi Para -“Book Town”. On my way to Boi Para, we found the famous sweet store “Bhim Chandra Nag” where all the Sandeshes are out of the world. They sell a Sandesh called Abar Khabo – “Eat Again” which is a soft Sandesh with a filling of pistachios, cashews, raisins or kheer. Even now while writing this blog, months after my visit, I can still remember the taste of that amazing sweet. Below is a sweet reminder. This Soft Sandesh is inspired by that.

Soft Sandesh is a common dessert in my household. I often make them as desserts for small gatherings or for any religious offerings. They are easy to make and my kids love them. I give the Sandesh for after school snacks, or even in their lunch for dessert. Even though it has sugar, but it is on the healthier side as it is mildly sweet and made of cheese curd.
Ingredients of the Sandesh Cheese Curd ready to be mixed Cheese after mixing all ingredients
Today I will share a very basic recipe for this Sandesh. There are many varieties of taste, texture, and flavor of this, but they are modified or improvised versions of this basic recipe. The starting point of this sweet is the Cheese Curd. Once you have followed the direction and made the Cheese Curd or Chhena, then it is very simple. I mix the cheese in a small food chopper, as it makes the texture smooth in a few minutes which is very convenient. Here in the recipe, I have used Saffron as the main flavor, but one can use green cardamom seeds or even Date Palm Jaggery to flavor the sweet.
Yields 16
Serves 8
8 hrPrep Time
30 minCook Time
8 hr, 30 Total Time
5 based on 2 review(s)
Ingredients
- 2 Cups of Cheese Curd
- 4 tbsp of refined Sugar
- 1 tbsp Milk
- Pinch of Saffron
- 1 Green Cardamon Seeds
Instructions
- Prepare the Cheese Curd following the direction
- Hang the curd overnight
- Warm the milk
- Soak Saffron in milk for 10-15 minutes
- Add Cheese Curd, sugar, saffron and cardamon seeds in the food chopper
- Mix it for 2-3 minutes.
- Take it out and shape as desired.
Notes
I like it less sweet, but you can adjust the sweetness as per your taste.
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