Bhapa Sondesh

When I sat back to remember my Khanapara days (of childhood, I could recall the times when my dada used to bring the kids our favourite sweet delicacies – Bhapa Sondesh for breakfast! The sweet memories caught me up and made me eager to try my hands on it and pass on the legendary taste to my little one! I tried to parallelise it with other sweet treats but nothing could ever match its subtle steamed taste. Steamed cake from Mishti Mukh (a prominent sweet house in Guwahati till date) had been slightly relatable to match the dish, but never completely. Bhapa Sandesh is one of a kind! It is a mix of mild flavours that you would rejoice till the last bite. It’s an amalgamation of mere 3 ingredients- Milk, sugar and cardamom! And to share this special sweet memory that made me nostalgic, here’s how I started with it –

Ingredients

1 lt full cream milk ( made into paneer using lemon juice )

4 tbsp powdered sugar ( you can adjust according to your taste)

1 tbspn milk

2 tsp ghee

1 tsp cardamom powder

Saffron strands

Pistachio sliced

Method:

Blend all of the above ingredients into a fine paste. Donot add more than a tbsp of milk for the above mentioned quantity of milk. The paste should be thick and smooth at the same time. Grease moulds or steel katoris ( I used steel katoris). Fill the katoris with the paste, place 2-3 strands of saffron on each Bowl and cover it with foil paper. (I could fill 3 katoris). Place the katoris in a steamer and steam for 15 mins or till the toothpick when inserted comes out clean. Garnish with sliced pistachios and Refrigerate for an hour.

Note: If you donot have a steamer you can use idli maker, pressure cooker or a rice stainer to steam.

You can add flavoured essence ( rose, kewra) to the paste to enhance the taste.

Do let me know in the comments below if you like my recipes.