This Mango Kalakand recipe is easy and straightforward and gives a simple yet elegant and delicious sweet treat! It is definitely worth adding to the list of your mango dessert recipes. Jump to:What is Kalakand?Highly Flavorful Mango KalakandWhy Will You Love Mango KalakandIngredients and NotesHow To Make Mango KalakandServing and Storing SuggestionsHelpful TipsMore Indian SweetsRecipe Card
What is Kalakand?
Kalakand is a popular Indian sweet, and traditionally it is made by reducing milk and sugar. As a result, it is very moist and juicy, with a grainy texture. This melt-in-the-mouth sweet is famous in every Indian household, but particularly in the North and East of India.
Highly Flavorful Mango Kalakand
It is another version of a classical Kalakand, an Indian dessert. I have adopted this recipe from my Pistachio Kalakand recipe. Being an Indian, I can’t describe how much I love mangoes. In summer, we indulged in mangoes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and anytime between meals! Anyways, coming back to this delicious Indian sweet, it is a simple recipe with only a few ingredients. We require only three core ingredients: chhena or paneer, condensed milk, and mango pulp. Flavoring with ground cardamom and garnishing with pistachios are totally optional. Mango Kalakand can be made with fresh mango pulp, frozen mango pulp (which needs to be thawed), or canned mango puree. Depending on the sweetness of mango pulp, you will need to adjust the amount of condensed milk. This Indian sweet is moist, juicy, creamy, and refreshing and can be enjoyed on any occasion. If you use frozen mango pulp or canned mango puree, you can make this dessert any time of the year.
How To Make Mango Kalakand
Making The Chhena
Bring 2 liters of milk to boil in a thick-bottomed pan, stirring frequently.
Once the milk starts boiling, turn off the heat and add white vinegar, one tablespoon at a time, stirring gently. Soon, the milk will start curdling, and the greenish whey and milk solids will be separated. Milk solids are what we call chhena.
Pour the curdled milk into a colander lined with muslin cloth and collect the chhena. Rinse the chhena well with fresh, cold water to remove the taste and smell of vinegar. Rinsing is an essential step; you can taste chhena to ensure it does not taste like vinegar. Bring the ends of the clothes together and gently squeeze the water out of the chhena. Remember not to squeeze too much, as the chhena should be moist, not dry. Set aside the chhena tied in a muslin cloth for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove the chhena from the cloth and crumble it gently to loosen up big clumps.
Making The Mango Kalakand
Grease a baking pan or glass container with butter or ghee and line it with parchment paper. Keep the parchment paper edges bigger than the pan so it is easy to pull Kalakand out of the container. Set aside.
Add the chhena, condensed milk, and mango pulp to a thick-bottomed nonstick pan.
Mix well and cook on low to medium heat, stirring continuously.
Cook the mango kalakand mixture until it becomes thick, like a big lump, and stops sticking to the sides of the pan. It will take about anywhere between 20-30 minutes, depending on the heat’s intensity and the pan’s thickness.
Once you get the right consistency, turn off the heat and add cardamom powder. Mix well.
Transfer the mixture to a prepared pan and spread it evenly with a spatula. Press the mixture down with the spatula. Smooth the top and garnish with chopped pistachios.
Allow the mango kalakand to chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours. Once it is set, cut it into the desired shape and size.
Serving and Storing Suggestions
Serve chilled Mango Kalakand immediately, or store it in an airtight container in the fridge until serving time. Kalakand is a milk-based sweet that will not stay at room temperature. So, keep the leftovers tightly covered in the fridge for up to 5 days.
More Indian Sweets
Recipe Card
title: “Mango Kalakand” ShowToc: true date: “2024-10-31” author: “James Regan”
What is Mango Kalakand?
Kalakand is traditionally prepared by splitting milk to prepare chhena which is then cooked with sugar until the moisture evaporates. Flavourings such as cardamom are then added and the mixture is set to cool. This soft set Kalakand is then cut into squares. It has a moist but grainy texture. Diffrent flavourings that you can add are pupmpkin kalakand or beetroot kalakand. This is a quick kalakand recipe because I have used ready-made paneer and milk powder. I love the traditional flavour but adding mango gives it a fresh summery feel. Instead of setting the mango kalakand mixture and cutting into squares, I made round balls but you can use whichever method you fancy! You can also make Instant Kalakand with ricotta cheese which only needs 2 main ingredients!
Why you will love this recipe
Eggless dessert that is suitable for vegetarians Refreshing summer dessert when mangoes available abudantly Easy to make – uses few simple ingredients and takes 20 minutes Bursting with exotic mango flavour and super delicious Perfect Indian sweet for festivals like Diwali, Rakshabandhan, Thanksgiving, Eid or Ramadan.
Ingredients
Mango pulp – you can use homemade mango pulp or store-bought. Check the pulp if store-bought before using as they can be sour. You will need more sugar if this is the case. Paneer – you can use store bought paneer which is crumbled or use this homemade paneer method to make chhena. Milk powder – use full cream milk powder Cream or Whole milk – you may need a dash of whole milk if your paneer is hard. I used store-bought paneer when making these so needed whole milk to soften the paneer. Sugar – use some white sugar as the mango pulp will not have enough sweetness to it Cardamom powder – a must in most Indian mithai, add cardamom powder or crushed green cardamom seeds. Pistachio slivers to garnish.
How to make Mango Kalakand
Firstly prepare your paneer. Follow my homemade paneer recipe for fresh paneer. Alternatively, crumble store-bought paneer using your hands, a grater or with a short pulse of a food processor. In a heavy bottomed pan, add mango pulp and cook for a few minutes until it reduces slightly. Tip in the grated paneer and stir. Add the sugar. The mixture may loosen slightly as the sugar releases moisture. Cook for a few moments before adding in the milk powder and a splash of milk or cream. Cook the mixture until it forms a mass and begins leaving the sides of the pan. Do not overcook as the mango kalakand can become chewy. Add cardamom powder and mix well. For Kalakand squares: Pour the mixture into a lined tray and leave to set in the fridge for 2 hours. Once set, remove from the tray and cut into squares For Kalakand “ladoo”: shape the mixture into equal sized balls using the palm of your hands. You may need to grease your hands with ghee. Garnish with pistachio slivers.
Storage
Mango Kalakand is a milk based sweet. If you’re living in a warm climate, keep the kalakand in the fridge for up to 5 days. If living somewhere cool, you can keep the kalakand at room temperature for around 2 days. Keep covered to prevent it from drying out.
Serving
Serve kalakand at room temperature as a dessert after a spicy meal, as a snack or prasad.
Other Mango Desserts
Mango Peda Easy Mango Kheer Instant Mango Shrikhand Mango Paneer Kheer Coconut Mango Pancakes As always if you make this recipe, be sure to leave me a comment, rate this recipe and tag me on Instagram @jcookingodyssey or #jcookingodyssey. I love seeing all your photos of my recipe recreations! Don’t forget to follow me on social media using the buttons below – I can’t wait to see you all there!
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