A few days ago, Chotto-ma and I were talking about stuff like we do, and I said something about a person being 'mature'. We might've been talking about girls traveling solo, I forget. The only thing I remember is her question:
"Ma, I know mature cheese. But what's a mature person?"
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So, yes, we definitely got the right baby back from hospital! Also right - in a perfectly corny kind of way - is that the conversation should occur on the day I was writing this post for Baked Sandesh, which involves cheese, and I needed some anecdotal serendipity. Or is it 'serendipitous anecdote'? I don't know, both are a mouthful.
For better mouthfuls, I suggest following recipe below.
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Baked SandeshChotto-ma and I baked together last afternoon. (She did all the mixing and baking - it's that easy - while I took the photographs.)
I'd shared the recipe on Facebook a while back, but I've tweaked it since. It's better in balance and texture now, and still takes all of 10 minutes to prepare.
Ingredients
500 gms ricotta (if no ricotta, homemade chhana is perfect - recipe here, from an earlier post)
1/2 cup ground almonds / almond flour
Can of condensed milk
2 pods of cardamom
2 tbsps soured cream or creme fraiche
A pinch of saffron strands
1/3 cup milk
Pistachios or almonds, coarsely chopped
In a bowl, mix ricotta, ground almonds, soured cream, and 4 tbsps of condensed milk to start with. Taste. Add more condensed, till you have the sweetness you want.
Take cardamom seeds out of one pod, and crush to powder. Mix into ricotta.
Put mix into baking dish. A medium-sized dish, so the mix is not too thinly spread. (Should be about 2 inches thick.) Pat even.
Warm a bit of milk, and stir a few saffron strands in. Spoon this over the ricotta, sprinkle with chopped pistachios or almonds, and bake in oven at 180 degrees C for about 30 minutes or till lightly browned.
It might be wobbly when you take it out, but will set as it cools. Serve slightly warm, or at room-temperature.
Enjoy!
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You can read my Facebook post with the judge's comment, which is gloriously generous, here.
Love,
P
Hi Pia,
ReplyDeleteI have been following your blog for years now - love your writing and photography :-). I have a ten year old daughter who is a voracious reader and your book recommendations are great for her - thank you! She is a budding writer too... And being from India, I totally relate to your posts. Keep up the good work!
Suma - Thank you so much for writing in. It's always so exciting to hear about a little reader (who's also a writer!) enjoying books I might've mentioned :)
DeleteSending you and your 10-year old my warmest wishes. And hope to see you back here again.
Love,
Pia
Congratulations Pia and big hugs to you..so glad to see one more feather in your cap.. looking forward to see you wear the crown itself one day..
ReplyDeletetake care and stay blessed
Much love to you for this lovely note! The faith in my work means a lot to me.
DeleteHugs,
Pia
Missed reading your stories. Time pai naah aaj kaal ekdom. It's so much to cook with your kid. Although Avyan is too young to understand when we stop adding ingredients, it's still fun. Most days :D Tomar baked sondesh try korte hobe.
ReplyDeleteEto busy schedule niye thanks for dropping by, Kankana. I know how crazy the toddler years are. Hope you've settled back into Californian (?) life. I'm happy to be enjoying your gorgeous photography again :) Baked sondesh try kore bolo kemon laglo.
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