What is the best thing that you can carry while visiting your relatives or friends? I think it is a box of sweets. For Bengali, it is a tradition. Among all sweetmeat, Sandesh is loaded with full of love and happiness. This is the most common tradition among Bengalis and also the people of the Indian subcontinent. Especially, Bengali people and their cuisine are all about sweet and savoury items. A portion of Bengali food is incomplete without any sweet items. In that case, Sandesh is one of the most famous and oldest sweetmeats. If you are a sweet lover, you should definitely know some facts about Sandesh.
The word ‘Sandesh’ evolved from the Sanskrit word ‘Sandesa’, which means message or news. Earlier, people used to send sweets with good news. Along with hearing good news people could share their happiness with that sweet. From that culture, this sweetmeat gets its name. This particular sweet originated somewhere around the 16th century. It has the combined taste of milk and sugar. It is made with chenna or paneer. Paneer is also known as Indian Cottage Cheese. Once you try this dish, then you are bound to get hooked on it!
If you want to know about the origin of Sandesh, you need to go back to the medieval century of the Bengali renaissance. It was in the mid of 19th century, the Bengali renaissance took place and a new addition of culture has been added back then. Earlier it was made with solidified kheer. After the influence of the Portuguese, it resulted in chenna-based Sandesh. Sandesh actually reflects the blend of different cultures and flavours.
The recipe of Sandesh is a lot easier than we think! It is made with chenna with a toss of sugar on low flame. This hot-sweetened chenna is shaped into small balls later. This version of Sandesh is called ‘Kancha Golla’. This is the easiest and quickest recipe to make Shandesh. There are many other forms of Shandesh where it is dipped in syrup, blended with coconut and kheer or moulded into many other shapes.
Among all the forms the most popular one is made with jaggery and it is called ‘Gurer Sandesh’. As it is made with jaggery so its colour of it is brown. Some other forms are called- Pranahara, Pista Sandesh, Kaju Sandesh, Bhapa Sandesh, Chocolate Sandesh, and many more. Sandesh is full of calories, as one single Shandesh has 150 to 200 calories.
This particular sweetmeat is a weakness for many sweet lovers. Elderly people or the youngest ones, everyone gets hooked on Sandesh. It carries the tradition of Bengali forever. A mouth full of Sandesh gives a delightful feeling to every sweet lover. The legacy of Sandesh will be continued till the end of the world.
