Rose Kalakand Recipe-Rakshabandhan Special
Kalakand is a very traditional and delicious dessert, made with whole milk, variation of burfi, and is soft and grainy in texture. Rose kalakand is a rose flavored kalakand made by adding rose essence and rose petals to the recipe.
I made this recipe on the occasion of Rakshabandhan and it was a big hit.
Recipe from Manjula’s Kitchen 
Ingredients:
8 cups or 2 quart milk
1/2 cup sugar
2 to 3 tablespoons lemon juice (for making paneer)
Rose essence
Red edible color
Rose petals
1 tablespoon sliced almonds or pistachio for garnishing
Method:
For Making Paneer
Mix lemon juice in ¼ cup of hot water and put aside.
Boil the 4 cups of milk in a heavy bottomed pan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, making sure not to burn milk.
As the milk comes to a boil, add the lemon juice gradually and stir the milk gently. The curd will start separating from the whey, turn off the heat.
Once the milk fat has separated from the whey, drain the whey using a strainer line with cheesecloth, or muslin cloth.
Wrap the curds in a muslin cloth, rinse under cold water, and squeeze well. This process takes out the sourness from the lemon.
To take out the excess water, squeeze the wrapped paneer. Do not knead the paneer.
For Making Kalakand
Boil remaining 4 cup of the milk in a heavy bottom frying pan on medium high heat until the milk reduces to about two cups.
Make sure to frequently stir the milk as the milk burns easily in bottom of the pan.
Add the paneer in the milk and keep stirring till the mixture thickness and form a soft dough consistency.
Add the sugar and continue to cook and stirring until the mixture become soft lump and start leaving the pan from sides. Add rose petals, rose essence and red color and mix well
Pour it over greased plate keeping about half inch thick.
Let it cool for about one hour. Cut the kalakand in squares.
Rakshabandhan & It’s Importance
In India, festivals are the celebration of togetherness, of being one of the family. Raksha Bandhan is one such festival that is all about affection, fraternity and sublime sentiments. It is also known as Raksha Bandhan which means a ‘bond of protection’. This is an occasion to flourish love, care, affection and sacred feeling of brotherhood.
On the day of Rakhi, sisters prepares the pooja thali with diya, chawal, rakhi thread and sweets. The ritual begins with a prayer in front of God, then the sister ties Rakhi to her brother and wishes for his happiness and well-being. In turn, the brother acknowledge the love with a promise to stand by his sister through all the good and bad times.
Raksha bandhan has been celebrated in the same way with the same traditions for many years. Only the means have changed with the changing lifestyle to make the celebration more elaborate and lively. This day has an inherent power that pulls the siblings together. The increasing distances evoke the desire to be together even more. All brothers and sisters try to reach out to each other on this auspicious day. The joyous meeting, the rare family get-together, that erstwhile feeling of brotherhood and sisterhood calls for a massive celebration.
More Rakhi Pics Here
