I am too much into made at home sweets these days, I am just unable to have the store bought ones finding them too sweet to my present taste bud. This is not the case for "bhaja mishti" that is fried sweets, specially "jilipi and amriti".... which are nothing but poison for me. I get them home rarely for the son and myself. Gone are the days when I would want to have "Shaktigarh er Langcha" or "Jilipi" or "kakur dokan er tatka goja" anytime of the day, after having 1/4th of them, my tongue craves for something spicy. I trust fully my hands when it comes to making of sweets, more because we do not get that quality of sweets here as compared to our place of origin. As a child or a teen I was never fond of sweets, particularly of roshogolla.... I developed a fondness for it way later in life.
It is true if someone has told me that sweets have nothing good to give us. Then, I am unable to think of an occasion, festival, ritual without sweets and flowers. It is a special day for us at this home and back in India tomorrow and what is better than preparing a wholesome vegetarian sweet with all the goodness of dry fruits and with made at home Indian Cottage Cheese FIG O KHEJUR ER NOROM PAAK. In fact, my initial plan was to completely do away with either of sugar or stevia powder, then I thought that will be too much of a torture on my men. If I am doing something for them, I must pay my major attention to their taste bud, else my initial plan was to use milk powder, chopped figs and dates only as the natural sweeteners which would have been absolutely fine with Myself and Cristine. At one point in the process, I felt my men cannot have it. If the family veterans are not around or if I am not cooking for my God's family, I do make it a point to taste the food a bit. This morning, I had one full. Without tasting it, I cannot recommend it for my readers. Some went to the man's office for his colleagues.
In this context, I remember an incident. After my marriage, I had been working at a school. It was a warm, summer morning when I got an interview call from that school in Belur, I had to leave home around 10 or 11am in the morning. Some hot rice and vegetables were there on the table. I had to eat and was serving my plate, thats when the husband's paternal grandmother shouted at me.... you cannot have the first rice grain before others.... I ate two slices of bread and went off. Not getting to have rice was not a problem but the reason behind it was unacceptable. Years after, the night when her death news arrived, we were at my parent's place in Barrackpore. "Dada-Boudir Biryani" came in already when the husband had to go for a not so much of a joy ride through a National Highway around 11pm. He has to go, he must but I have always noticed that his life has always been less important, like in that unearthly hour or always, he had to sit beside Raja, our first caretaker of the wheels who had the ability to be a Formula1Car Racer. Leave that, the husband obviously could not but I had a full packet of Mutton Biryani. The death news did not affect me not because she was 84 years old but because she had no feelings or respect for me. I have no love fihey gifted me a strong, honest life partner who happens to be the entire family's ATM Machine. My husband not only spends for us but also had to bear the expenses of his treatment with no one to help. Now people want him to move mountains for them, this wife is not an angel they must know. Should not I go to M Centre to buy him a gift today? I think I should. This is not an one of case, a daughter-in-law's and a son-in-law's treatment is different and shamelessly so, because my mother-in-law does not know how to respect other's feelings, she never did hesitate to make it very clear to me. Because she made it very clear to me, I could not have any amount of love for anyone in that family, beyond a point I do not allow them near me.... Sense of Duty?..... Yes, I have!
I was preparing this yummy Bengali themed vegetarian sweet with Homemade Indian Cottage Cheese, Milk Powder, Stevia Powder, Figs, Dates FIG O KHEJUR ER NOROM PAAK in between watching two movies.... "Margarita with a Straw" and "Chittagong".... After watching "The Sky is Pink," our friend Soumya recommended Margarita which somehow we missed. If something appeals to me, I do some research concerning it. I did read about the very qualitative couple director Shonali Bose and Bedabrata Pain, their immense losses, not having a child is a pain, having and losing one is a pain beyond repair. I love the Southern Star Revathi, I hope she would enjoy this "non-south-y" sweet given she is so versatile when it comes to taking up roles, so averse to botox jobs being done. Kalki is French at birth, so Indian at heart, she can have, the Bengali director duo would surely enjoy. Manoj Bajpayee still has some mannerisms, Nawaz-ud-din can make you sit tight through his movies without having a heroine. Come do it and send a sweet box to their homes, I do not send friend's requests to celebrities, I am averse to their temperament or tantrums whatever!
FRESH MILK : 2 LITRE
POWDERED MILK : 4TBSP
CHOPPED DATE : 2-3TBSP
CHOPPED FIG : 3-4TBSP
VINEGAR : 2TBSP
WATER : AS REQUIRED
GREEN CARDAMOM POWDER : 1TSP
SUGAR : 3-4TBSP [I used Stevia Powder]
CHOPPED PISTACHIO TO GARNISH
PROCEDURE :
Put the milk for boil poring it in a heavy bottomed vessel.
We have already soaked Figs in warm water and washed the dates. Thereafter just drain the water, towel dry and chop them.
When the milk starts boiling, reduce the heat to minimal and add the diluted vinegar 1tbsp at a time.
As the milk starts curdling, switch off the gas oven.
Immediately strain the whey water passing it through a white piece of cloth placed over a sieve.
Wash the chena / cottage cheese under running water. Tie the cloth, this time I kept it under a heavy utensil instead of hanging it.
After 45 minutes to 1hour, you get this.
Knead it well for 3-4 minutes.
In a glass of warm water, add 4tbsp of powdered milk, stir well. Pour it onto a wok passing it through a sieve.
Switch on the gas stove and keep stirring the milk. When the milk comes to a boil, add the sugar or stevia powder. Keep stirring.
After some 5 minutes, add the chena and stir to avoid remains of any lump.
Continuously stir for 10-12 minutes, add the green cardamom powder now. Mix well.
Stir cook for another 7-8 minutes. The cooked cottage cheese would still be moist and not be crumbly. Take down on a plate and let it cool.
Knead for some 3-4 minutes.
Add the chopped dates and figs and mix well. This will moisten the content further.
Shape as you wish.
Try to have them fresh, if refrigerating, then not more than 2 days.
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