Date Palm Jaggery Fudge/ Gurer Sandesh

The name of Nolen Gur (Date Palm Jaggery) is enough to make any Bengali nostalgic. Date Palm Jaggery or Nolen Gur can only be found in some parts of India including West Bengal and few North Eastern states. However, the downside of this jaggery is that you can get this only during winters.

In order to enjoy flavors of Nolen Gur all year around, I usually stock up enough jaggery for the entire year in refrigerator and use it whenever I wish to. In that way you can enjoy the flavors all year long.

Few posts back I promised to post few recipes which I decided to post during the entire winter season here in India. I think I was able to keep that promise and posted each and every recipe except Gurer Rosogolla. 

In order to compensate that I thought of preparing Gurer Sandesh which is equally enjoyed in each and every Bengali household during the entire winter season. Though I prefer Gurer Rosogolla over Gurer Sandesh but both of them have their own delicacies.

Sandesh means Fudge. You can get numerous flavors in Sandesh throughout Kolkata but among all Nolen Gur is my favorite. Making Sandesh or Fudge at home is a child's play. You just need to have Cottage Cheese and the choice of flavor.....that's all!!!

So, let's begin with the recipe:

Ingredients:

1. Cottage Cheese: 2 cups

2. Nolen Gur (Date Palm Jaggery): 1/2 cup (grated)

3. Green Cardamoms: 2-3 (optional)

Method:

1. In a bowl take the cottage cheese and mash it very well. You don't need to mash it too hard as it will make the fudge very hard.

2. In a separate pan on medium heat and add 1/4 cup of water. Add the grated date palm jaggery and let it melt.

3. When the jaggery has melted properly add the mashed cottage cheese and mix well.

4. Cook the mixture until it leaves the sides of the pan. Add the crushed cardamoms at this stage if you want. Let the mixture cool down.

5. Shape the fudge the way you like. I shaped them into circular balls. You can also use molds. Add a raisin or crushed pistachios for garnishing. Enjoy!!

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