Kalakhand

• Boil milk in a thick bottomed pan. Lower the flame and keep boiling the milk on low flame for about 15 minutes. Keep stirring the milk with a spatula periodically so that it doesn’t stick to the pan.
• Add crushed alum to the milk and mix. Keep stirring the milk till it turns grainy and cook milk till it turns into a solid mass.
• Add sugar to the thickened milk and mix well. Cook for another 5 minutes stirring continuously until the milk thickens further. Grease a tray with clarified butter.
• Pour the thickened milk mixture in the tray and smoothen the surface. Sprinkle the sliced pistachios on top.
• Set the tray aside and cool the Kalakhand in a dry place for 2 hours so that it sets properly.
• Cut into 1-inch square pieces when set. Store in airtight kitchen containers

Trivia

Milk is the main ingredient in the kalakhand. Milk has a wonderful property that it can take different delectable forms such as cheese, curd, khoya, paneer, butter, and so on.

Did you know cheese is yet another delicious form of milk? Cheese is being made by humans for a long time now. Researchers have found residue of cheese in parts of vessels from the sixth century BCE. Cheese was very popular in ancient civilizations of Greece and Rome. It can be also said that cheese is a valuable product as it is one of the most stolen food items in the world. Not only that, the Credem Bank of Italy gives out loans to cheese producers of the area in exchange for Parmesan cheese. Cheese worth around 200 million dollars is stored in the bank vault!