Raksha bandhan is one the most unique festivals of India that celebrates the eternal bond of love and care between brother & sister. This special bond of love is celebrated in our country in the most special way where sisters tie a thread of hope on brother’s wrist for being there for her always and brothers give a promise with loads of gifts to her. This sweet festival of raksha bandhan indeed demands its celebration in a sweeter way and that’s impossible without sweets being a part of it. This custard roll shondesh is simply my attempt to bring a hearty smile😁 on my brother’s face & I succeeded. I have made this simple sweet from leftover custard & freshly made chenna and together they created the magic. My brother is very fond of sweets and nothing can please him more than a unique sweet or dessert and this Shondesh really stole his heart. So I am sharing this rakhi special sweet this time for making your celebration truly special. Here is the recipe below 👇:

RECIPE :

Ingredients:

1. Cottage Cheese/chhena (freshly made) from 500 ml milk.
2. Custard powder – 1.5 tbs
3. Milk ( for custard) – 1.5 ml
4. Dark chocolate or milk chocolate – 3-4 squares.
5. Sugar – 4 tbsp.
6. Almond and Pistachio (chopped) for garnishing – few
7. Vanilla essence – 2-3 drops.
8. Milk powder – 2 tbs.

Preparation :

1. Prepare your custard by following the steps mentioned in the package of custard powder or you may follow the steps mentioned here as below: a.Take milk in a pan. b.Take out 1/3^rd cup of milk in a bowl from it. c. Add custard powder, mix well to make a smooth paste so that no lumps are there. d. Boil the remaining milk in a pan with 2 tbs sugar in it. e.Turn off the flame and add the custard paste to it & mix well. f. Bring the mixture to boil by stirring in continuously for 2-3 minutes so that no lumps are formed & switch off the flame. g.Your custard is ready.
2. Melt chocolate in a bowl with little milk over a pan with water filled in.
3. Mix the chocolate to make a paste.
4. Take 2-3 tablespoons of custard in a bowl and add the chocolate paste to it.
5. Mix it well to make a smooth paste and add some finely chopped almonds to it and mix them.
6. Keep the chocolate custard mix in the refrigerator for 20 to 30 minutes to make it little tight.
7. For making the shondesh, take freshly prepared chhena in a dish, add 2-3 drops of vanilla essence and milk powder to it and mix well using your hand. (Note : You may refer to my previous post kheertua, for detailed chhena preparation).
8. Knead the chhena to make it smooth using your palm and fingers so that no lumps or granules are left.
9. Melt 2 tbs of sugar in a pan with little water over a medium flame.
10. Keep stirring the sugar syrup till it thickens slightly.
11. Bring down the flame to low and add the kneaded chenna mix to it.
12. Mix them together nicely and keep stirring the mixture until it starts leaving the sides of your pan.Do not over cook otherwise your chenna will turn granular & will have difficulty in binding.
13. Bring down from the flame, let it cool for 1or 2 minutes & knead again slightly to make it smooth.
14. Divide the chhena, mix in two parts for making shondesh rolls in batches. (Note: If you are skilled enough, you can make the roll in a single batch; so you can skip step 14)
15. Spread cling wrap over a tray, spread one portion of chhena mix over it uniformly and make it uniform using a rolling pin.
16. Now take out the refrigerated custard and smear it nicely over the chhena using a spatula or back of spoon.
17. Take little more custard and spread along the rolling axis at one of the edges of the chhena layer.
18.  Start rolling your chhena with the help of cling wrap carefully from this edge by first wrapping the custard inside the first fold and then continue till the end of the chhena layer by gently removing the cling wrap while folding.
19. Make a tight roll and twist the sides of the cling wrap.
20. Refrigerate the roll overnight.
21. Take out from the refrigerator, remove the cling wrap and cut the rolls into 2 or 3 parts to make small pieces of shondesh.
22. Garnish with grated pistachios, almonds and chocolates.
23. Your yummy soft custard roll shondesh is ready to be served.