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Quick Paneer Kalakand
Alwar's grainy, milky kalakand made the quick way — crumbled paneer cooked with milk and milk powder until it sets — with far less sugar than the halwai version.
- Region
- Rajasthan (Alwar)
- Status
- Adaptation — paneer and milk powder replace slow-reduced milk; sugar reduced by about half
- Diet label
- Strictly vegetarian, egg-free
- Time
- Prep 5 min · Cook 15 min · Set 2 h
- Serves
- 6 (1 piece, about 60 g, each)
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Good for
- Festivals (Diwali), gifting
- Tags
- Good source · Soy-free · Whey-free · Gluten-free · Meal-prep friendly
- Allergens
- Milk, tree nuts (pistachio)
Nutrition (estimated)
- Calories
- 165 kcal
- Protein
- 10 g
- Carbs
- 16 g
- Fat
- 7 g
- Fibre
- <1 g
Headline values are per serving, as written.
| kcal | Protein | Carbs | Fat | Sat fat | Fibre | Total sugars | Added sugar | Protein per 100 kcal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 piece | 165 | 10 g | 16 g | 7 g | 4 g | <1 g | 16 g | 7 g | 6.0 g |
Good source. Shop kalakand often has 15–20 g added sugar per similar piece; this has about 7 g. Total sugars include the lactose in paneer as listed in IFCT 2017. Values checked against IFCT 2017 on 15 Oct 2026.
Ingredients
- 200 g full-fat paneer, finely crumbled
- 200 ml toned milk · 40 g skimmed milk powder · 40 g sugar
- ½ tsp cardamom powder · a pinch of saffron (optional) · 10 g pistachios, slivered
Method
- In a heavy non-stick pan, combine paneer, milk and milk powder. Stir until no milk-powder lumps remain.
- Cook on medium-low, stirring and scraping constantly, for 10–12 minutes, until most of the liquid evaporates and the mixture thickens.
- Add sugar; it will loosen the mixture. Keep cooking 3–5 minutes until it gathers into a soft mass that leaves the sides of the pan.
- Stir in cardamom and saffron. Spread in a greased 12 cm square tin, 2–2.5 cm thick. Press pistachios on top.
- Cool, then chill 2 hours. Cut into 6 pieces.
Protein optimisation
- Paneer supplies 6 g per piece, milk powder 2.5 g, milk 1 g.
- Low-fat paneer (check the label) saves about 25 kcal and 3 g fat per piece with similar protein.
Variations, serving and storage
- Regional: mango kalakand — fold in 60 g Alphonso pulp at step 3 and reduce sugar to 30 g.
- Substitution: fresh chhena (DS3) in place of paneer for a softer, more traditional grain.
- Storage: 4 days refrigerated.
- Food safety: refrigerate once cool.
- Meal prep: excellent.
Nutrition values are estimates calculated from the Indian Food Composition Tables 2017 (ICMR-NIN) and typical product labels. They have not been laboratory-analysed and will vary with your ingredients, brands and cooking. Recipes are for healthy adults and are general information only, not a substitute for advice from a doctor or qualified dietitian. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, cooking for children, have food allergies, or live with kidney disease, diabetes or any other medical condition, please take professional advice about your diet. From the collection Protein-Rich India by Dr. Shantanu Deshpande · drshantanudeshpande.com