sandesh is the Bengali word for “message,” as well as a popular sweet prepared from chhana (fresh curd cheese) and sugar or palm sugar jaggery cooked together to varying consistencies, depending on the desired result, which can be meltingly tender or dense and chewy. Sandesh is often pressed into decorative wooden molds and is sometimes filled or flavored with essences both native and exotic. Its preparation requires synergy between a ununer karigar (an artisan skilled at cooking the mixture), his skill with a tadu (a long ladle with a wooden blade used to prepare the sweetened mixture), and a patar karigar, an artisan who sits near a wooden board (pata) and magically rolls out sweets with his fingers.
