Apparently Bengal’s most popular sweet was invented accidentally in Bengal, when a milkman was left with plenty of unsold milk. Soon the milk turned sour and formed ‘chhana’. To make it edible, sugar was added to it and a paste was formed, called ‘makha’. This was the sandesh in its earliest stages. Later sweetmeat makers mastered the art of the sandesh by mixing the correct proportions of flour and sugar. Gur {jaggery} was also often added for extra flavour.
Best shops to have sandesh in Kolkata: Balaram Mullick and Radharaman Mullick, Girish Chandra Dey and Nakur Chandra Nandy, Nalin Chandra Das and Sons.