Ras malai

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Recipe:

    Cuisine: Indian

    Category: Dessert

    Preparation time: 10 minutes

    Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

    Serving Size: 8-10 pieces

    Author: Bhumika Joshi

Description: Ras malai (roosom alai), is an Indian dessert made using cottage cheese (paneer) balls soaked in sweetened, thickened and flavored full fat milk.

Making Rasmalai at home is not that difficult as it looks. Here I have shared simple and easy method to make these melt in your mouth delicacies. Some handy tips to make perfect Ras malai are shared in the explanation.

Ingredients:

• For Rabri
• 1 liter milk and 1 tsp for soaking saffron
• 1/4 cup mixed dry fruits -chopped
• 1/2 cup sugar(can be adjusted according to taste)
• Few saffron strands
• For Ras malai discs
• 1 liter full fat milk
• 1 tbsp white vinegar/lemon juice
• 5 cups water
• 1-1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp cardamom powder
• 1 tsp corn flour

Method:

• For Rabri
• Take 1 tbsp milk in a bowl and add few saffron strands to it.
• In a thick bottomed pan pour 1 liters of milk and bring it to boil.
• Keep stirring it at intervals till it reduces to half the quantity .
• Add the saffron milk, dry fruits and sugar. 
• Chill half of this in refrigerator and keep the remaining half warm.
• For Ras malai discs
• Pour 1 liter milk in a pot and bring it to boil. Keep stirring to avoid any milk burning at the bottom of the pan.

• Once the milk is boiled add 2 tbsp of vinegar/lemon juice and reduce the flame. You will see the milk curdling. If it does not happen then you can little more vinegar.
• Once the milk is curdled and the whey and chenna starts separating, give it a stir and switch off the flame

• Line a colander with the muslin cloth and place it in the sink.
• Strain the whey-chenna mixture.

• Run cold water over the paneer so that the sourness of the vinegar lessens and further cooking stops.

• Pick up the muslin cloth and squeeze it to remove the excess water. Hang it for 10 mins for the excess water to drip.

• Now, take the paneer on a worktop, add cornstarch and knead it putting pressure with your palms as shown in the picture below.
• This is a very important step so do not be in a hurry. If you don't do it properly the paneer balls will break in the sugar syrup during boiling.
• Knead till the paneer becomes soft, crumb free and smooth textured. Usually it takes 10 minutes to reach this state.
• Make balls of the chena and flatten them to discs.

• Now take another pan and add water and sugar to it and bring it to boil.
• Add the chena discs once the sugar water starts boiling and close the lid. Boil them on high flame for 12-15 minutes.The discs will expand during boiling.
• Remove the chena discs from the sugar syrup and put them in cold water. If the balls sink to the bottom they are done and if they float in water this means they need more cooking.
• Squeeze the paneer discs using your palm to remove the sugar syrup from them taking care that you do not break them.

• Now add the boiled and puffed chena discs to the rabri and keep them aside for 4-5 hours. Pour the chilled rabri over these before serving.

I would love to know your experience when you try this recipe. Please do not forget to tag @bhumikascookbook when you share the recipe on your personal pages.