Rasmalai

Rasmalai is an Indian dessert recipe which is prepared from flattened chenna/paneer balls, sugar syrup and rabdi. The sweet first originated from Bengal but is now popular all over India. Rasmalai is very similar to rasgulla, the difference being that rasmalai is served with thick-creamed kesar flavoured milk and is topped with some chopped nuts before serving. 

Now, let me share a few tips and suggestions to make a perfect rasmalai. First, it is always advised to use a full cream cows milk for better results. Using buffalo milk might not lead your rasmalai to be soft and juicy. Second, knead the chenna properly till it forms a dough and no granules are seen. Make sure not to overknead the chenna, as then the chenna will start releasing oil, which would result in hard rasmalai. Third, while making chenna balls, make sure that the balls do not have any cracks in it, otherwise the balls might dissolve in the sugar syrup while boiling. Fourth, make sure your vessel has enough room for the chenna balls to swell while boiling. Also, make sure that you squeeze the sugar syrup from the chenna balls completely or else the balls will not absorb the rabdi milk. Finally, always remember to use a thick-bottomed pan/kadai while preparing rabdi, or else there will be high chances for the milk to burn. Make sure you do not over stir the milk while preparing the rabdi, or else the cream will not form. 

Servings:- 8 people

Course:- Sweet, Dessert

Cuisine:- Indian

Ingredients:-

For Paneer/Chenna:

1 litre milk, full cream

2-3 tbsp lemon juice

1 cup water

For Sugar Syrup:

1 1/2 cup sugar

8 cups water

For Rabdi:

1 litre milk, full cream

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp cardamom powder

2 tbsp saffron milk

8 pistachios, chopped

5 almonds, chopped

Method:-

Making Paneer/Chenna:

1. Firstly, in a thick-bottomed pan, heat 1 litre full cream cows milk. Stir occasionally and get the milk to a boil. 

2. Once the gets a boil, add lemon juice to it and stir them well. You can add more lemon juice and stir them till the milk curdles completely. 

3. Drain off the curdled milk immediately into a handkerchief or a muslin cloth. Pour a cup of water and clean the chenna as it has lemon juice in it. 

4. Further bring the cloth together and squeeze off the excess water. Hang the cloth for 30 mins or more or until all the water drains off completely. 

5. Now, after 30 mins, start to knead the chenna for 10 mins or until it turns out smooth. Make sure that the chenna does not have any grains of milk, otherwise the rasmalai will have cracks and they might break while boiling in the sugar syrup. 

6. Further, make small balls from the chenna and flatten them slightly. Keep the flattened chenna balls aside.  

Making Sugar Syrup:

1. Firstly, in a deep vessel take 1 1/2 cup sugar along with 8 glasses of water. Stir them well and boil the solution for 10 mins on medium flame. 

2. Now, slowly drop the flattened chenna balls into the boiling sugar syrup. Cover the vessel and boil them for 15 mins. You will see that the chenna balls have doubled in size. 

3. Now, with the help of a slotted spoon, take each flattened ball and squeeze off the sugar syrup completely. 

4. Further allow the squeezed chenna balls to cool completely or let them come to room temperature. 

Making Rabdi:

1. Firstly, in a non-stick kadai, heat milk. Stir the milk occasionally and get to a boil. Now, reduce the flame to medium and once a layer of the cream is formed over the milk, stick the cream to the sides of the kadai. 

2. Further get the milk to a boil again and repeat the gathering of the cream to the sides of  kadai. Repeat this process for 7-8 times or until the milk reduces to one-third. 

3. Next, add sugar, cardamom powder and saffron milk to the milk. Give them a good mix and let the milk come to a boil again.

4. Further scrape off the collected cream from the sides of the kadai and give it a good stir. Transfer the rabdi to a bowl and let it come to room temperature. Refrigerate the rabdi for 2 hours before adding it to the chenna balls. 

Making Rasmalai:

1. Firstly, generously pour the rabdi over the squeezed chenna balls. Further garnish them with some pistachios and almonds and allow them to absorb for 2 hours in the refrigerator. 

2. Finally, serve rasmalai garnished with some chopped nuts.