Rasmalai
Rasmalai
Mamta Gupta
What is a Ras-Mala? The word Ras means juice and Malai means skin/cream on the top of the boiled milk as it cools. These are flattened paneer cheese balls cooked in a thin sugar syrup and then transferred into thicken milk.
This is one of the most popular after dinner desserts in India and Indians living abroad. Just like Rasgullas, I have never found a recipe that makes them as good as the 'Mithai wallas', but this recipe gives acceptable results. Makes 8
Ingredients
2 litre milk (approximately 200-250 gm.)
Juice of 1 lemon
1 level tsp. (no more) plain, white flour or maida
A large pinch of baking powder. This is roughly the amount that will fit in at the tip of a teaspoon
1 cup sugar
3 cups water
1 litre full cream milk for making ‘rabri’ (Indian condensed milk) or a tin of evaporated milk
4 tbsp. sugar or equivalent sweetener. Tinned milk will already have sugar.
1 tsp. green cardamom seed powder
A few drops of rose essence
1-2 tbsp almonds, blanched and thinly cut into slivers using a mandolin*
1 tbsp. blanched pistachios, thinly cut into slivers using a mandolin*
*If you have a garlic slicer/mandolin, it is really easy to make slivers of almonds and pistachios in it. Just make sure that it does not smell of garlic before you do this! I keep a separate one for this purpose.
Instructions
Make paneer as follows:
Bring milk to boil. Turn heat down. While it is simmering, add juice of 1/2-1 lemon, a little at a time, until milk curdles and whey is separated.
Place muslin on a colander and pour milk on top. Wash paneer with cold water to stop it cooking further. Once most of the liquid has drained away. Tie the muslin around it and hang for 15 minutes. I do this by tying the muslin onto the overhanging sink tap. You do not need to press this paneer.
Place paneer, flour and baking powder in a food processor and blend until it forms a smooth paste. You can knead paneer by hand, until very smooth. Keep aside
Boil water and sugar in a pan, until sugar is dissolved. Turn the heat right down, just enough to keep it warm.
Make into a small walnut sized balls, flattening them a little, like a ?peda? or a small burger.
Slide gently into the simmering sugared water. Simmer for 10 minutes. If syrup begins to thicken, add cold water. They roughly double in size. As soon as this happens, stop cooking further.
Meanwhile, condense 1 litre milk in a wok/karahi, by simmering it until reduced to half. You have to continue stirring it very frequently, otherwise it will catch. If you do not have time, use tinned evaporated milk.
Allow the milk to cool, add cardamoms/rose essence and sugar (if required) to the milk and mix.
Lift the rasmalaies out of the syrup and add to the condensed milk.
Allow to chill for a few hours.
Serve garnished with slivers of almonds and pistachios.
