Ras Malai

These days I am making more sweets and desserts at home than never before, you can blame my blog for it. Rasmalai has been in my to-do list since long. Made a trial batch few weeks back and honestly I was not fully satisfied with the texture. With all due modestly, let me admit that I like to be a bit perfectionist in what ever I do. So didn’t find my rasmalai to be very spongy. I have improved a lot this time, but still I would give myself 95% and not fully 100%. There is still scope for improvement. It can be a tad bit more spongy.

But here is a detailed recipe on how to make it at home. Please do try it. Basically, I have made these today to make a rasmalai cake. Hence you can find some small dumplings too along with the flat ones, to use it for frosting my cake. Use full cream cow milk to get the perfect texture. The custard powder adds a nice pale saffron colour along with a subtle pleasant taste.

Edited on 11th Feb 2018:

I have found it better to use normal 3% fat milk for making the paneer for rasmalai. However it’s better to use full cream milk for the Ras of the rasmalai.

Ingredients:

• Full Cream milk  1 litre
• 3% fat milk 1.5 litre
• Vinegar/lime juice  1 tbsp
• Water 2 tbsp
• Sugar 1 1/4 cup
• Custard powder 1 tsp
• Finely chopped almonds 1 tbsp
• Finely chopped pista 1 tbsp
• Cardamom powder 1 tsp
• Kesar/Saffron strands 2-3 pinch

Method:

• Boil the 3% fat milk in a wide mouth heavy bottom pan. When it boils, reduce the flame.
• Now add vinegar or lime juice to 2 tablespoon water and dilute it. Add this to the milk and leave it undisturbed for 2-3 minutes.

• The milk will curdle and the whey and the paneer will separate out.
• Strain it in a sieve lined with a muslin cloth. Collect the whey and use it to knead your chapati or bread dough. It is extremely nutritious.

• Wash the paneer with 2 cups water to remove the taste or vinegar/lime juice. Add ice cubes to it and tie the muslin cloth and leave it hanging for 1-2 hours.

• Meanwhile boil the full cream milk till it is slightly reduced. Mix 1 tsp vanilla custard powder in 1-2 tbsp milk and add it to the boiling milk.
• Add around 1/4 cup sugar or more if you want it too sweet and mix well. Stir it and simmer for 5 minutes.
• Remove from stove and add chopped nuts and saffron soaked in 1 tsp milk. Add the cardamom powder and mix well. Refrigerate it.

• When the entire water is removed from the paneer, remove it from the cloth and knead it with the heel of your palm for 10 minutes or so till the entire thing comes together in the form of a nice smooth dough.
• Make small balls of it and flatten it slightly with your palm to get smooth crack free dumplings.

• Meanwhile boil 5 cups of water with 1 cup sugar and when it is fully boiled, slowly add the paneer dumplings into it.

• Cook on high flame for 2-3 minutes and then cover and cook at high flame for 7-8 minutes till the dumplings float on top and is very soft and spongy.

• Remove slowly and strain the extra water and add it to a bowl containing ice cubes and ice cold water.
• Leave it for 5 minutes. Gently squeeze out the water and slowly drop these dumplings into the prepared kesar milk.
• Refrigerate it till you use. Serve it chilled.

Notes:

• Make sure you remove all the water from the paneer.
• Knead it nicely till it becomes really smooth and you are able to make smooth crack free balls from it. You can just pulse it in adry mixer jar for few seconds.
• Let the dumplings immerse in the milk for a couple of hours and soak the flavours.
• Serve it chilled.
• You may add rose essence or keora essence or rasmalai essence for an added flavour. I have not used any.