Rasmalai is a popular Indian sweet of flattened cottage cheese balls soaked in thickened and sweetened milk flavored with cardamom & saffron. Rasmalai is originated from Bengal but hugely popular all over India. The chena balls can either be served as rasgulla if served with sugar syrup or as a rasmalai if served with ras/ thickened milk. Here is the recipe with some tips and step by step instructions and pictures.
1. Firstly, in a thick bottomed vessel add 1 litre milk. stir occasionally and get to a boil. When milk starts boiling turn off the gas.
2. Gradually, add 2 tbsp white vinegar or lemon juice and stir well.
3. Milk starts to coagulate. Stop adding vinegar/lemon juice when milk curdles completely. Immediately add cold water in it to stop heating process.
4. Now ,strain the curdled milk in any muslin cloth, (place the cloth on top of sieve and pour milk on the cloth). All water will get collected in the utensil kept beneath and chena will be collected on the top. Pour some cold water on the chena and wash it nicely to remove the flavour of vinegar/lemon juice.
5. Squeeze all water gently and hang it for 30 minutes.
6. After 30 mins, take out the paneer in a plate and crumble it.
7. Start kneading it gently with lower part of your palm for 10 minutes as shown in the picture. Knead the paneer till it turns out smooth without any grains of milk. else there will be cracks on rasmalai and will break while boiling in sugar syrup.
8. Then add 1 tbsp plain flour/ Maida to it and knead it again for 2-3 mins.
9. Take one small part and bind it nicely like a small ball. Then flatten it. Likewise, prepare all flatten paneer balls. Make sure there are no cracks.
10. For preparing Sugar syrup, take a deep vessel and add 1½ cup of sugar to it.
11. Then add 7 cups of water and stir it to dissolve the sugar. Also add 2 green cardamom pods to it.
12. Boil the syrup for 10 minutes on medium flame.
13. After that, drop the prepared flatten Chena balls into boiling sugar syrup carefully.
14. Cover it and boil for 15 more minutes. The paneer balls will have doubled in size.
15. Let them cool for 10-15 minutes.
16. Now, take few ice-cubes in a bowl and add 1-2 cups of sugar syrup in which the chena balls were boiled.
17. Transfer all chena balls in this chilled syrup one by one and let them cool completely.
18. For preparing Ras, take 1 litre milk in a heavy bottomed pan/vessel and bring a boil on medium flame.
19. Then add 1/2 tsp cardamom powder, few saffron strands and 2 pinches of lemon yellow food colour to it. Adding food colour is totally optional.
20. Give a good mix and boil for 5 minutes and scrape off cream from the sides of the pan.
21. Then add 1/2 cup sugar to it and mix well. Continue to cook this way till the milk is reduced to half.
22. Next add chopped almonds and pistachio to it. This is optional, otherwise you can only garnish with the dry fruits at the end.
23. You have to thicken the milk but make sure it is still of pouring consistency, only then chena balls will absorb the ras and will turn spongy.
24. Take out the rasmalai from the sugar syrup, press it with hands to strain the water.
25. And put these balls into the prepared milk.
26. Ras Malai is ready. Allow it absorb the ras for 3-4 hours.
27. Garnish with chopped nuts and dried rose petals. Rasmalai is ready to serve. Enjoy!
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