Rasomalai/ Rasmalai....!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I know for all my Indian friends the word "Rasmalai" is sufficient enough to describe this heavenly delicious sweet. But for my other friends , I must introduce that Rasmalai is a very famous , lip smacking Indian dessert where  sugary white, creamy or yellow coloured cheese balls (or flattened cheese balls) of paneer( Indian Cottage Cheese) soaked in malai (milk cream) flavoured with cardamom. Rasmalai ( "Ras" means juicy or and "Malai" means thickened milk or cream) was originated in Odisha and mostly found in India and Bangladesh. Actually it's a close variation of another famous sweet Rasogolla/Rasgulla (puffed cheese balls).

Very often at my home I prepared this sweet as this is one of my most favourite dessert. Once making this sweet was a very big deal for me when I couldn't make perfect rasgulla (puffed cheese balls) but repeated trials enabled me to make this dessert successfully.


Here is the step by step process of making Rasmalai.

Ingredients:

• Milk: 2 lt. + 2 lt.
• Vinegar: 3 tbsp.
• Sugar: 4 Cups + 1/2 Cup
• Water:8 Cups
• Cardamom Powder:1/2 tsp.
• Dry Fruits: Chopped  Cashews and Slivered Pistachios (handful)
• Saffron: A pinch.

Process:

• Divide the milk equally into two different deep bottomed vessel. Keep boiling the first one until it becomes thick and concentrated . Add 1/2 cup sugar into the milk and dissolve the sugar. Add the cardamom powder and saffron and half of the dry fruits and mix. Turn off the flame and pour it into a big bowl. Your milk cream is now ready. Keep it separately.

• Now start boiling the second half of the milk and while it starts to boil properly add the vinegar. Soon the milk starts to curdle and the cottage cheese or chena will be formed.When you will see a greenish diluted water which is easily separating  from chena, then it's done.  Now using a muslin cloth drain the water and wash the chena under the running tap water . If you are using lime juice to prepare chena, this wash will remove all the lemony taste or smell. Now tied the two ends of the muslin cloth tightly and let it drain all the excess water for atleast 15-20 minutes. And at this time you may put a heavy weight on the muslin cloth for better draining.

• Now mash the chena(cottage cheese) using your palm on the kitchen slab or on the cutlery board till it’s very smooth and creamy and  has absolutely no lumps. Remember this mashing is the most important step of making rasogolla because the quality of this sweet depends on its smoothness ,sponginess.

• Now Divide the chena into equal parts. With your palm  give them nice and even flattened shape.The balls should have no cracks otherwise it may break off during boiling.From 2 lt. milk you can make about 20 pieces of  flattened cheese balls of equal sizes.Keep one thing in mind that these ball will be double in size after boiling in sugar syrup. So be sure to take a pan for boiling sugar syrup where the flattened cheese balls can easily play around.

•  Now make  the sugar syrup using 4 cups sugar and 8 cups of water. The syrup should not be thick and will be on the thinner side. This is very important.

• Then add the prepared flattened balls in this syrup, cover it tightly with a lid and let it boil for 20 -25 mins.

 

• Now using a perforated ladle take out the flattened cheese balls from the syrup and gently press them while taking them out .
  
• Transfer these flattened cheese balls into the warm concentrated milk prepared previously. Garnish it with rest of the chopped dry fruits and little saffron. Now mouth drooling rasmalai is ready to serve. Serve this excellent dessert warm or chilled.

                                              Enjoy Your Food....!