Rasmalai

A beautiful day should be followed by a delicious delicacy post - And that's why I decided to post the mouth-watering Rasmalai recipe today because this was one of the sweets that I laid out on our Eid table.

Rasmalai is a Bengali delicacy - juicy and rich. Till date,I always went in for store bought Bengali sweets. I was under the wrong impression that Bengali sweets are difficult and time-consuming to prepare. I realized that I was wrong when I chanced upon a recipe in one of my regular browsing sessions. As I went through the recipe and the ingredients, I knew that this certainly was something that I should be trying out soon.

 

 

And yes, here it is - a comfort food ideal for sharing. You can even prepare it a day before and chill it which somehow enhances the taste and flavor, making it a terrific dish for a party. The end result is well worth the time and efforts. So don’t be intimidated—there’s nothing really difficult about it.

INGREDIENTS:

For the Paneer:

1 litre - Whole milk

2-3 tsp  Lemon juice

For the Creamy Syrup:

1 litre - Whole milk  

1/2 can condensed milk (optional)

3/4 cup Sugar

A few stands Saffron

 

For the Rasmalai:

 

2 cups Sugar  

3 cups Water

Almonds & Pistachios for garnishing

HOW TO MAKE:

The Paneer (Cottage Cheese)

1) Bring the whole milk to boil, switch off the stove and then add the lemon juice- one drop at a time.

2) You can see the milk curdle. Allow it to stand for ten minutes or till it cools down.

3) Strain this curdled milk separating the water(whey) from the crumbled diary content in it. This step should be carried out using a strainer lined with a muslin cloth.

4) Then gather the crumbled milk content in the muslin cloth and tie it up and hang the cloth to a tap (or any other convenient place) so that the remaining water content in it can be removed. You can also occasionally squeeze it sometimes. Let this stay for about 30 minutes this way.

 

 

 

5)  Now take the paneer out and start to knead it finely until it become soft and smooth until the crumbled texture of it reduces completely.Around 8-10 minutes.

6) Make small balls out of this mixture. You should be able to get approximately 12-14 balls.

7) Flatten them and keep them aside.

For the Rasmalai steaming:

1) Mix the sugar and the water and bring to boil in a pressure cooker.

2) Drop the patties one by one in the sugar syrup and then close the cooker. Pressure cook for just one whistle and switch off stove.

3) Once the cooker opens, transfer these patties in cold water. Allow the sugar syrup to cool and transfer the patties back into them so that they absorb the sweetness until they are transferred in to the creamy syrup which will be prepared now.

For the Creamy Syrup:

1) Bring the milk to boil, allow it to cook until it is reduced to half.

2)  Add the sugar at this stage and stir till the sugar has dissolved.

3) Then add the condesnsed milk and mix well. Continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes.

4) Add the saffron and remove from fire. Allow it to cool down completely.


The Final stage of Rasmalai:

1) Drop in the patties one by one into the creamy syrup.

2) Garnish with the chopped nuts.

3)  Chill for almost 2 hours before serving.