Rasmalai (rasgulla in thick milk sauce)

Rasmalai (Rasgulla in thick milk sauce)

This is one of the favorite dessert of all Bengalis. Ras Malai is dumplings made from cottage or ricotta cheese soaked in sweetened, thickened milk, flavored with cardamom and saffron. Serve it chilled and garnished with slivers of almonds and pistachios.
This is 1st time I tried to make Rasgulla at home...came out good, I think. Normally I make Rasmalai with canned rasgulla.

Ingredients:

Paneer made from 1 liter of milk
1 liter full cream/whole milk
1/2 cup sugar for malai
1 tbsp. cardamom powder
4 cups water
1 cup sugar for syrup
1/2 cup thinly sliced almonds or pistachios
Few saffron strands

Method for Rasgulla:

• Follow 1st four steps from this recipe (how to make paneer).
  
• When all the water is drained well, Knead the Paneer in a platter till very smooth. Take little bit in your palm, rub it for little time and check if you can make a round smooth ball from it without cracks, then you know your paneer is ready. Make small balls from all the paneer.
  
• Mix the water and 1 cup of sugar in a pressure cooker and boil till all the sugar is dissolved. Pressure cook for 2 whistles for about 7-10 minutes. Do not put much balls at one time, make sure to keep some space to expand. When you pressure cook the paneer balls will expand and it becomes double the size. Keep them aside.

I followed the instructions for making Rasgullas from You Tube, visit here.

Method for Malai :

• In another pan boil the 1 litre of full cream milk with the 1/2 cup of sugar(adjust the sweet as per your taste) till reduced/thickened to half of its original volume. Keep scraping off the milk skin from the side of the pan. It gives extra taste and texture to this dish.
• Add the syrup soaked Paneer balls (after squeezing a little) slowly one by one to the milk mixture and and simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off the fire, add the cardamom powder.
• Garnish with pistas and almonds and few saffron strands. Serve chilled.

This post is rolling to Milk Sweets series (Spongy texture) event By Paajaka Recipes..
Enjoy everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Also sending it to EFM-Theme of the month, NOV.-Sweet BY Srilekha of Me and My Kitchen