Rasmalai

Ingredients

(makes 10-12 pieces)

milk - 7 cups

sugar - 2 cups

water - 3 cups

lemon - 1

cardamom powder - 1/2 tbsp

Chopped nuts (almonds, pistachios, cashews)

saffron - few strands

Steps

For the syrup

1. Take a thick bottomed pot and boil 3 cups of milk on medium heat for about half an hour. The milk level should be slightly reduced by now.

2. In a bowl, add about 2 tsp of custard powder with a bit of milk/water and mix it into the pot. Take care that you do not add too much of custard powder and cardamom powder as the milk should not be too thick. The milk should be light yellow in colour. Keep stirring regularly so that the milk does not burn and stick to the bottom. Pour this in a bowl and cool.

For the patties

1. Boil 4 cups of milk in a pot. Squeeze out the lemon juice into a separate bowl.

2. Add the lemon juice to the milk and stir it continuously at the same time. The milk breaks and water will separate. Turn off the heat.

3. strain using a muslin or cotton cloth. Pour some cold water immediately over the paneer and squeeze it thoroughly. Hang the paneer in this cloth for atleast 40 minutesto get rid of the remaining water.

4. Now knead the paneer and make small patties out of it. Pat the edges as they tend to crack up.

For Rasmalai

1. In a pot,boil 3 cups of water and 1 cup of sugar. Add the paneer patties and boil for 5 minutes. They will swell up.

2. Put them into cold water for a minute or two to stop the cooking process.

3. Now transfer them into the cooled syrup and sprinkle the chopped nuts and saffron on it.

4. Let it rest in the fridge for atleast two hours before serving so that the syrup is absorbed into the rasmalai.

Tips

You can add powdered cashews and almonds to the milk (for the syrup) while boiling and strain it before adding the custard powder. This enhances the flavour further.

Rasmalai tastes very good when you rest it for a few hours after cooking. All the flavours get absorbed by then.