Rasmalai, The Ultimate Pleasure for my Sweet Tooth...what's yours?

Okay I am not ashamed to say that I took another holiday. Actually it's more of a family fun time than a real holiday. What's the difference? The difference is you have fun with your family and cousins but you still end up spending hours in the kitchen or shouting at the children asking them to behave. While, on a holiday, you don't care even if your house is burnt down by a handful of toddlers!!! But we are having an absolutely gorgeous time with my Sister-In-Law's family and Little T is loving every minute of it as her cousin brother is only 4 months younger to her. 

So you can imagine the state of my home right now which is packed with two adrenaline rushed toddlers, a super bored Nintendo playing adolescent, a fat lazy cat and 4 adults all trying to do ''stuff' in the kitchen! In one word - Mayhem!!! So what made me decide to add another mayhem of making Rasmalais to this already existing utter chaos? I made it coz I was on a high after cooking day and night to feed 8 mouths 3 times a day.  And this time I did not forget to take the pictures of all the steps as I wanted to do this tutorial since the day I made Rosogollas for the very first time. There are a thousand websites and blogs offering almost the same recipe and I'm no different. But hopefully the step by step pictorial recipe will guide you better :).

Ras Malai/Rosho Malai (Originated in Orissa but got her true identity in Kolkata) 

Soft Cheese Dumplings in Sweetened Milk 

Ingredients 

For the Gollas/Dumplings: 

Full Fat Cow's Milk - 2lt (will make about 24 Rosogollas)

Juice of 2 limes

Muslin Cloth/Fine strainer

For the Sugar Syrup:

Water - 5 cups

Granulated Sugar - 3-4 cups...or more(depending on whether u have a sweet tooth or not!)

Rose water - 2 tsp

Saffron - 1 small pinch

For the Sweetened Milk:

Full Fat/Whole Milk - 1 lt

Cardamom Powder - 1 tsp

Chopped Pistacchios - 3tsp

Saffron Strands - a pinch

Method

For the Gollas:

1. Heat the milk in a deep bottomed sauce pan and bring to boil.Add the lemon juice slowly to curdle the milk. 

2. Once the milk is fully curdled and the green whey has been released, place the muslin cloth on a strainer and slowly drain the whey out. 

3. Keep the paneer(cheese) under cool running water for a few seconds (this will remove any smell of lime). 

4. Tie the ends of the cloth and hang for an hour.In a large bowl or plate start kneading the paneer. Knead for about 5-10 mins or more till the dough is soft and smooth. This is the main part of the recipe as it will decide your and your Roshogolla's fate! The more you knead the better and softer treats you get...as simple as that! 

5. Divide into equall sized round smooth balls(flattened balls for Ras Malai). Keep an eye on the size of the balls as they will get bigger-about double the original size!!. Make sure the balls are crack free. 

For the Syrup and the Rosogollas:

6. Heat water and sugar in a wide mouth stock pot. Add the rose water.

7. Lower the heat and add the balls one at a time. Cover the pot and cook on lowest flame for about 40-45 mins. 

8. Remove lid and add the saffron strands (If you want to make only Roshogollas)  Take the pan off heat and let it sit for 5 mins. Garnish with roughly chooped pistachios and serve warm. (Can be refridgerated upto 5 days in an airtight container. )

For the Sweetened Milk : 

9. Boil the milk kept for dunking the dumplings. Add the saffron strands and cardamom powder and simmer for 10-15 minutes stirring continuously until the Milk is reduced to half.

10. Add 5-6 tbsp of the sugar syrup, one spoon at a time, and mix well. Keep on tasting for the sweetness. Add more if needed (DONOT make it too sweet as the Roshogollas/Dumplings will be sweet already).

11. Once the milk is done add the Roshogollas to the milk and dunk well. Take off heat and let it stand for 10 minutes. Remove the Roshogollas carefully with a serving spoon as they tend to break easily. Place them in a shallow bottomed wide serving dish in order to avoid overlapping. Pour the milk on top. Add pistacchios and serve warm.