Ras Malai

If you ask me to name three desi dessert that will never fail to please people of all ages, my answer will be kulfi , kheer and Rasmalai.Rasmalai...a delicious and perfect end to any feast be it  weddings or dinners.Rich in texture and flavor,traditionally Rasmalai is made with Paneer ( cottage cheese ),but to make the process easier with out compromising the taste it can be made easily at home by using milk powder instead of paneer. Despite being really yummy , the other thing I love about Rasmalai is that the whole process takes just 30 minutes from start to finish ( excluding the chilling time of course).Rich , classy , crowd pleaser and quick to make …Rasmalai is no doubt the darling dessert of housewives.

I have made Rasmalai countless times using the recipe i am posting today but honestly to date I am always unsure of the end result.The reason is Rasmalai is a tricky dessert.So for the first time cooks I want to say one thing , follow my recipe as it is I am sure it will turn out perfect,but do not dishearten if it does not , keep trying ..You will get it. just keep in mind Rasmalai is unpredictable ..even now after making countless Rasmalais ,sometimes I mess up too.In that case just put every thing in a blender , blend a little and freeze in kulfi moulds .. really yummy kulfi is ready .. its a win win either way  :)




What you need :

For the ras ( milk):

• Fresh Milk : 1 liter
• Evaporated Milk : 1 can ( I used rainbow)
• Sugar : 1/2 cup ( up to taste)
• Green Cardamom : 3
• Kewra Essence : 2 drops ( optional )

For the milk balls :

• Milk powder ( full fat) : 1 cup ( 200 gms)
• Egg ( well beaten ) : 1 large
• Baking Powder : 3/4 tsp
• Butter ( melted) : 2 Tbsp 

How To :
1. Pour milk into a pan ,add evaporated milk ,sugar ,cardamom and kewra essence ,mix and put on gentle heat to boil. ( pic - 1 )
2. Add baking powder to the milk powder and mix .Add well beaten egg and melted butter into this. ( pic - 2)
3. Knead this out till you get a soft and smooth dough. ( pic - 3 )
4. Make marble size balls out of this dough.( pic - 4 ).I usually make 12 balls from 1 cup of milk ...like my Rasmalai a bit bigger than the usual size.
5. Check the milk, If it hasn’t boil yet than crank up the heat and let it boil. After a boil reduce to a gentle simmer on medium heat.
6. Gently put all you milk balls into the simmering milk.( pic - 5 )
7. Wait till the milk fully covers the balls ( pic - 6 ) and at this point cover the pan , reduce the heat to the lowest possible and let the balls cook for 4- 5 minutes.
8. 5 minutes latter , remove the lid .you will see the balls are puffing up ( pic - 7 ).Turn over the balls gently with a spoon and cover the pan again and let cook for another 5 minutes.
9. Perfectly puffed up Rasmalai is ready . ( pic - 8 )
10. Serve chilled garnished with pistachios. 

Notes:

• Use a wide bottom pan preferably non stick to make Rasmalai as it need room to expand.
• Evaporated milk is added to make the milk thick.If you do not have evaporated milk .. then take 1.5 liter milk instead of 1 liter and simmer it till it reduce to 1 liter.
• The egg must be at room temperature before adding into the milk powder.
• You can use any oil you please instead of butter though butter adds richness to the Rasmalai.
• Do not over knead the dough. As soon as it get smooth and soft stop kneading it any further.
• If the dough sticks to your hand. Grease your hand with little oil.
• Grease the plate with oil onto which you are going to keep the balls .
• To get the fluffiest balls .. the trick is that the heat or fire should be the lowest possible ..and the pan should be covered tightly to let the steam form..this steam will make the balls  puffy and light.