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.

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Gajar Ka Halwa

Come winter and the one thing that pops in mind is off course nothing else than the carrot halwa, one of the few desserts loved by all.Though gajar halwa is a winter favourite but i like to make it throughout the year ,served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream in summer and with a dollop of cream in the winter .I personally think that a sumptuous meal is always incomplete without desserts like kulfi,kheer and gajer halwa.My mother makes heavenly gajer ka halwa and i am sharing her recipe here .

What you will need :

1. Carrots : 2 kg ( peel and cut top and bottoms off )
2. Evaporated milk ( Rainbow ) : 2 cans
3. Sugar : 3 cups ( or up to taste)
4. Milk powder : 6 cups
5. unsweetened khoya : 1 cup
6. oil : 2 cups 
7. kewra Essence : 2 drops ( omit if you don't like the smell)
8. pistachio and almonds :  5 tbsp each ( chopped )

How to :

• Grate the peeled carrots.Put the grated carrots and evaporated milk in a nonstick pan and let cook on gentle heat till the milk evaporates and the carrots become soft and mushy.
• Add in the sugar, milk powder , kewra essence and oil and cook stirring constantly till the oil oozes out and the halwa starts to leave the side of the pan and no longer sticky.
• Now add the unsweetened khoya chunks and mix gently .
• Let the halwa cook on a very slow flame for about 10 minutes.
• Mix in the chopped nuts .
• Serve warm or cold.

Notes :

1. For the smoothest and melt in the mouth halwa , the secret is continuous stirring.
2. The halwa is best eaten fresh but because of high sugar and fat it freezes well too. You can freeze it up to a month . when needed defrost for an hour on counter top and then heat thoroughly in microwave before serving.
3. You can omit unsweetened khoya if you don’t have it , but it gives a nice grainy or crunchy taste against the smoothness of the halwa.
4. Use bright red Pakistani carrots that gives the halwa its unique jeweled colour.

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Khajour ka Halwa

This halwa is my Abbo Jee’s favorite because it combines two of his fav snacks : bhunay chanay and dates .

The art of making a smooth halwa is not a secret ,so for the smoothest halwa all you need is just“ Elbow Power”.Continuous stirring while cooking the halwa results in the silky texture that melts in your mouth .Apart from the almost killing stirring making halwa is a breeze.so the word of caution : do not try this at home unless you have extra arms to assist in stirring

This date halwa is very delicious and tasty so enjoy one or two squares at time unless you need extra energy ( which by the way you will be after stirring and stirring for hours )….

what you need :

• Dates : 500 grams ( weigh after pitting them)
• Milk ( fresh ) : one cup
• Kewra Essence : 2 – 3 drops (optional)
• Cardamom Powder : 1/2 teaspoon
• Gram flour ( baysen ) : 2.5 cups
• Sugar : 1/2 cup (optional)
• Oil : 3/4 - 1 cup
• Walnuts : 6 tbsp (chopped)
• Almonds : 6 tbsp (chopped)
• Pistachio : 6 tbsp (chopped)

How to do it :

1. Add kewra essence and cardamom powder in the milk.
2. Warm milk in a nonstick pan . to this add the pitted dates and cook till it becomes soft and mushy.
3. Let this cool a bit and then blend it to a smooth paste and keep aside.
4. In another nonstick pan , heat the oil .
5. Add baysen and roast stirring continuously till baysen turns light brown and gives of a nutty aroma.
6. To this roasted baysen add the blended dates paste and cook on medium flame for five minutes . Sugar test at this stage , add half cup sugar now if its not sweet enough for you.
7. Turn the heat to low and cook the halwa continuously stirring till it starts to leave the sides of the pan , no longer sticky and you can see the oil oozing out of it.
8. Add in half of the chopped dry fruits now and mix well.
9. Turn off the heat .. stir few times to let the steam escape.
10. Transfer the halwa to a lightly greased mould of your choice ( preferably a stainless steel thali ).Smooth it out with the back of a spoon .
11. Let it stand for ten minutes then cut out the diamonds .Sprinkle the rest of the chopped nuts on them.
12. Serve at room temperature or cold with a generous dollop of cream.
13. Enjoy.

Notes :

• You can use vanilla essence instead of Kewra.
• Use whole cardamom instead of powdered if you don't like the taste.
• Use 2 cans of Rainbow milk instead of fresh milk for more richer taste.
• Do not let the halwa unattended even for a minute .. it burns pretty fast.
• As i have said earlier for the smoothest halwa ..do not stop stirring for a second because you don't  want to end up with  burnt halwa.

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Semolina Cake

This cake is kind of a cross between the famous Arabic Baboosa and the humble Soojee Halwa…..Since this is the baked version …I personally prefer this one instead of basboosa and soojee halwa as its more healthy and figure friendly :)

What you will need:

• Eggs : 4
• oil : 1 cup
• sugar : 1 cup
• vanilla essence : 1 tsp
• Nestle cream ( original ) : 2 tins
• Coconut Powder : 1 cup
• Semolina ( soojee ) : 1 cup
• Milk Powder : 1 cup
• Baking powder : 2 tsp

How to do it :

1. Beat oil and eggs together,now add sugar and cream and beat till smooth.lastly add 1 tsp vanilla essence and blend in.
2. To this smooth mixture add coconut powder , soojee , milk powder and baking powder one after another.
3. Whisk in all these till you get a smooth and creamy mixture.
4. Pour this into a baking pan and bake for about 35 - 40 minutes on 180 centigrade or till set.
5. Take out from the oven ...let it cool for about 15 minutes.
6. Take out from the pan.Cut diamonds and sprinkle almonds and pistachio.
   
7. Serve warm or chilled..tastes equally good either way.
   

Notes:

• You can use kewra essence instead of vanilla to give more authentic paki flavor.
• Instead of baking pan u can bake this in aluminum foil tins available in the market for ease of use.

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