Friday, November 15, 2013

Rasmalai ~ A Short Cut to the Traditional Recipe

Rasmalai is a very popular milk based Indian dessert. Making this dessert is a very long process. First chenna (Indian cheese) is made and then shaped into small balls (then flattened slightly). These balls are cooked in a sugar syrup. Finally they are put in a flavored milk which has been reduced for hours. Then it is served after cooling for several hours. This dessert is very rich and creamy. 



Two years back, I was lucky enough to learn making Rasmalai (from scratch) from a very good friend of mine. After that I have made it couple of times with good results. Recently I came to know that we can make rasmalai using ricotta cheese. I went through many recipes and also a video. I liked the recipe from the video and made few changes. It turned out very good. This recipe is indeed a short cut for the traditional one. Using this recipe you can make it to serve a big group. I am sure you will love this recipe as much as I did :-)



Ingredients:

For the 'Malai':
Ricotta Cheese (full fat) - 15 oz
Sugar- 1/2 cup

For the 'Ras':
Evaporated Milk- 12 fl oz
Sugar- 1/4 to 1/3 cup
Saffron (Kesar) - Few strands
Cardamom pods- 3-4
Almonds/ Pistachios, chopped- For Garnishing



Procedure:

Transfer the ricotta cheese to a bowl. Add sugar and mix well. 



Now grease a muffin pan (my pan makes 12) using ghee or butter. Then spoon in the ricotta cheese mixture into the muffin pan, equally (about 2 1/2 Tbsp each). Alternatively you can also put it in a square pan.



Then bake it in an oven preheated to 350 F ( 180 C) for 25- 30 minutes or until the perimeter of the mixture turns light brown (keep a close eye on the mixture after 20 minutes. The square pan may take a different time). Allow it to cool.



Once it has come to room temperature, run a butter knife along the perimeter and remove it one by one (be gentle while removing. I broke one of the pieces while removing).



While the cheese mixture is baking, prepare the 'ras'. Pour the evaporated milk in a pan. Add the saffron strands and sugar. Mix well. Heat it until the bubbles form along its perimeter. Then turn off the heat and add cardamom powder. Mix well. Allow the milk mixture to cool completely.



Final step is to place the ricotta cheese pieces in the milk mixture. Garnish with chopped nuts. Place it in the refrigerator for 5-6 hours.



Rasmalai is ready!!



Serve chilled. Above measurement serves five people.

16 comments :

  1. Grt recipe, tried it today , it was too good

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    1. Thats awesome Sushmitha. Glad it turned out well. Thanks for the feedback :-)

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    1. Thanks a lot Leo. I really appreciate your kind words of appreciation. Happy cooking :)

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  5. Why do we use the evaporated milk and not half and half + milk ? Just curious

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  6. I used evaporated milk to cut down the cooking time. You can use half and half and milk mixture. It would taste more rich and tasty. Thanks for stopping by SoniB.

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  7. Thanks for responding to my query, Lakshmi. I'm going to make this yum deliciousness soon :P

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  8. You are welcome. Let me know how it turned out :)

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  9. You are welcome. Let me know how it turned out :)

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  10. Lakshmi, it was divine :) i have a question though. I made the ricotta cheese in the muffin pans but I couldn't make 12 as you had shown. Mine only yielded 8. I followed the recipe and added 2 tbsp of the cheese per space. Anyway, was wondering if there was anything that i was missing. Thanks again for teaching me this awesome dish.

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    1. SoniB, glad it turned out well for you. I used a mini ice-cream scoop (or cookie scoop). This way I was able to divide it evenly. Try it this way next time. Sorry for the delayed reply.

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  11. Very good turned out wonderful

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