Ras Malai

Rasmalai …King of Indian sweets..  It’s my ultimate  fav dessert.  Rasmalai is dumplings made from  homemade paneer/ cheena/ cottage cheese & shaped in to flatten balls & soaked in thickened sweetened milk flavored with cardamom, pistachios & saffron... Very easy to make & it is served chilled tastes heavenly. It tastes ever better if it sits a day or two in fridge. So here is what I did…

Ingredients:

Soft paneer (cottage cheese)-  250 gm
1 tblsp semolina/ rawa
Sugar- 2cups
Milk- 1litre
Rose syrup- 1tsp optional
Few strands of saffron
sliced almonds and pistachios 
Cardamom powder- 1tsp

Method:

Take a plate & knead the paneer & rawa for 8-10 minutes until the paneer is almost rolls into smooth soft dough & your palm will be little greasy.
Once dough is done mold it into small balls & flatten the balls to patty shape.

Take a big vessel. Add 1 ½ cup sugar & 3 cups water to it. Let it boil. Stir it till the sugar dissolves in water completely. Kep the flame high & when water starts boiling add the panner patties one by one & boil it for 18-20 mins .  The balls will be swell up to 3 times  in size. Now switch of the flame. Allow the patties to cool in the syrup.

Take out the patties from the syrup and squeeze them lightly, and keep aside.

Boil the milk in a pan on medium heat until the milk attains creamy consistency with rich flavor.Make sure to frequently stir the milk as the milk burns easily in bottom of the pan. 
 Add remaining sugar to themilk. Let it cook for 1-2 mins till sugar dissolves completely.

Add crushed saffron, rose syrup and cardamom pwder. Mix in. now add the patties. 

Let it cook for few more minutes. 

Garnish with sliced almonds and pistachios. Enjoy chilled.