Rasmalai a Bengali dessert but quite popular across Indian and outside. It is a rich dessert made out of milk containing the flavors of saffron, cardamom and nuts.This recipe is prepared by curdling the milk and making “chhena” and then soaking the flattened chhena balls in the rich, creamy, flavorful and thick milk rabri or sauce.We often buy this dessert from the sweet shop and I always wondered if we can make it at home. The answer is “yes” we can very much make soft, juicy spongy Rasmalai at home which will exactly taste like the one we get from the sweet shops by following a few simple tips.Here is the step by step recipe to make this rich Bengali dessert at home.
🍴 Time to Prep 1 hour
⏰Time to cook 1.5 hours
🍛 Servings 4-5 servings
👩 Author Ruchika
🍲 Cuisine Indian (Bengali)
♨ Course Dessert
Ingredients:
For making chhena balls:
- 1 litre full fat milk
- 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon corn flour or maida
For making sugar syrup:
- 1 cup sugar
- 4-5 cups of water
For making milk rabri or sauce
- 1/2 litre full fat milk
- sugar to taste
- 5-6 saffron strands
- 1/2 tablespoon cardamom powder
- 1/4 cup chopped nuts (almonds, cashew nuts, pumpkin seeds or any nuts of your choice)
Notes & points to follow:
- To make the chhena balls and the rabri, preferably use full fat milk. It will make the balls very soft and spongy and the rabri very thick and creamy. You can choose the milk of your choice but the results may vary.
- While boiling the milk, keep stirring it occasionally so that the creamy layer doesnot form at the top. It will make the chhena very soft.
- To make the chhena, do not add lemon juice or vinegar while boiling. Let the milk come to a boil first, let it rest for 10-15 minutes after turning off the heat and start adding lemon juice slowly while stirring.
- While making rabri, keep stirring the milk to avoid burning and sticking at the bottom and let it cook at a low flame until it starts to thicken and reduces to almost 1/2 its original quantity.
- After the milk curdles and the chhena is formed, knead it thoroughly but gently to make it smooth and to avoid any cracks in the chhena balls.
- For making the sugar syrup the ratio of sugar and water is 1:5 i.e. 1 cup of sugar & 5 cups of water.
- For making the sugar syrup, try to take a bigger sized deep kadhai with a wide opening because chhena expands after dropping into the syrup and need sufficient space.
- To make saffron milk take 2 tablepoons of warm milk, add 5-6 saffron strands & keep mixing until milk turns saffron in color and turns aromatic)
Recipe:
For making chhena balls:1. Heat the full fat milk in a pan and cook at a low flame. Keep stirring it so that the creamy layer (malai) should not form over it.
2.Continue stirring it and bring it to boil.
3. Take the pan off from the flame and let it rest for 10-15 minutes and give it an occasional stir. Slowly start adding lemon juice to it and keep stirring.
4. While stirring, milk will start to curdle and water starts separating. This is the process of preparing the chhena or paneer.
6. Separate the chhena from water using a spoon. Now, take a bowl, put a strainer over it and cover it with a clean and thin cloth and strain out the water.
7.Now, wash the chhena with cold & clean water so that excess sourness of lemon is removed. Collect the edges of the cloth together and gently press it to squeeze a little more water. Do not put too much pressure as it will remove the moisture from chhena and will make it hard. Wrap the chhena in the cloth and put a little weight on it.Keep it aside for 30 minutes. It will hold a shape.
9. Now, take out this chhena in a plate, add 1 tablespoon of corn flour or maida and start kneading it very gently for around 10-15 minutes.
10. Knead it to make a very smooth & soft dough.
11. Now, start making small round balls and gently press them with your palms to flatten. Do seal the cracks using your fingers and give a smooth flat shape.
12. Now to make sugar syrup take a broad & deep pan or kadhai and add 4-5 cups of water to it. Add 1 cup sugar and bring it to boil only till the sugar dissolves. Do not thicken the sugar syrup. Make sure that the chhena balls are completely immersed in the sugar syrup.
11. Gently start dropping the flattened chhena balls one by one to the syrup and boil it for 8-10 minutes on a high flame with the lid open.
12. After 10-15 minutes, lower the flame and cover the lid. Cook for 10 minutes more. Turn off the heat.Gently squeeze the sugar syrup and take out the balls and as shown in the picture. Do not put too much pressure otherwise it will result in breaking the chhena.
13. Take out all the balls and arrange in a dish and keep aside by soaking in a little sugar syrup. Prepare to make rabdi.
For making rabdi or milk sauce:1. Take 1/2 litre milk in a pan and let it boil slowly on a low flame. Keep stirring occasionally.
2. Once the milk comes to a boil, add sugar to taste and mix well. Let it cook on a low heat.
3. Keep stirring the milk. Once it starts to thicken and sugar dissolves, add safffron milk and mix well. Check the notes above to see how to make saffron milk.
4. At this stage, add cardamom powder and stir. Let the milk cook and thicken. Scrape the solidified milk from the sides of the pan.
5. Once the milk is condensed and reduces to almost half of the original quantity, switch off the heat and let it cool completely. Rabdi or creamy milk sauce is ready.
6. Once the rabdi cools completely, spread it on the top of the chhena balls. Garnish with chopped nuts. Keep in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours and serve cold. Enjoy!
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