Rasmalai

It was the first long holiday after I joined work – Deepavali of 2008. Having been lived in the comfort of my home all my life, I had to move to Bangalore for my first job. And being away from home is very very difficult, if it’s your first time especially. I was very eagerly waiting for the holiday so that I could be home for 4 days at a stretch. If there is one thing that I missed more than anything in Bangalore, it was my kitchen at home – having been staying in a small dingy room in a so-called paying guest house. Back home, everytime I prepared something in my kitchen, my family ooh-ed and aww-ed. Not only that I had no such comfort, I had to gulp down so-called PG food. So the first thing I did after going home (that is after savoring amma’s food) was to get into my kitchen. I always helped amma prepare deepavali sweets and that year, I decided to make Rasmalai. It was my very first attempt of the sweet, after watching it on a TV show. Rasmalai came out delectably and vanished in no time. And if I remember correctly, this is the first ever dish of which I clicked pictures (of course on my low end mobile camera)

Today is my 7^th work anniversary and coincidentally, I am posting Rasmalai recipe 🙂

To make Rasmalai

Serves – 4 (makes 12 rasmalais)

Time to prepare – 50mins + time to refrigerate

What I used –

• Standardized or Toned Milk, 1 + ½ ltrs
• Sugar, 1 +1 cups
• Vinegar or Lemon Juice, 1 tbsp
• Cardamom Powder, 1 tsp
• Almonds, 7-8
• Water, 1 cup + ½ cup

How I made –

1. Take a litre of milk and bring it to boil. Remove it from heat and let it rest for 2mins.
2. Mix vinegar or lemon juice in two tablespoon of water and pour it into the boiled milk. Keep stirring. In about a minute, the milk starts curdling. When the whey (water separated from curds) is transparent, milk has fully curdled.
3. Pour the mixture on to a thin muslin cloth and separate out the whey. Pour some water on the collected curds, to remove any taste/smell of lemon juice or vinegar. Bring the ends of the cloth together, squeeze it gently and tie the ends into a knot. Hang it on the kitchen cupboard handle to let the remaining water drip for atleast 20mins.
4. In a thick bottomed pan, bring the remaining half litre of milk to boil. Reduce the flame and keep stirring until the milk is reduced to ¾ the original quantity. Add cardamom powder and a cup of sugar. Keep stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Remove it from heat and let it cool. This should take about 15-20mins.
5. Remove the hung curds onto a plate and knead it using your palm until the texture is smooth and soft. Make equal sized balls and gently press each ball between your palms to form a perfect roundel. There should be no cracks else, the Rasmalai would be broken on cooking.
6. Meanwhile, in a wide mouthed pot add a cup of sugar and a cup of water and bring it to boil.
7. Gently drop each roundel into the sugar syrup. Reduce the flame to medium-low. Keep it covered. Every five minutes, pour a little water from the sides of the pot to ensure the sugar syrup is not getting too thick.
8. At the end of 15mins, the Rasmalai roundels should be doubled in size. Let them cool for five minutes and then gently drop them into the milk mixture prepared.
9. Garnish with finely chopped almonds and serve cold.

Note: Sugar levels can be adjusted according to personal preferences. I used a litre of toned milk and half litre of standardized milk – results were good. Make smaller rasmalais while rolling them, as they double up in size after getting cooked in sugar syrup. Using a wide mouthed vessel is important while cooking rasmalais as they need the swimming space while cooking. I used a smaller pot and my rasmalais were sticking together after 15mins of cooking and I had a tough time separating them. This tastes best on refrigerating. If you are like my Amma, you can have hot Rasmalais too 🙂