Rasmalai is a bengali sweet dish, which is basically Soft chenna discs boiled in sugar syrup, then soaked in a creamy rabdi, and garnished with dry fruits. This recipe was an absolute hit in my home, and my kids loved it. We bring to you detailed rasmalai recipe from scratch with tips and tricks to make it perfectly. keep reading to know the recipe and follow and subscribe to our website to receive email recipe notifications directly to your Gmail. Stay tuned.
INGREDIENTS:
For the Chenna:
*Milk- 1 ltr (Make sure to use full-fat milk, as you won't be able to make good cheena with skimmed or low-fat milk)
*Vinegar-1 tsp (You can even use lemon juice)
Note: You can even this step and use store-bought paneer, but fresh chenna gives better results.
To make Chenna discs:
*Chenna / Paneer
*Refined flour- 2 tsp
For boiling Cheena Discs:
*Water- 4 cups
*Sugar- 1 cup
*Cardamom pods- 2 nos
For Rabdi:
*Milk- 2 cups
*Sugar- 1/4 cup (more or less according to your taste)
*Yellow food colour- a pinch
Note: The authentic recipe calls for Saffron strands added to milk, but i skipped it and used yellow food colour instead. You can even use Saffron here.
*Fresh cream- 2 tbsp
*Milk powder- 4 tbsp
*Cardamom powder- 1/4 tsp
*Almond slivers- for garnishing
PROCEDURE:
For making Chenna:
*Heat milk in a vessel, allow it to come to a boil.
*Add vinegar to it.
*Keep stirring, and when the milk solids start seperating from the whey, switch off the flame.
*Quickly add ice cubes to the milk-solids and whey mixture. This process helps stop the cooking process, which yields us soft chenna.
*Separate the milk solids from the whey using a stainer.
*Pour cold water over the cheena and strain it, this process eliminates the acidity of the vinegar.
*Now take a soft, clean cotton cloth, add chenna to it, tie a knot and hang it for atleast 30 mins, or until all the whey from it is gone.
Note: If you're in a hurry, you can skip this step and use store-bought paneer, which is at room temperature. But fresh cheena is soft, which makes it easier to knead and shape well. but still, rasmalai with store-bought paneer too is possible.
For making chenna discs:
*Now you can see that the hung chenna is dry yet soft.
*At this stage, add it to a broad bowl, sprinkle 2 tsp maida over it.
*Now comes the most tedious task, kneading the chenna.
*Using the lower part of your palm, knead the chenna, such a way that the grainy texture of chenna should turn smooth.
*When you start kneading the. chenna, it starts to take shape. The indication that it's done is that when you take the chenna it feels smooth and non-grainy and takes shape easily without any cracks.
*This process usually takes 10-12 mins for fresh chenna, and approx. 15-17 mins for store-bought paneer.
*Don't over-knead the chenna as it'll yield hard rasmalai.
Note: Many people face the problem that the chenna is kneaded properly, but when shaped it has a lot of cracks, Don't worry we've got you covered. Simply, add 2-3 tsp of warm water to the dough and knead for a min. it'll turn perfectly fine with no cracks.
*Take small portions of the dough equally and shape it into small, thin discs. make sure to keep it small because they'll double up when boiled.
*At this stage, you can make Rasgullas, Rasmalai, or Cham- cham.
*Place them in a plate and cover it with a clean cloth.
For boiling Chenna discs:
*Take a broad vessel, add water, sugar and cardamom pods.
Note: Make sure to take a broad vessel to avoid over crowding. Cause they double up when boiled and when they have no space to spread they break. So it's essentially important to use a broad vessel and avoid over-crowding while boiling chenna discs.
*Mix to disslove the sugar completely.
*And when the sugar-syrup starts to boil, gently add the chenna discs and cover it.
*Check the clock and boil it for exactly 8 mins.
*You'll notice that they've doubled up in size. Switch off the flame and let the discs rest in it for 20 mins.
*Meanwhile, let's prepare rabdi.
For preparing Rabdi:
*Heat milk and sugar in a saucepan.
*Allow it to boil and simmer for 15-20 mins.
*Allow the milk to reduce by half, add milk powder, cream and mix well.
*The milk should reduce by half, but don't let it thicken too much as the chenna discs won't soak up thick rabdi properly.
*Check for sugar and. add more if you have a sweet tooth.
*Switch off the flame, and let it rest for 5 mins.
*Your Rabdi is ready. You can use it in other recipes too or just relish as it is.
The Assembly:
*Take the chenna discs, squeeze the sugar syrup using your palm as much as possible.
*Place in a flat, broad box.
*Gently pour warm rabdi over the chenna discs, the warm rabdi helps chenna soak it up well.
*Cover the chenna completely with the rabdi.
*Now refrigerate it for atleast 4 hrs, i generally prefer it to refrigerate overnight.
*Sprinkle Almond slivers on it, serve Rasmalai chilled.
