Ras malai is a rich indian dessert - often part of a Diwali spread - made using homemade cheese curds (rasgulla), soaked in a sweetened milk mixture (rabri). It takes a few hours to come together as there is a lot of draining and soaking, so make sure you set aside enough time.
Ras Malai is a sweetened milk dessert often enjoyed on Diwali. Make sure to fully dry your rasgulla mixture and knead it for a good 10min to prevent it from falling apart in the sugar syrup.
Step 1Make the rasgulla: in a small bowl, stir the citric acid together with 4tsp water. Add the milk to a large heavy-bottomed pan and bring to a boil. As soon as the milk starts to boil, turn off the heat, add in the citric acid solution and set aside for 10min.
Step 2Stir the milk mixture and leave again until completely cool. Once cool, put a muslin cloth inside a colander and strain the mixture. Squeeze out any liquid and discard. Open the cloth, set back in the colander and leave the curds to sit in the cloth until fully drained and dry to the touch.
Step 3Whilst the rasgulla mixture dries, make the rabri: add the milk to a medium-sized, heavy-bottomed pan with the sugar and saffron. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 20-30 min or until the volume has reduced by half - you’ll need to stir often with a spatula to ensure the milk doesn’t burn in the pan. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Step 4Knead the strained rasgulla mixture on a plate, until smooth, then shape into 16 equal sized balls. Flatten into disc shapes and chill until needed.
Step 5Make the sugar syrup: put the granulated sugar and 600ml water in a wide saucepan and heat gently, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Once the sugar has complety dissolved, increase the heat to a low simmer. Add the rasgulla discs to the sugar syrup and cook for 16min, turning over halfway through the cooking time. Once cooked, remove from the heat and leave rasgulla in the syrup for 15mins.
Step 6Carefully lift rasgulla out and add to the rabri. Leave to soak for at least 2hr, flipping over halfway, before serving. Serve decorated with chopped pistachios.
Per serving:
Calories: 470
Protein: 15g
Total fat: 18g
Carbs: 63g
Total sugars: 63g
Fibre: 0g
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