Kesar Rasamalai !!

Being my first post, lets start with a sweet. Rasagulla and rasamalai, our lovely Indian sweets
''Rasgulla''' is a cheese-based, syrupy dessert popular in the Indian subcontinent, particularly in the Indian states of Odisha, West Bengal and Mauritius island. The dish originated in Odisha centuries ago, while a whitish spongy variant ("Bengali Rasgulla") became popular in Bengal in the 19th century. Rasgulla is made from ball shaped dumplings of chhena (an Indian cottage cheese) and semolina dough, cooked in light syrup made of sugar. This is done until the syrup permeates the dumplings.(Source:Wiki)

''Ras Malai''' or '''Rosh malai'''  is a dessert eaten in India Pakistan and Bangladesh. The name Ras Malai comes from two parts in Urdu: "Ras" meaning "juice/juicy" and "Malai", meaning "cream". It has been described "as a rich cheesecake without a crust." (Source:Wiki)

Rasamalai is my family's favourite. Going through one of the food blogs, read a simple and  interesting recipe of rasagulla and rasamalai. It gave me confidence to get started.
So, here I go, read on for the ingredients and method!

INGREDIENTS: (serves 3-4)
For the chhena:
Cow's milk - 1ltr
Vinegar/Lemon juice - 2tbsp
Ice cubes - 10-20
Muslin cloth

For the sugar syrup:
sugar - 1 cup
Water - 4 cups

For the malai:
Milk - 1 cup
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Kesar - a pinch (soak in milk for 10 mins)
Pista - 10(crushed)
Cardamom powder - pinch

METHOD:

1. Boil 1 ltr milk in a pan. When reaches its boiling point, add vinegar or lemon juice. Switch off the flame. Add the ice cubes. These ice cubes will stop further cooking hence making chhena smooth and soft. Avoiding them may result in harder rasamalai.
   
2. Strain the chhena in a muslin cloth. Wash thoroughly (if using lemon juice, wash well to avoid sour lemony taste)
3. Let the content drain for 30 minutes. Then transfer the chhena to a plate and knead well. The chhena will start leaving oil making your hand oily. That's the right time to stop kneading and start making balls.
   
4. Make small balls as once cooked it will become triple in its size. (I could make 11 medium balls from 1 ltr cow's milk)
5. In a Pressure cooker, add sugar and water and let it boil. Once it starts boiling well, add all the balls and close the cooker. Let it cook for 1 whistle and simmer for 5 more minutes. Switch off. If your cooker does not have the good habit of  whistling proper, then simmer for 10 minutes.
   
6. Let this mixture cool for 2 hours. Your RASAGULLAS ARE READY! :)
7. For RASAMALAI, take 1 cup milk in a pan and let it boil for 15-20 minutes till it reduces a bit. Then add sugar , pista , cardamom powder and kesar. Let it boil for 10 more minutes. Switch off.
   
8. Now ,flatten rasagullas (do not squeeze them too hard, rasamalais will turn hard) and add it to the malai milk and let it get soaked for 4 hours and refrigerate , serve chilled !! :)
   

NOTES:

• When you open the Pressure cooker immediately, the rasagullas will look flattened and chewy. Hence, let them cool a bit, your rasagullas would taste great :)
• Add sugar for rasamalai milk as per your taste.
• I have added orange colour as my kid loves colourful stuff , but if wanted you can add yellow food colour or keep it plain.
• Donot allow chhena to drain for long time as it has to be little moist.

Do try once and you will be amazed with the result :)

Catch you all soon with another traditional Indian recipe . Till then, Cook healthy, eat healthy and enjoy life !