Rasmalai is one of my favourite desserts, and it's basically soft and spongey discs made of cheese, soaked in saffron and cardamom flavoured milk and absolutely irresistible.
This Ras malai recipe is made using the traditional method, as opposed to the easy milk powder version I shared last year. It definitely is more involved but worth the effort. If you like rasmalai, I recommend trying it out at home!
If you liked this recipe, you'll definitely enjoy this Rasmalai Tres Leches Cake, this delicious Gulab Jamun Cake, and this Saffron Ice Cream.
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What makes this one different?
The traditional method of making rasmalai starts out by making cheese first. Yes, I said cheese. Basically the same thing as paneer. An acid agent like lemon juice or vinegar is used to curdle the milk, which is then strained and left hanging for a bit to drain off the whey.
Now it's kneaded into a smooth dough and shaped into small balls which are cooked in a cardamom sugar syrup before being added to the milk mixture.
The easy or milk powder version skips the cheese making and makes the balls (pedas) with milk powder and egg, which are cooked directly in the milk mixture instead of a sugar syrup. It cuts down a lot of time and steps and still tastes amazing.
Since I shared the milk powder version, I had a lot of people telling me that egg is never used in Rasmalai or that this version is not the real thing and it should only be made the traditional way.
There are always many different methods of making the same food, depending on the time and resources one has at their disposal. And this goes for any cuisine or food, you can make something the authentic and traditional way, or the easy shortcut way, which tastes almost exactly the same. At the end of the day, we all just want to enjoy the food we love, with the people we love and it doesn't really matter if it was made using a specific method. If you have more time, make it the traditional way!
Ingredients
See recipe card BELOW for measurements.
- Whole milk - I highly recommend using whole milk instead of skim or any lower fat percentage
- Lemon juice - You can use vinegar as well
- Ice water - This is to stop the cooking process for the curds so they don't get too tough
- Heavy cream
- Cardamom pods
- White granulated sugar
- Saffron
Instructions
This recipe does take time, but it's not too difficult. There are some parts where you need to be careful and specific, but if you read through the steps and tips properly, you're golden. Nothing to fear in this recipe, rest assured.
And unlike the rasmalai made with milk powder, these aren't too finicky with the balls and there is more time leeway from when you make them and when you have to add them to the milk, than the other recipe. But that is balanced out with the waiting time for the curd and kneading it.
- Add 1 litre of milk to a large pot and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Turn off the heat and add in the lemon juice slowly while mixing, until the milk separates into curds. Once all the milk has curdled, immediately add in the cold water to stop it from cooking more.
- Place a cheesecloth over a a strainer and strain out the whey from the curds. Run it under cold water to wash out the vinegar taste and smell.
- Squeeze out as much whey/liquid as possible, tie and hang up the cheesecloth for about an hour to let dry out some more.
- In a wide bottomed pot, add in the sugar, water, cardamom and saffron. Let it come to a boil and cook for a couple more minutes to thicken it up some more.
- Take the curd and knead it with your palm on a counter-top for around 5 minutes until fairly smooth. You don't want to over knead it because the balls will become hard and may break.
- Portion into around 15 balls of 10g and carefully roll into smooth balls. If there are any cracks, you can smooth them out with some of the whey water. I like to press them a bit to flatten them out but you can have them be like balls.
- Heat up the sugar water mixture until its starting to boil and gently place in all the balls. Cover and cook for about 9 minutes and take off the heat. DO NOT take off the lid and just let them rest for about 20 minutes before disturbing them. They'll deflate otherwise.
- They should be puffed up like this after resting.
- Make the milk mixture: add the milk, cream, sugar, cardamom and saffron to a wide-bottomed pan and bring to a boil. Then turn down the heat to medium and cook until reduced by around 20% and slightly thickened.
- Take out the balls from the sugar syrup and gently squeeze out most of the syrup and place into the milk mixture. Let the balls absorb the milk and transfer to your serving dish. Let it cool down to room temperature, and then place in the fridge to chill.
- Garnish with chopped pistachios and dried rose petals and enjoy!
Hint: Keep some of the whey aside, so if the cheese is too dry after draining, you can add a little bit to increase the moisture. It'll also help to smooth out the cracks in the balls while shaping
Equipment
I recommend using a wide bottomed pan for the sugar syrup and the milk mixture, at least 10 inches. This ensures the balls have enough room to expand without being squished.
Storage
Cool and refrigerate for up to 5 days.
My tips to make your rasmalai even better
- Don't open the lid when cooking the pedas: You want them to cook undisturbed and even when they're resting after being taken off the heat, do NOT open the lid. They will deflate and won't look as pretty. You want them risen and spongey.
- Don't drain too much whey from the cheesecurds: If left hanging too long, it'll drain too much and you'll end up with a dry mixture. It should be kind of crumbly and not too sticky. You can add a little bit of the whey when kneading it by wetting your hands.
- Whereas if the chenna (cheesecurds) has too much whey and is too moist, the pedas will break apart when cooking.
FAQ
You may have overkneaded the chenna (cheesecurds) or the chenna is too dry.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Rasmalai
Ingredients
Chenna (rasmalai balls)
- 1 litre whole milk
- 3-4 tablespoon lemon juice
- 4 cups ice water
Sugar syrup
- 1 cup granulated white sugar (200g)
- 4 cups water
- 2 cardamom pods crushed
Milk mixture
- 3 cups whole milk
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 4-5 cardamom pods
- 2 tablespoon white granulated sugar, add more or less if you prefer (25g)
- pinch of saffron
Instructions
- Add 1 litre of milk to a large pot and bring to a boil over medium high heat.1 litre whole milk
- Turn off the heat and add in the lemon juice slowly while mixing, until the milk separates into curds. Once all the milk has curdled, immediately add in the cold water to stop it from cooking more. Which will make the curds tougher.3-4 tablespoon lemon juice, 4 cups ice water
- Place a cheesecloth over a a strainer and strain out the whey from the curds. Run it under cold water to wash out the vinegar taste and smell.
- Squeeze out as much whey/liquid as possible, tie and hang up the cheesecloth for about an hour to let dry out some more.
- In a wide bottomed pot, add in the sugar, water, cardamom and saffron. Let it come to a boil and cook for a couple more minutes to thicken it up some more.1 cup granulated white sugar, 4 cups water, 2 cardamom pods
- Take the curd and knead it with your palm on a counter-top for around 5 minutes until fairly smooth. You don't want to over knead it because the balls will become hard and may break.
- Portion into around 15 balls of 10g and carefully roll into smooth balls. If there are any cracks, you can smooth them out with some of the whey water. I like to press them a bit to flatten them out but you can have them be like balls.
- Heat up the sugar water mixture until its starting to boil and gently place in all the balls. Cover and cook for about 9 minutes and take off the heat. DO NOT take off the lid and just let them rest for about 20 minutes before disturbing them. They'll deflate otherwise.
- During this time, make the milk mixture for the rasmalai:
- Add the milk, cream, sugar, cardamom and saffron to a wide-bottomed pan and bring to a boil. Then turn down the heat to medium and cook until reduced by around 20% and slightly thickened.3 cups whole milk, ¼ cup heavy cream, 4-5 cardamom pods, 2 tablespoon white granulated sugar, add more or less if you prefer, pinch of saffron
- Take out the balls from the sugar syrup and gently squeeze out most of the syrup and place into the milk mixture.
- Let the balls absorb the milk and transfer to your serving dish. Let it cool down to room temperature, and then place in the fridge to chill.
- Garnish with chopped pistachios and dried rose petals and enjoy!
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