Ras Malai
Ingredients:
For Cheese Dumplings:
Milk 1/2 litre
Refined flour (maida) 1 tsp
Citric acid dissolved in water or lemon juice
1/4 tsp dissolved in 1/2 cup water or lemon juice 2-3 tbsp.
Sugar 1 cup
Water 1 cup
Rose essence or cardamom powder 2-3 drops or 1/4 tsp
For Cream Sauce:
Milk 3/4 litre
Sugar 5 tbsp
Sliced Almonds and Pistachios For decoration
Method:
1. Heat milk in a pan and bring it to boil. Remove from heat.
2. Add citric acid or lemon juice.
3. Stir slowly and gently until white curd forms on the surface and separates from whey.
4. On straining this milk, the curd that is obtained is called "chenna". Wash chenna well under cold running water and twist the cloth that was used for straining to extract water.
5. Knead chenna to make a smooth dough. Add flour and knead again.
6. Make small balls of equal size (6-7) of the dough and keep aside.
7. Next make sugar syrup. Mix sugar and water in a saucepan and bring it to boil.
8. Add chenna balls to the syrup and cook for 15 minutes with lid partially covered. Chenna(cheese) dumplings will puff up.
9. On cooling, add rose essence.Keep the cheese dumplings aside.
10. Boil milk in a heavy base saucepan.
11. Bring one boil and then reduce the heat to medium. Cook until it becomes thick and creamy(almost half). Stir occasionally to prevent its sticking to the bottom of the pan.
12. Add sugar and cook for 5 minutes.Switch off the heat.
13. Let the sauce cool. On cooling, add the cheese dumplings(squeese the syrup).
Decorate with the sliced dry fruits. Refrigerate and serve chilled.
