Ras Malai is a popular Indian dessert made with paneer balls soaked in flavored milk. It is served cold and garnished with nuts and dried fruit. The dish is time-consuming to make, but can also be found canned in supermarkets.
Ras Malai is a rich Indian dessert made with paneer balls soaked in thick flavored milk. The word is a portmanteau of the Urdu word ras, which stands for juice or nectar, and malai, which translates to cream. Thought to have originated in Orissa in India, this dish is very popular in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. It has an interesting combination of flavors and textures, from the spongy paneer to the delicately flavored milk. Very similar to the Bengali sweet called rasgulla, it is served as a dessert after a meal.
It is also served on many festive occasions such as engagements and weddings. Ras Malai is not too sweet and is usually yellow or white in colour. The yellow tinge comes from the saffron used in the cooking process. Normally served cold, it can be garnished with flaked almonds, pistachios and dried fruit. A little crushed cardamom or cardamom powder can also be sprinkled on top to add scent and taste. Some consider it quite similar to another dessert called kheersagar.
There are subtle differences however, the most notable being kheersagar which has a milk base with a much thicker texture. Above all, ras malai has a very soft texture and melts easily in a person’s mouth due to the creamy milk. The dessert is high in calories and fat but is considered healthier than other desserts because it is not fried. The paneer balls can be stuffed with blanched almonds or pistachios for a more exotic taste.
The main ingredients used to make ras malai are whole milk and sugar. Cracked nuts and dried fruits can be used as side dishes. Paneer balls can be made at home by curdling milk with a little lemon juice. The cheese is then separated from the whey and allowed to drain in a muslin cloth for a few hours before being shaped into balls. The sugar is boiled in water until it dissolves and becomes syrup. The cheese balls are dropped into boiling syrup and cooked for about ten minutes.
Alternatively, the cheese can be pressure cooked in sugar syrup for a few minutes. The box expands and the cheese balls get bigger. They are removed from the syrup and left to cool and any excess syrup is removed by lightly pressing the balls. The whole milk is heated in a pan with the sugar until the solution is reduced to three-quarters of its original volume. The malai is taken off the stove and cardamom powder and some saffron are added.
Syrup-soaked paneer balls are dropped into sugared malais and are chilled in the refrigerator for a few hours. They are garnished with nut flakes and dried fruit and served immediately. While the recipe for making ras malai sounds easy enough, it’s not made at home very often. This is because the entire process is time-consuming, from making paneer balls to thickening the milk. You can also find canned ras malai in supermarkets.
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