Ras Malai

Ingredients

• Milk - 1.5 liters
• White vinegar 2 tsp /1 tsp lemon juice /1 tsp citric acid crystals
• Sugar - 4 tsp
• Green cardamoms, powdered and skins discarded - 4
• Powdered cashews - 2 tsp
• Corn flour - 1 tsp
• Saffron strands(Kesar) - ½ tsp
• Mix Dry fruits chopped - 2 tbsp

      For the syrup:

• Water - 1.5 cups
• Sugar - ¾ cups

Preparation

1. In a thick bottomed pan, boil the milk.
2. To make the Chena, Remove 1 liter milk to another vessel, keep it on the gas, add the vinegar / lemon juice / citric acid crystals and continue to heat through stirring, till the milk curdles and the whey is almost clear.
3. Leave for a few minutes. Strain through a thin muslin cloth or a fine sieve.
4. Let it drain for at least 10 minutes till most of the water drains away.
5. Cool it or leave it under the fan for 2-3 minutes
6. When the Chena is cool, knead / mash with your fingers and squash well.
7. It must become a smooth mash like creamy mashed potatoes.
8. Divide into 12 equal parts, roll into smooth round balls and flatten slightly
9. While you wait for the whey to drain out of the curdled milk and then cool, add the cashew powder, cardamom powder, sugar and saffron (keep some for garnishing) to the half liter of boiled milk. Cook till it thickens.
10. Dissolve the corn flour in a few tablespoons of water; slowly add this to the milk, stirring constantly.
11. Cook till the milk mixture thickens. Should take about 3-4 minutes.
12. Make sure you don’t stop stirring, and that the milk is in a really thick bottomed pan, to prevent it from burning.
13. To a pan, add the water and sugar and make a syrup, let it come to boil.
14. Cook the Chena balls in this for 5-6 minutes till they float on top don’t crowd them add only as many as your pan can accommodate leaving enough space for them to swim around don’t stir as this will break them.
15. When the cheese / Chena balls are cooked, drop them into the milk mixture, and cook, gently moving them around for 3-4 minutes on low heat.
16. (At this stage, instead of stove top, I transferred the contents to a glass bowl and cooked on high for 3 minutes in the microwave oven)
17. Keep it in the refrigerator till it cools and serves into individual bowls garnish with a few strands of saffron and dry fruits.