Ras Malai
Celebrate special occasions with this royal Ras Malai, or rossomalai, an Indian dessert made with soft and sweet paneer dumplings that are soaked in a fragrant saffron-flavored cream. Top them with pistachios and almonds, and serve them for special guests or at your Diwali party!
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 393kcal
Ingredients
Chenna Balls
- 1.5 quarts whole milk
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon corn flour
- 1 cup ice cubes
- ¼ teaspoon ground green cardamom
Simple Syrup
- 3 cup water
- 1 cup sugar
Malai
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 pinch saffron
- 2 tablespoons slivered almonds
- 2 tablespoons slivered pistachios
- 1 teaspoon ground green cardamom
- 2 teaspoon rosewater
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- dried rose petals, slivered almonds and pistachios for garnish
Instructions
Malai
- In a flat pan, bring 2 cups whole milk to a gentle simmer on low heat.
- Lower the heat and simmer 15–20 minutes, stirring often, until reduced by half. Move the top filmy layer to the middle as it appears. Add saffron, sugar, cardamom, and slivered nuts.Optional: Add the saffron before simmering for a beautiful golden hued malai.
- Remove from heat and stir in the rosewater. Keep warm.
Chenna Balls
- While the malai reduces, bring 1.5 quarts of milk just to a boil. Turn off heat and add lemon juice, stirring until the milk curdles.
- After 10 minutes, gently stir the milk with a slotted spoon to separate the curds from the whey. Add ice cubes to stop cooking,.
- Line a bowl with a cheesecloth. Carefully pour the curdled milk over the cheesecloth. Gather the cheesecloth to the middle, and twist the cloth to strain out as much whey as possible. If using vinegar, rinse the chenna and continue to strain.
- Transfer the chenna to a mixing bowl. Add the corn flour and ground green cardamom. Knead the paneer until it's smooth and forms a dough ball.
- Roll out the chenna into a log. Divide the log into 12-15 pieces that weigh about 17-20g each. Take a piece of chenna and flatten it into a ½-1 inch thick disc between your hands.
Cook the Chenna Discs
- In a wide pan, bring water and sugar to a boil to make syrup. Gently drop the chenna discs into the syrup. Boil for 10 minutes, then flip and continue to boil for another 5-8 minutes until doubled in size.Remove with a slotted spoon and lightly press to release excess syrup.
Assemble Ras Malai
- Place the warm chenna discs in a serving dish. Pour the warm saffron malai over them, ensuring they’re fully submerged.
- Chill at least 3–4 hours, or overnight for best flavor.
- Serve chilled. Garnish with pistachios, almonds, and dried rose petals before serving.
Notes
- Make ahead: Ras Malai tastes even better the next day as the flavors meld.
- Fridge: Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- Freezer: Not recommended, as the texture of the chenna changes.
