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!
Bring the milk to a boil in a heavy bottom pot, being sure to stir in intervals to prevent the milk from burning.
Once the milk is boiling, add the slivered almonds, slivered pistachios, saffron, ground cardamom, and saffron into the milk. Bring the milk down to a simmer and continue to cook until it reduces by about half.
Remove from heat and stir in the rosewater. Set aside.
Chenna Balls
In a large heavy bottom pot, pour in all the milk. Turn the heat on low to medium. Turn on the thermometer and rest it in the milk. Bring the milk to a boil (~203°F), stirring occasionally. Once it's at a boil, pour in the lemon juice and stir with a slotted spoon. Turn off the heat and allow the milk to sit for 10 minutes as the milk curdles.
After 10 minutes, gently stir the milk with a slotted spoon to separate the curds from the whey. As soon as the whey has separated, add ice cubes into the pot to stop the chenna (milk curds) from cooking any further.
Place a strainer over a large bowl, and line the strainer 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.
Transfer the chenna to a mixing bowl. Add the corn flour and start kneading the paneer until it's smooth and forms a ball.
Roll out the chenna into a log. Cut the log into 12 pieces that weigh about 20g each. Take a piece of chenna and flatten it into a ½-1 inch thick disc between your hands.
Simple Syrup
In wide pan or pot, bring water to a boil. Add the sugar and stir until it melts. Transfer the chenna discs into the sugar syrup and boil for 10-15 minutes, or until they double in size.
Assembly
Scoop out the chenna discs one by one while using the back of a spoon to lightly press the excess simple syrup out.
Transfer the chenna discs into a single layer in a baking dish. Pour the warm malai over the chenna so that it covers all of them.
Cover the baking dish in cling wrap. Refrigerate the ras malai for up to 3 hours to allow the chenna to soak in the malai all the way to its center.
Serve chilled with extra slivered pistachios and dried rose petals to garnish.