Ras Malai

Ras Malai

A royal Bengali dessert, Ras Malai consists of soft, spongy cheese discs soaked in a fragrant, saffron-infused milk syrup. A true delicacy for festivals like Holi and Diwali.

Prep Time

30 mins

Cook Time

1 hr

Servings

8-10 pieces

Difficulty

Advanced

Ingredients

For the Chenna (Cheese discs):

  • 1 litre Full-fat milk
  • 2-3 tbsp Lemon juice or vinegar
  • 1 cup Sugar
  • 4 cups Water

For the Rabri (Milk Syrup):

  • 1 litre Full-fat milk
  • 1/2 cup Sugar (or to taste)
  • A pinch of Saffron strands
  • 1/2 tsp Cardamom powder
  • 2 tbsp Pistachios, slivered

Instructions

  1. Prepare Chenna: Boil 1 litre of milk. Add lemon juice to curdle it. Strain the curdled milk through a muslin cloth. Squeeze out excess water.
  2. Knead the collected chenna for 8-10 minutes until smooth. Make small, flat discs.:
  3. In a wide pan, boil sugar and water to make a thin syrup. Gently drop the chenna discs into the boiling syrup. Cover and cook for 15-20 minutes until they double in size.:
  4. Prepare Rabri: While the discs cook, boil the other litre of milk in a heavy-bottomed pan. Simmer until it reduces to about half its quantity, stirring frequently.
  5. Add sugar, saffron, and cardamom powder to the reduced milk. Stir until sugar dissolves.:
  6. Assemble Ras Malai: Gently squeeze the sugar syrup from the cooked chenna discs and transfer them to the warm rabri.
  7. Let them soak for at least 4-5 hours, or preferably overnight in the refrigerator. Garnish with slivered pistachios and serve chilled.: