Ras Malai for ICC

Ras Malai is my favorite Indian dessert. So when Srivalli announced this month's challenge I was so excited. Soft paneer balls soaked in sweetened and thickened milk (Ras) flavored with cardamom -  a treat to the taste buds. So when I tried this out Sunday, I was full of enthusiasm. Anyways my paneer balls did not turn out to be that soft :-(. Once I tasted my Ras Malai, I started doing more research to find out what went wrong. My finding is that the content of water in the paneer should not be more nor less, to make the paneer balls with the proper consistency. I think I squeezed too much water from my paneer. Anyways the Ras was excellent. Next time I will make sure I leave enough water in the paneer to make softer and smoother balls.

For making the Paneer balls

Whole Milk	- 1 litre
Lemon Juice	- 3 tbsp
Maida	- 1 tsp
Water	- 1.5 cups
Sugar	- 4 tbsp

1. Boil the milk in a vessel.

2. When the milk starts to boil, add the lemon juice and let the milk curdle.

3. Use a muslin cloth or strainer and separate the milk solids from the whey water.

4. Let it drain for 30 minutes to remove water and squeeze extra water as needed.

5. Now knead the paneer with maida to make a smooth dough.Add additional whey water if needed to make it smooth.

6. Make 7-8 balls out of this dough and slightly flatten it. Make sure that the balls are smooth and not broken.

7. In a pressure cooker boil water and add sugar.

8. When the water starts to boil, add the paneer balls and cook until 2 whistles or for 10 minutes and turn off the stove.

For making the Rasa/Syrup

Milk	- 3 cups
Saffron	- a large pinch
Sugar	- 4 tbsp
Cardamom	- 1 (powdered)

1. Boil the milk and add the Sugar and Saffron.

2. Keep boiling and stirring until the milk is reduced to half; may take 20-30 minutes.

3. Stir in the Cardamom powder.

Garnish

Pista

- 5-6 (chopped)

1. Open the pressure cooker, when the pressure is completely gone and take out the paneer balls.

2. Squeeze the paneer balls slightly to remove the water.

3. Add the balls to the rasa and refrigerate it for 4-5 hours.

4. Garnish with chopped pista and serve.

Overall the ras malai was good (not excellent) as the balls were not soft enough. If anyone has any other tips to make the paneer balls soft, please do share it here.