DISH RESEARCH · Dessert

ras malai

Swasthi Shreekanth’s selected traditional rasmalai makes fresh chenna discs, cooks them in sugar syrup and serves them in saffron-and-cardamom-flavoured thickened milk.

About ras malai

Research draft based on the references below. These notes describe particular recipes and presentations; ingredient connections are still being reviewed.

Swasthi Shreekanth’s rasmalai uses freshly made chenna discs, cooked in sugar syrup and then added to thickened milk called rabri. She presents the sweet as a Bengali delicacy with a soft, spongy texture.

For the rabri, full-fat milk is boiled with sugar and the offered saffron, then reduced with regular stirring. Half is cooled and chilled while the other half is kept warm.

The separate chenna milk is boiled and curdled with the selected lemon juice. Ice water is added, and the curds are strained, rinsed and hung to drain. They are kneaded smooth and formed into flattened discs.

The discs cook in boiling sugar syrup scented with cardamom powder. The covered pot is moved off the heat and left to rest, after which the discs are cooled and gently squeezed to remove absorbed syrup.

The discs are added to the warm half of the rabri and left to rest. The chilled half of the same rabri is poured in just before serving, with sliced almonds as the selected nut finish. The author offers the finished rasmalai chilled.

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Dish type: Dessert
Preparation: Read the preparation
Boil the rabri portion of full-fat milk, add its sugar and the selected optional saffron, and reduce with regular stirring, moving aside the cream layer. Cool and chill half, keeping the other half warm. Boil the separate chenna milk, turn off the heat and add the selected lemon juice with its listed dilution water. Stir until curdled, adding more of the same juice if needed and returning to low heat if it still fails to curdle. Turn off, add the selected ice water and strain through muslin. Rinse with separate fresh water, squeeze and hang to drain. Knead the moist chenna smooth and flatten into discs. Boil the syrup water and refined white sugar, add cardamom powder and gently add the discs. Cook covered, remove the pot from the heat and rest covered. Cool the discs and gently squeeze out absorbed syrup. Add to the warm half of the rabri and rest, then pour in the chilled half of the same rabri just before serving. Finish with the selected sliced almonds and serve chilled.
Serving presentation: Chilled in the selected recipe

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Ingredients in ras malai

Recorded ingredient connections, rather than a complete recipe. Explore an ingredient for more detail.

Ingredient connections are still being added.

Ingredient connections awaiting review. Versions and preparation vary.

Origins & food traditions

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Countries

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Associations in the cited sources

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Cooking traditions: Bengali

Sources & references

Rasmalai Recipe