RAS MALAI

Probably my favorite dessert, Ras Malai is dumplings made from cottage or riccotta cheese soaked in sweetened, thickened milk delicately flavored with cardamom. Serve it chilled and garnished with slivers of dried fruit.

INGREDIENTS REQUIRED:

Paneer made from 1 liter of milk (recipe below)
1 liter full cream/ whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cardamom powder
4 cups water
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup thinly sliced almonds or pistachios

Preparation:

   *Mix the water and 1 cup of sugar in a pan and boil till all the sugar is dissolved. Turn off the fire and keep syrup aside.
   *Knead the Paneer  in a platter till very smooth. Make into balls slightly smaller than the size of a walnut and flatten slightly in the center.
   *When the Paneer balls are made, reheat the syrup to boiling, then simmer and gently drop in the Paneer balls. Cook for 10 minutes. Turn off fire.
   *In another pan boil the 1 litre of full cream milk with the 1/2 cup of sugar, till reduced/thickened to 75 per cent of its original volume. Turn off the fire, add the cardamom powder and mix well.
   *Add the syrup soaked Paneer balls (after draining) to the milk mixture and chill for a few hours.
   *Before serving, garnish with slivers of dried fruit.