Rasmalai

Ingredients

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the chenna (fresh cheese): bring 4 cups of whole milk to a boil. Off heat, add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice or vinegar. The milk will curdle within 30 seconds. Strain through cheesecloth, rinse with cold water to remove sourness.

2. 2

   Hang the cheesecloth for 30 minutes to drain. Then knead the chenna on a smooth surface for 8-10 minutes until very smooth and slightly sticky. This is the key step — under-kneaded chenna makes hard rasmalai.

3. 3

   Shape the chenna into 16 small flat discs (about 1 inch wide, ½ inch thick). Set aside.

4. 4

   Make the sugar syrup: in a wide pot, bring 4 cups of water and 1 cup of sugar to a boil. Drop in the chenna discs. Cover and cook 12-15 minutes — they'll double in size and become spongy. Cool in the syrup.

5. 5

   Make the rabri (thickened milk): reduce 4 cups of whole milk over medium-low heat for 30 minutes, stirring often, until reduced by half. Add ½ cup sugar, ½ teaspoon cardamom powder, a pinch of saffron (bloomed in warm milk first).

6. 6

   Gently squeeze excess syrup from each chenna disc and transfer to the rabri. Let them soak in the warm thickened milk for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight. Garnish with chopped pistachios and serve chilled.