Have you noticed that I haven't posted that many recipes of Indian desserts/sweets here? Well, I've posted a number of Payasam/Kheer recipes and a Gajar (carrot) Halwa recipe and my Indian dessert recipe collection ends there. I'm not sure why I haven't tried any major Indian desserts. Somehow I've associated it with too much of work and too much of ghee. I may be completely wrong, but I didnt bother to prove it otherwise.
Then this Rasmalai happened! We had this first at one of our friends, Abishek & Simi's place. Jose fell head over heels in love with this one! Ever since he had that Rasmalai, he has been asking me to make it for him. Well, the loving wife that I am, it only took 3 years for me to grant his wish ;) The other day, when I was feeling all lovey dovey and wanted to surprise my husband (well there was a secret agenda of getting some things done on the site ;)) I decided to make this and that too under expert supervision. So I called up Simi and checked whether she was free. Luckily it was her day off from work, so I packed up everything and landed at her place. We had a fun time cooking, eating, gossipping and discussing about food. She is a major foodie and loves to experiment new stuff, all in all I had a gala time :) Thank you Simi for the recipe and for your time!
I've used Haldiram's tinned Rasgullas for making Rasmalai. Though I've a bit of patience when it comes to cooking, I dont have that extra bit of it in me to make this from scratch ;) Ok, I need to tell you something. In the intro of most of my recipes, I usually tell you its easy and quick, but there is a slight modification for this one. It's easy, but not quick! You need to reduce the milk to almost half the qty and it will take around 1- 1.5 hours, if it's done on low flame! Ideally, it has to be done on low flame, otherwise, it may get burnt too, you dont want your Rasmali to look like it's caramelised, right? I can assure you one thing, making this is time well spent and you will not regret. That deal sounds good, right?
Btw, I had posted a Rasmalai recipe long time. But it wasnt the real deal, so I deleted that and adding this new one.
Here is the recipe…
Soak saffron in hot milk. Soak the pistachios and almonds in hot water to blanche them.
Heat milk in a deep and wide pan. Bring it to a boil.
Cook it on low flame till it reduces to half the quantity. Add saffron milk and sugar and stir.
Squeeze out the sugar syrup from the rasgullas and add it to the milk one by one. Add finely sliced blanched almonds and pistachios and crushed cardamom seeds and continue to cook on low flame for 10-15 more mins.
For more Diwali / Indian sweet recipes, click here.
Ingredients
- 1.5 ltr Whole Milk
- 1 kg tin Rasgulla (14 pieces, I used Haldiram's)
- 7-8 tbsp Sugar (refer notes)
- 10-15 Pistachios
- 8-10 Almonds
- A big pinch Saffron
- 1/4 cup Hot milk (to soak the saffron)
- 6 -7 Cardamom ((discard the skin and use only the seeds))
Instructions
- Soak the pistachios and almonds (if you are using the ones with skin) in half cup of hot water for 15-20 mins, to blanche them. Soak saffron in 1/4 cup of hot milk and keep it aside.
- Heat the milk in a deep and wide vessel and bring it to a boil. Reduce the flame and let it simmer, till it reduces to half the quantity. It took almost 1.5 hours for me on low flame. Keep stirring in between (refer notes). Place a ladle in the milk pan, so that it doesnt boil over.
- When milk is reduced to half the quantity, add the saffron milk and sugar to this and give a stir. Squeeze the sugar syrup from the Rasgullas gently and add it to the milk, one by one.
- Remove the skin of pistachios and almonds and slice them finely. Do a taste test and add more sugar if required. Add the sliced pistachios, almonds and crushed cardamom seeds to the milk and continue cooking for 10-15 mins.
- Serve it hot or cold.
Hi Maria, tried ur rasmalai with the haldiram tin , it turned out wonderful n my hubby was like sooo happy, thanks a ton .
You are welcome Neha dear! Glad that you like dthis recipe.. Btw, it’s my husband’s fav too :)
Cheers
Maria
Hi Nanthi,
Nice to know that you are a regular visitor here, thanks a lot :)
Hope you could find Rasagulla soon, all the best!
Cheers
Maria
Hi Maria,
Awesome! No other words for this. I never thought i’d make this at home… always beleived that its a tough dish.
Your post was perfect timing for me. I made this for ‘Father’s day’. Rasmalai being my hubby’s fav Indian sweet, it was perfect :)
Easy to make, tasted excellent!
Thank you so much!!!!!
Ida.
Hi Ida,
Thanks a ton for the wonderful comment dear! I’m thrilled to hear that you found it easy and excellent.
It’s my husband’s fav sweet too :)
Cheers
Maria
Hi..maria..fantastic recipe….have tried and came out well…as a frequent visitor of ur site i have tried out ur recipes…thanks 4 d wonderful job
Thank you Dhanya for trying the recipes from here. I’m really happy to know that it comes out well for you :)
Cheers
Maria
maria dear,
i really loved this recipe…my family members loves sweets……this dish i will make without fail……and while eating i will remember you;). Tell me the procedure for subscribing ur cookbook…..Â
Thank you very much Sruthy! I do hope you get to try this soon. Btw, I’m so happy that you said you’ll remember me while having this, thanks.
We have stopped taking subscription for the book dear, since there is some delay on the book front. Will keep you posted when it happens..
Cheers
Maria
Thank you Shweta :) Glad you liked the recipes. You keep trying the recipes and I’ll keep adding them :)
Cheers
Maria
looks great Maria. will try for sure.
Thank you Liz!
Maria, this looks absolutely so wonderful. I can’t stop drooling. I don’t have rasgullas on hand right now so I am just going to make the malai today:). Thank you for the fantastic recipe.
By the way, the main page of the site http://www.mariasmenu.com is giving an error. I can visit recipes by going to the “recipes” page but not the home page. Is it just me or is something wrong?
Hi Poornima,
Thanks dear! so did you make the malai? liked it? btw, is the site home page working now?
We had some tech issues a few days ago, but now it’s working. Hope you can visit the home page.
Cheers
Maria
Try a combination of condensed milk and full cream milk. You will need lesser time to thicken the milk. Also for the flattened rasmalai look, you can use Halidaram’s rasmalai which is nothing but rasgullas in a flattened version. Thanking you for posting this….am inspired.
Hi Smita,
Adding condensed milk sounds great! I havent seen Haldiram’s Rasmalai in shops here, dont know whether I’ve missed it. I’ll def check during my next shopping trip :)
Cheers
Maria
oh wow….looks yummm n simple…will definitely try this one out…thanks for sharing…:)
Hi Mamta,
How are you? I’ve been planning to msg you for sometime, I was a bit tied up, sorry :(
Thanks for the comment! I hope you get to try it soon..
Cheers
Maria
Hi Maria, thanks for this wonderful recipe! I love rasmalai! I used to make it from scratch before, and the recipe uses milk powder. It is not that hard actually. I got this link from off the Net, which uses milk powder and follows the same method I used to do: http://www.grouprecipes.com/14826/rasmalai-or-sweet-milk-balls.html
This way, the rasmalai balls are easier to make without the time-consuming task of making the paneer. And I tend to like the texture of the milk-powder balls better than the spongy texture of the paneed. Just a thought. Try this one out and let us know how it works out.
Take care, and hats off to you on the great job you do with this blog….!
TC, Jane Hamilton
Hi Jane,
Thank you! I’ve tried that version before… But I was told by some of my friends from Calcutta, that it’s not the authentic recipe. It seems egg is a big no for this recipe in the authentic version.
However, in the end, for me if I’m happy with the taste and texture, I usually dont mind whether it’s authentic or not :) I made this version since my husband liked it very much after having it from a friend’s place.
Cheers
Maria
Hi Maria! I have a much simpler  recipe for ‘rasmalai’. And it’s quite easy on one’s pocket too. Unfortunately, it’s an ‘eggatarian’ version. But it’s superb!
Hi Mani,
I guess I know that version… does it use milk powder?
Cheers
Maria
Oh boy!!there goes the weight loss resolution!!!now I have to try this!!!Its simply too tempting!!
hehe ;) do try it sometime, it’s worth it.
Cheers
Maria
First time here. u have a nice space..rasmalai looks abs mouthwatering !!
Hi Chitra,
Welcome to MariasMenu! Thanks for dropping by and for leaving a comment. Hope you get to try some recipes soon.
Cheers
Maria