Ras Malai

 Shared version - from my close friend Saaji 

The original version of Ras Malai is malai made with paneer, soaked in sugar syrup and later dunked into milk that's flavored with cardamom. When made with paneer, I personally do not like the rubbery texture of malai. If you try this Ras Malai recipe, take my word, you will never like the Ras Malai you get in restaurants or local sweet shops. This is much simpler to make and much more delicious. I learnt this recipe from a very close friend of mine, Saaji. I owe a wholehearted thanks to her for teaching me this.

Note: Follow the exact measures given below, a small variation can totally ruin this dessert.

Ingredients :
For the malai
Milk Powder	-		1 cup
Ghee	-		I tablespoon
Plain flour	-		1 tablespoon
Egg	-		1 no
Baking powder	-		1 teaspoon
For the Ras
Milk	-		1 litre
Condensed milk	-		2 tablespoons
Sugar	-		1/2 cup
Cardamom powder	-		1 teaspoon
Almonds and pistachio (sliced)	-		as required for the garnish
Saffron	-		As required
Preparation Method : To make the Ras - Whisk in condensed milk into the fresh milk. Preferably full fat milk. Bring the milk to a boil and then add the sugar and cardamom powder and whisk in well. For the Malai - Into the Milk Powder blend in the baking powder and plain flour. Then add the ghee and mix well. Finally add the egg and knead into a dough. We only require a rough dough. Do not knead the dough too much. quickly roll into tiny balls. The measure above makes 22-23 small balls approximately. Press down slightly to give an oval shape. Whisk the boiled milk well and bring down the flame to low and gently drop the tiny balls into the milk. Turn the balls over 2-3 times very gently to have uniformly and evenly cooked malai. Make sure you do not use any sharp spoons, the balls are really delicate and can break if not handled with care. Simmer the malai in the milk for 8 minutes on low. Test one malai by cutting it into half, if its cooked through, it will have no tint of the yellow left inside. will be evenly white inside out. Gently transfer to a dish. Garnish with some chopped almonds, pistachio and sprinkle some saffron and set aside to cool completely. Make sure you do not cover it when you do so. Once it has cooled down to room temperature,  refrigerate for a minimum of 2-3 hours. The longer the better. Before serving, shake the dish very gently so as to blend the colour of the saffron and flavour of pistachio and almonds into the milk. Before serving, garnish once again with the chopped nuts and saffron. You will surely love this dessert. Try it! :)