Ras Malai And A Fun Weekend

This weekend Latif's uncle and his family had come to stay over at our place as we had invited them for dinner on Friday. They are leaving Dubai for good and now will be invited by everyone in the family for dinners... (lucky!). Anywho, it was the first time I cooked up a meal for more than two people (all by myself!) and lucky for me everything went smoothly. I made two desserts along with Mutton Korma, Murg Chana and the Indonesian chicken (recipes coming soon!) served with pulav and naan. One of the desserts I made was Ras Malai which is my favorite Indian dessert. It is so easy to make and tastes heavenly! I learnt to make this from my mom and I'm sure no one will say no to a bowl of cold Ras Malai! Yummy!

Recipe

Ingredients

1 Cup Instant Full Cream Milk Powder (e.g. Nido or Rainbow)
3/4 Tsp Baking Powder
1 Tsp All Purpose Flour (Maida)
1 Egg
2 Tbsp Clarified Butter (Ghee)
1 Liter Whole Milk
Few Strands Of Saffron
1/4 Cup Sliced Pistachios
2 Tsp Cardamom Powder
1/4 Cup Sugar*

Pour the milk in a wide bottomed pot and bring to boil. Add the sugar (*-Taste the milk and add more sugar if you prefer it sweeter), 1 tsp cardamom powder, saffron strands and pistachios (reserve few for filling) to the milk and let it cook on a low flame. Stir occasionally. Place the remaining ingredients in a mixing bowl and knead lightly to form soft dough. Divide into 14 portions and form small balls. Flatten each ball in the palm of your hands and place a few pieces of sliced pistachios in the middle. Cover from all sides and roll into a ball. Press slightly to flatten. When the milk has thickened very slightly, gently drop each ball in the milk and turn up the heat to bring the milk to a boil one more time. The balls will start to puff up and look spongy. Lower the heat and let the balls cook in the milk for some time. Handle them gently ensuring they are covered in the milk. Turn off the heat and let the ras malai cool. Refrigerate and serve chilled.

Happy Eating!!