Rasmalai | Easy Rasmalai Recipe | Rasmalai Kaise Banti Hai
Rasmalai
Rasmalai is a popular Indian dessert that originated in the eastern state of West Bengal. It is made by soaking soft, spongy cheese balls (known as “rasgullas”) in a sweet and creamy syrup flavored with cardamom and saffron.
To make rasmalai, first, prepare the rasgullas by kneading cottage cheese or paneer with semolina and shaping them into small balls. The balls are then boiled in a sugar syrup until they are soft and spongy.
Once the rasgullas are cooked, they are removed from the syrup and gently pressed to remove any excess syrup. They are then placed in a separate bowl of thickened milk that has been flavored with cardamom and saffron. The milk is usually made by boiling and reducing milk with sugar until it thickens to a creamy consistency.
The rasgullas are left to soak in the milk for several hours or overnight, allowing them to absorb the flavor of the milk and become even softer and more flavorful.
Rasmalai is typically served chilled and garnished with chopped nuts, such as almonds or pistachios. It is a delicious and refreshing dessert that is popular throughout India and enjoyed by people of all ages.
The result is a creamy, dreamy dessert that absolutely melts in your mouth. In this rasmalai recipe I’ll guide you the whole steps with photographs.
About Rasmalai
Also spelled ras malai , rasa malei, or rassomalai, this delicious dish is beloved all over the indian subcontinent.
Ras means “juice” or “juicy”. Malai means “cream” and refers to thickened milk filled with clotted cream. This creamy thickened and sweetened milk is also known as Rabdi or Rabri). This says a lot about this yummy recipe – it is milky, creamy and downright delectable.
Making rasmalai recipe at home is not difficult, even if you make them entirely from scratch. It is soooo easy ,simple & quick recipe to make at home. If you make the dish as stated below then sweet shop type Rasmalai will get ready at home in just few minutes. Start by making some of my Rasgulla a day or two before, and then later make the rasmalai with the thickened milk.
Dividing work this way makes it easy. If you’re feeling short on time, you can absolutely use store bought rasgulla instead of homemade.
Rasmalai is a popular dessert in India and neighboring countries, particularly in the eastern regions. It consists of soft, spongy cheese balls (rasgullas) soaked in sweet, flavored milk. The milk is usually thickened with condensed milk, sugar, and flavored with cardamom and saffron, giving it a rich and aromatic taste.
This process of thickened sweet milk or rabdi is made using the traditional method of reducing milk and thus tastes awesome like the rasmalai served in the Indian mithai shops (sweet shops).
Rasmalai is often served cold, garnished with chopped nuts like almonds and pistachios. It is a favorite dessert at festivals, weddings, and special occasions, and is widely available in Indian sweet shops and restaurants.
How to make Rasmalai
Preparation
- Take a big size microwave safe bowl, add sugar, almonds (chopped), pistachios, cardamom powder and saffron.
- Add milk to the ingredients. Using a big size bowl will prevent the milk from spilling out. You can use nuts of your choice, and adjust the sweetness as per your preference.
- Mix the ingredients and milk well.
- Now place the bowl in microwave and cook the microwave at high power 15 minutes.
- Your masala milk for rasmalai is ready. Cool down to room temperature. By the time you can make chena.
- Set a heavy base wok or a stock pot on medium heat, add the milk and stir in intervals, bring to a boil, once it comes to a boil, switch off the induction or flame and stir the cool down a little bit.
- In a separate bowl, add vinegar & water, mix well and this mixture gradually to the milk, stir the milk lightly while curdling the milk. Keep adding gradually until the milk solids separates from the whey (green water).
- As the milk curdles, add ice cubes to stop the further cooking.
- Use a sieve and place a muslin cloth on it, pass the milk solids (chena) through it and you can reserve the whey, rinse the chena with fresh water to remove the sourness.
- Squeeze the muslin cloth well to remove the excess moisture. You can quickly open the cloth and mix to squeeze it again to remove the excess moisture.
- Make sure the chena has to be slightly moist or the rasmalai won’t turn soft.
- Transfer the squeezed chena over a big size thali, Start to cream the chena by doing it with the the heels of your palms.You need to cream it well to break down the chena granules and until its smooth and creamy in texture. The creamy process needs to be done until your hand become greasy that is, the chena leaves its fat, the texture should be very smooth and creamy.
- As soon as the chena start to leave the thal, collect the chena with light hands. At this stage you can add cornstarch the binding, add 1 tsp cornstarch, adding the cornstarch ensures the rasmalai will turn out to be perfect, you can avoid adding it if you feel your chena has perfect consistency and won’t spoil when you shape them, it’s advisable to use cornstarch if you’re a beginner and don’t have the practice to make rasmalais.
- After adding cornstarch mix well, it’ll become a soft dough, you can add more cornstarch if you feel the chena is very moist, make sure not to overdo with the addition of the cornstarch.
- Once it becomes like a soft dough, the chena is ready to be shaped, cover it with a muslin cloth and make the syrup.
- For making the sugar syrup, take a big size microwave safe bowl that has a wide opening, add the water and sugar, stir well to dissolve the sugar granules, cook it microwave on high power for 12 minutes or until the chaashni starts to boil.
- By the time syrup is cooking you can shape the rasmalai tikkis.
- To shape the tikkis, divide the chena is small marble size roundels, start the shap them in mini size tikkis, by shaping them between your palms, while applying little pressure and doing in a circular motion. You can also shape them by making perfect small size balls and flatten to make them small size tikkis.
- Cover the chena tikki with a moist the cloth until you shape the entire batch, to avoid the chenas from drying.
- As soon the chaashni boils, immediately drop in the shaped tikkis and cover it with a cling wrap and prick with a toothpick to make holes, cook it with a cling wrap and prick with a toothpick to make holes.
- Cook the chena in boiling syrup in microwave for 12 minutes on high power. The chena will double in size so make sure you drop in the rasmalai considering the space of the bowl, you’re not supposed to over crowd while cooking.
- After cooking, remove the bowl and kept it covered, let the chena rest in the syrup for 10-12 minutes, allow it to cool down.
- Once the temperature drops down, squeeze the soft chena gently to remove excess syrup and immediately drop in the prepared rasmalai milk, make sure the milk is at room temperature.
- Let the rasmalai rest in milk for at least 4 hours to absorb the milk, refrigerate it.
“Rasmalai is ready, serve it chilled and garnish it with silvered nuts.” 
Expert Tips & Variations
Rasgulla: If you plan to make the rasgulla then make sure to use whole milk. My comprehensive and detailed post of Rasgulla Recipe will help you to make these cottage cheese balls easily. Remember to flatten the balls to a thick or medium-thick patty like shape before you boil them in the sugar syrup.
Rabdi: To make the rabdi or the liquid base of this sweet, use whole milk or full fat milk to get the clotted cream or malai. Skimmed milk or toned milk simply won’t give you the same results. You can use pasteurized and homogenized milk.
Nuts: While almonds and pistachios are the nuts that are always added, you can opt for nuts like cashews and pine nuts. Blanching the nuts does change their texture and makes them taste better. Omit the blanching to save time an extra step if you prefer while making this rasmalai recipe. Ensure that you do not use salted nuts.
Flavorings: Saffron, rose water, kewra water (pandanus water) and cardamom powder are the classic Indian flavorings included in most sweets. Feel free to skip any one if you don’t have. Instead of rose water and kewra water, add one to two drops of edible rose essence or kewra essence.
FAQs
Q: What is the difference between rasgulla and rasmalai?
A: Rasmalai is made by soaking or cooking rasgulla in thickened milk for a few minutes. The rasgulla balls absorb the flavor of the sweetened flavored milk and becomes soft.
These soft balls are served together with the sweetened thickened milk. For rasgulla the chenna balls (cottage cheese balls) are cooked in sugar syrup. Once they cooked through and become spongy, they are served with the sugar syrup and not thickened milk
Q: Can I use low-fat milk for making rasmalai?
A: Full-fat milk is recommended for making rasmalai as it gives the dessert a rich and creamy taste. Low-fat milk may not yield the same results, but it can be used as a substitute if necessary.
Q: How long can rasmalai be stored?
A: Rasmalai can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Make sure to keep it in an airtight container and consume it before it spoils.
Q: Can rasmalai be made without condensed milk?
A: Yes, rasmalai can be made without condensed milk by using regular milk and reducing it on low heat until it thickens. However, condensed milk adds richness and creaminess to the dessert, so it may not taste the same without it.
Q: Can I freeze rasmalai?
A: It is not recommended to freeze rasmalai as it can affect the texture and taste of the dessert. It is best consumed fresh or stored in the refrigerator for a few days.
If you like this recipe then try our other Desserts also :
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Rasmalai Recipe Card
Equipments
Ingredients
Masala Milk
- 1 cup Sugar
- ¼ cup Pistachio
- ¼ cup Almond
- A pinch of Elaichi powder
- 10-12 strands Saffron
- 1 liter Milk
Other Ingredients
- ¼ cup Water
- 2 tablespoon Vinegar
- Ice cubes as required
- 1 teaspoon Cornstarch
For Sugar Syrup
- 1 cup Sugar
- 4 cup Water
Instructions
- Take a big size microwave safe bowl, add sugar, almonds (chopped), pistachios, cardamom powder and saffron. Add milk to the ingredients. Mix the ingredients and milk well.2. Now place the bowl in microwave and at high power 15 minutes.3. Your masala milk for rasmalai is ready. Cool down to room temperature. By the time you can make chena.4. Set a heavy base wok on medium heat, add the milk and stir in intervals, bring to a boil.5. In a separate bowl, add vinegar & water, mix well and this mixture gradually to the milk. As the milk curdles, add ice cubes to stop the further cooking.6. Use a sieve and place a muslin cloth on it, pass the milk solids (chena) through it and you can reserve the whey, rinse the chena with fresh water to remove the sourness.7. Squeeze the muslin cloth well to remove the excess moisture. You can quickly open the cloth and mix to squeeze it again to remove the excess moisture. Make sure the chena has to be slightly moist.8. Transfer the squeezed chena over a big size thali, Start to cream the chena by doing it with the the heels of your palms.9. As soon as the chena start to leave the thal, collect the chena with light hands. At this stage you can add cornstarch for binding. Mix it well.10. Once it becomes like a soft dough, the chena is ready to be shaped, cover it with a muslin cloth and make the syrup.11. For making the sugar syrup, take a big size microwave safe bowl, add the water and sugar, stir well to dissolve the sugar granules, cook it in microwave on high power for 12 minutes or until the chaashni starts to boil.By the time syrup is cooking you can shape the rasmalai tikkis.12. To shape the tikkis , start the shape them in mini size tikkis, by shaping them between your palms, while applying little pressure and doing in a circular motion.13. Cover the chena tikki with a the moist cloth .14. As soon the chaashni boils, immediately drop in the shaped tikkis and cover it with a cling wrap and prick with a toothpick to make holes, cook it with a cling wrap and prick with a toothpick to make holes.15. Cook the chena in boiling syrup in microwave for 12 minutes on high power.16. After cooking, remove the bowl and kept it covered, let the chena rest in the syrup for 10-12 minutes, allow it to cool down.17. Once the temperature drops down, squeeze the soft chena gently to remove excess syrup and immediately drop in the prepared rasmalai milk, make sure the milk is at room temperature.Your Rasmalai is ready
Video
Notes
- If using tinned or store-brought rasgulla, then make sure they are fresh and in their shelf period.
- For making the thickened milk or rabdi, use whole milk. You can also use homogenized and pasteurized milk.
- Refrigerate rasmalai in a covered container. It keeps well for 2 to 3 days in the fridge. So you can make ahead this dessert a few days before serving.You can also make the rasgulla first and refrigerate them for a couple of days.
- For the nuts, you can add almonds, cashews, pine nuts and pistachios.
- For the flavorings you can skip any one or try to have your own combinations from – green cardamom powder, saffron, rose water or kewra water.
- The recipe can be scaled up for a larger serving.
Ur recipes r too gud . very helpful for us.
Thank you so much.
Thanks for your feedback. We are very glad that you like our recipes.
Best dessert. I make it today and with your guidance it makes so yummy. Thanks North Indian Kitchen
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