Ras Malai
Discs of fresh cheese poached, squeezed and soaked in cardamom and saffron milk. The dessert Bengali sweet shops are judged on.
Photograph credit: Rasa malai (image of Ras malai on Wikidata Q5656299) by Subhransuphotography · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · this resized copy is shared under the same licence
What to Put on the Table With Ras Malai
- Strong masala chai
- Gulab jamun
- Fresh mango
Photograph credit: Ras Malai by Miansari66 · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
How to Cook Ras Malai
Tap a step to highlight it, or turn on Cook Mode for large type and step-by-step focus.
-
Bring the 2 litres of milk to the boil, take it off the heat and stir in the lemon juice until it splits.
-
Strain through muslin, rinse under cold water, and hang for 30 minutes to drain.
-
Knead the chenna with the semolina on a work surface for 8 minutes, until completely smooth and slightly greasy.
-
Roll into 16 balls and flatten each into a 4 cm disc.
-
Boil the 150 g sugar with the water in a wide pan.
-
Slide the discs in, cover, and boil hard for 12 minutes. They will double.
-
Meanwhile simmer the 1 litre of milk with the rabri sugar, cardamom and saffron for 25 minutes, until reduced by a third.
-
Lift the discs out of the syrup, press each gently between your palms to squeeze the syrup out, and drop them into the warm rabri.
-
Cool, then refrigerate 4 hours so they take up the milk.
-
Serve cold, scattered with pistachios and almonds.
Related guide: Prep, cook and total time.
Something wrong or unclear in this recipe? Report a problem with this recipe.
Worth Knowing Before You Cook
Eight minutes of kneading. Set a timer.
They double in the syrup — leave room.
Squeeze the syrup out before they go into the milk.
Leftovers
Keeps 4 days refrigerated in its milk and is better on the second day.
Ras Malai: Your Questions Answered
How long does Ras Malai take to make?
40 minutes of preparation and 40 minutes of cooking, plus 4 hours 30 minutes of chilling in the rabri, so allow 5 hours 50 minutes from start to finish. The method also needs time for cooling, which it does not time, so treat that as a minimum. The recipe serves 6.
What's in a Serving
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.
Your notes on this recipe
Cooked this? Keep a note for next time
Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked. Found a mistake? Tell us.
First published ; last changed .
You Might Also Like
More Indian cooking and desserts ideas from Weekly Delight.
Rasgulla
Balls of fresh cheese boiled in thin syrup until they double and turn spongy. Bengal's sweet, and the texture is…
Falooda
Rose syrup, soaked basil seeds, vermicelli, milk and ice cream layered in a tall glass. Half drink and half pudding.
Gulab Jamun
Milk-solid dumplings fried to a deep bronze and steeped in cardamom-rose syrup until they double in size and turn to…
Jalebi
Fermented batter piped in spirals into hot ghee and dunked straight into warm saffron syrup, so the crisp coils fill…
Sheera
A soft Indian semolina pudding roasted in ghee, cooked in milk and flavoured with cardamom, sugar and sultanas.
Rabri
Milk simmered for an hour until it reduces to a thick, creamy layer, sweetened and flavoured with cardamom, saffron…