Rasmalai and 2 years of blogging

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HELLO everybody! It's been a long time, isn't it? I know that for sure, because words don't flow anymore, and my fingers feel like lead as I type these words. Gosh! It's been long. Just in case you were wondering what kept us away, Sunitha made her big move to Canada, yoohoo! I am happy for her, and I got real busy with the kids. You know how summer holidays can be, right?! Swimming and day trips, hikes, shopping, just feeding them kids and all the other things that come with the territory. But behind all the chaos of our lives Collaborative Curry quietly turned 2 ! Are we proud! It's been a great journey so far in the blogging world and we love all our readers for staying tuned to this site. I read all the lovely messages you left me, and felt quite touched that you remembered and thought about us while we were away. Love you guys!

Today as we make a come back I will share an Indian sweet much loved, rasmalai. It's only been a couple of years since I started making Rasmalai. Infact, i never tried it while I was living in India. You know how you crave a piece of your country or hometown when you are far from it, right. That is how I made this one day. It goes without saying that I have a sweet tooth and this is one of my favorites. The 'mithai' shops in India sell these and they are awesome. If you haven't made this at home before don't shy away from trying, it's as a breeze. Watch this video from Manjula's kitchen it is really helpful to take your fears off.

And here is a picture of "Colorado Gold" for you all :-) Happy Fall everyone !

Ingredients:

Milk- 4 cups
Lemon juice- 1/4 cup
Sugar- 1 1/2 cup
Water- 4 1/2 cups

For the milk syrup

Milk- 3 cups
Sugar- 1/4 cup/ to taste
Powdered cardamom- 1/2 tsp
Saffron- a pinch, soaked in a Tablespoon of warm milk
Pistachios/Almonds slivered- for garnish

Method:

1.Boil 4 cups of milk, stirring in between.
2.Meanwhile mix the lemon juice with half cup of hot water.
3.When the milk starts to boil,slowly add the lemon juice mixed with water and stir gently.Turn off the heat and you should be able to see the curd and whey starting to separate.
4.Wait for a couple of minutes.Strain this using a strainer,lined with cheese cloth.
5.Wrap the paneer in the muslin cloth and hold it under running cold tap water for a few minutes.
6.Take out the excess water by squeezing the muslin cloth or by hanging the paneer in the muslin cloth for sometime till all the water drips off.
7.You could check whether the paneer is ready by taking a small piece onto your palm and rubbing with your fingers. After about 15-20 seconds of rubbing, if you are able to make a firm and smooth ball9without any cracks) out of the paneer,it is ready.
8.If the paneer is ready, place it on a surface where you can knead it. Knead the paneer for about 5-6 minutes or till it becomes smooth.
9.Make small lemon sized balls out of this and smooth them. (There shouldn't be any cracks)Press them between the palms to give them the shape of rasmalai.
10. Boil 4 cups of water in a big pressure cooker.Add 1 1/2 cup sugar and mix it.
11.Add the rasmalai patties and close the lid of the cooker.Keep it on medium high heat.
12.When the steam starts coming turn the heat to medium and cook for about 7 minutes.
13.Turn off the heat and wait for a few minutes before you open the cooker.
14.While you wait, boil the milk for the syrup in a non sticky pan and boil it till it reduces to almost half.Stir in between.
15.After opening the cooker carefully, take out the patties and gently squeeze them to get rid of excess water.
16.Throw in the sugar into the evaporated milk and mix well.Add the patties that you kept ready and cook for a few minutes.
17.Mix the soaked saffron and the powdered cardamom.
18.Pour the rasmalai into a serving dish, garnish with pistachios/almonds. Serve chilled.

Recipe courtesy: Manjula's kitchen