Rasmalai

It was the first long holiday after I joined work – Deepavali of 2008. Having been lived in the comfort of my home all my life, I had to move to Bangalore for my first job. And being away from home is very very difficult, if it’s your first time especially. I was very eagerly waiting for the holiday so that I could be home for 4 days at a stretch. If there is one thing that I missed more than anything in Bangalore, it was my kitchen at home – having been staying in a small dingy room in a so-called paying guest house. Back home, everytime I prepared something in my kitchen, my family ooh-ed and aww-ed. Not only that I had no such comfort, I had to gulp down so-called PG food. So the first thing I did after going home (that is after savoring amma’s food) was to get into my kitchen. I always helped amma prepare deepavali sweets and that year, I decided to make Rasmalai. It was my very first attempt of the sweet, after watching it on a TV show. Rasmalai came out delectably and vanished in no time. And if I remember correctly, this is the first ever dish of which I clicked pictures (of course on my low end mobile camera) Today is my 7th work anniversary and coincidentally, I am posting Rasmalai recipe 🙂

To make Rasmalai Serves – 4 (makes 12 rasmalais) Time to prepare – 50mins + time to refrigerate What I used –

Standardized or Toned Milk, 1 + ½ ltrs Sugar, 1 +1 cups Vinegar or Lemon Juice, 1 tbsp Cardamom Powder, 1 tsp Almonds, 7-8 Water, 1 cup + ½ cup

How I made –

Note: Sugar levels can be adjusted according to personal preferences. I used a litre of toned milk and half litre of standardized milk – results were good. Make smaller rasmalais while rolling them, as they double up in size after getting cooked in sugar syrup. Using a wide mouthed vessel is important while cooking rasmalais as they need the swimming space while cooking. I used a smaller pot and my rasmalais were sticking together after 15mins of cooking and I had a tough time separating them. This tastes best on refrigerating. If you are like my Amma, you can have hot Rasmalais too 🙂