Rasmalai .... An Indian Delicacy !

I have not been in the best of health these days. The flu and fever have taken a toll on my health. There are many things that I want to do but the energy levels are so low that I hardly can. Like a ritual I logged into the social networking sites ...... and I could see posts on "Earth Day" and slogans like "Reduce Recycle Reuse .... blah blah blah". Earth Day .... Really !! Like I had the choice of going and living in another planet. It is not about one particular day, rather about what choices we make everyday. I am not against spreading awareness but it is about how much we practice the same.

So one day when the milkman left me few extra packets of milk I decided to make rasmalai from it. It was the first time that I was going to try it. Rasmalai is a very popular indian dessert made from soft cottage cheese and dunked in flavored saffron milk. These are easy to make that if you make it once you kind of get addicted. 

Ingredients 

Milk - 3 liters

Vinegar - 3-4 tsp

Sugar - 1 cups (You can add more sugar to the milk syrup per taste) 

Saffron for garnishing 

Dry fruits for garnishing (Optional)

Method of Preparation 

1. PREPARING THE CHEESE/ CHENNA 

Boil 2 liters of the milk in a heavy bottomed over medium-high heat, stirring frequently making sure that the milk does not burn on the bottom of the pan.

As the milk comes to a boil, add vinegar slowly and stir the milk gently. The cheese will start separating from the whey, turn off the heat.

Once the milk fat has separated from the whey, drain the whey using a strainer line with cheesecloth or muslin cloth.

Wrap the cheese  in a muslin cloth, rinse under cold water, and squeeze well. This process takes out the sourness from the vinegar. To take out the excess water squeeze the cloth, or press the wrapped paneer under a heavy pan for about one hour. Taking the right amount of water out of the paneer is the most important part of this recipe.

To check if enough water is out of the paneer, take a little piece of paneer on your palm and rub with your fingers. After rubbing the paneer for about 15-20 seconds, you should be able to make a firm but smooth ball.

If the paneer is too dry, add a few drops of water, using the water squeezed from the paneer.

Once the paneer is drained, place on a dry, clean surface and knead the paneer for 3-4 minutes until the paneer is almost rolls into smooth soft dough.

Knead the paneer by dragging the palm of your hand hard on the paneer. Keep scooping it back to together and knead more. Your palm will be little greasy.

2. MAKING THE RASMALAI

Divide the dough into 12 equal parts and roll them in smooth balls (It can be more or less depending on the size of the patties you make)

To make the balls apply some pressure at the first and then release when forming the balls, lightly press to make about 3/4″ patty shape. 

Mix half cup of sugar and water in a pressure cooker on medium high heat and bring to a boil.

Add the paneer balls and close the pressure cooker. After the pressure cooker starts steaming, turn the heat to medium and cook for about seven minutes.

Make sure the cooker is large enough to accommodate the finished rasgullas patties, as they will expand to about double in the volume while cooking in the syrup!

Close the heat and wait a few minutes before opening the pressure cooker. Pour cold water over the cooker before opening.

Take out the patties from the syrup and squeeze them lightly,and keep aside.

Boil the remaining 1 liter milk in a frying pan on medium heat until the milk reduce to half. 

Make sure to frequently stir the milk as the milk burns easily in bottom of the pan.

Add the saffron and remaining sugar to it. Stir well.

Add Rasmalai patties in milk. Let it cook for few minutes.

Garnish with sliced almonds and pistachios (Optional)

Cheena Tarkari aka Cottage cheese dumpling curry .....

I WAS a fussy eater ...... well not any more. The list of things that would not make it to the plate far more out numbered the ones that did. Milk and it's bi-products were a BIG NO for me. The milk had to be religiously strained before adding a liberal amount of Bourvita to it. There should be NO malai in the milk and it should taste anything but not milky. Paneer was also in the DISLIKE list. I had my own criteria ...... Paneer (Cheena) as rasogolla was fine, even Cheena Poda (another traditional sweet from Odisha) was fine but not Cheena Payesh or even for that matter steamed paneer cake. Forget about Paneer Curry and all that ...... 

And I am sure you would not want to go through the long list of vegetables ..... Except for Potatoes, Cauliflower, Peas, and a select few everything else !

Not just that I would sit with food on my plate for hours. My tantrums were unlimited.

Either my parents had given up on me as a hopeless case or had loads of patience. I have to go with the later ..... not because I am biased but because it was their patience and perseverance of not giving up on me that I am a foodie now !! Yeah Rome was not built in a year. 

My parents would constantly worry about my eating habits especially when I would have to leave their nest and go out to make a life of my own. No matter how stern mom looked she wept like a baby when she left me at my hostel. And the real world beckoned upon me ...... Bitter gourd curry was served for dinner the first night at my hostel along with some other greens, curd, rice, sambar and chappati. Tears welled up and was chocked. Either I had to eat or starve. I served a small spoon of rice and sambar and tried to swallow it. And I have to say that my stay in the hostel taught me many lessons of life .... including food !! And I changed my habits for the better. 

The next time I visited home after my first semester break ..... my family was quite surprised to meet the no more fussy eater. I ate all and with delight. And today my list of food that I don't eat has shrunk and if ever I am made to do a thank you speech on who changed my food habits, it has to be the horrible cook of my hostel ...... lol

About the recipe ........

Cottage cheese is called Cheena in the eastern part of India. This curry is very typical to Odisha/ West Bengal. Goes well with Indian Flat Bread ( Roti/ Phulka/ Chappati/ Poori/ Paratha etc ). Best when consumed fresh.

Preparation Time - 30 minutes

Serves - 2 

Ingredients

Cottage Cheese - 250 gms

Baking Soda -  1 pinch

Onion - 1 small

Tomato - 1 small

Ginger - 1 inch

Garlic - 4-5 pods

Cinnamon - 1 inch 

Cardamom - 2 

Fennel - 1/2 tsp

Cumin - 1 pinch

Cashew nuts - A handful

Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp

Turmeric - 1 small pinch

Cayenne Pepper/ Red Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp

Salt -  to taste 

Oil for cooking 

Method of Preparation

1. Knead the Cheena/ cottage cheese after adding baking soda to it to make a soft pliable dough. Pinch out small balls of the cottage cheese and roll between your palms to make smooth balls.  Heat oil in a kadhai/ wok to medium heat and fry them till they are golden brown. Remove and drain on a kitchen paper towel to remove excess oil. Keep aside.

2. Make a paste of Onion, ginger and garlic and cumin seeds . Puree the tomato separately. Make a paste of cashew nuts. Keep aside

3. Take 2 tbsp of oil in a wok. When warm add cinnamon, cardamom and fennel seeds. Now add the onion ginger garlic cumin paste to it. Stir and fry the masala till the masala is cooked and there is no raw smell. Add tomato puree, turmeric, chili powder and salt. Cook for few more minutes till the masala starts leaving oil at the sides. 

4. Add the cashew nut paste to it and simmer. Add garam masala. If needed add water to adjust the consistency.

5. If you are making this dish in advance, heat the gravy and add the Cheena balls to it just before serving. Else they tend to soak the gravy and make it dry.