Debbie's Ras Malai
Ras Malai is one of my favourite Indian sweets of all time. Soft, milky dumplings drenched in a sweet, fragrant syrup - what more could you want!? My Work Mum has a fabulous recipe and has kindly allowed me to share it with you all., so enjoy!
Serves 4-6
Preparation Time: 15 minutes / CookingTime: 1 hour
INGREDIENTS
For the milk dumplings:
1 cup full cream milk powder
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp ghee/butter
1 cup milk
4 cups water
2 tbls sugar
For the syrup:
4 cups milk
1/2 sup sugar
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
pinch of saffron
1 tbl rosewater
pinch of salt
1/4 cup chopped pistachios
METHOD
For the dumplings:
Mix the baking powder and milk powder in a medium bowl.
Add the egg and ghee/butter, and mix together. Knead lightly for 2 minutes with fingers.
Roll approximately 15 small balls and flatten between hands gently - make you smooth out any cracks.
Bring the milk, water and sugar to boil in a wide 30cm non stick pan. NOTE - the dumplings will expand when cooking so if you don’t have a wide pan, cook in two batches. You may have to top up with some more water when simmering a second batch.
Gently add the dumplings once milk/water is boiling, cover and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook covered for 10 minutes.
Remove the cover and cook for a further 5 minutes.
Shut heat and gently remove dumplings with a silicone spoon to a serving dish, in a single layer. NOTE - do not pile on top of each other - use two dishes if not big enough for all 15 dumplings.
Remove the remaining milk/water and clean the pan.
For the syrup:
Add all syrup ingredients except the pistachio to the cleaned pan and heat on medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Bring to boil.
Stirring frequently, boil the mixture for 20 minutes until it reduces and slightly thickens.
Shut heat and leave to cool slightly for 5 minutes.
Gently pour the mixture over the dumplings in the serving dish.
Scatter the pistachios evenly over the top to garnish.
Chill completely before serving.
Serve 2-3 dumplings in a bowl with generous spoonfuls of the syrup. ENJOY!