Rasmalai /Pujor Charte Din - Nostalgia

Pujo is a time that screams HOME , nothing like the smell of notun jama (new clothes) , the cacophony of the honking cars, claustophobic mad queues and accidental meeting of the 'unknown' inquisitive dada boudi (acquaintances)gang...the stuff that I had been complaining for years at my ma baba's place is what I'm crazily longing for now in my phoren land .

 The Pujo days are almost identical. .as far as my memory goes. ..they have always been the same  ..just feels so out of reach now.

Ma would scream at me for dipping my hand in the cookie jar before the Anjali, almost bully me to get inside the bathroom with my crisp new clothes so that I can hurry up and go to the pandal with her. By the time I managed to pull my that dressed up look together,  Ma would've had set with the breakfast table with Luchi Alur Chorchori and Payesh.Something to look forward to right after the Anjali. ..I know the food nostalgia is sweeping me away ..how I wish I could be a part of the chaos and cacophony , and now if the fate allows, I promise to be right on time for Anjali, albeit in my notun jama and make up dabbed avatar totally set for the Instragram selfies. Wishful thinking!

Oh well I know I cant replicate the pujor gondho and alhad , or compete with the talent and aromas of my mom's kitchen , I can certainly make an humble attempt to recreate the rasmalai . The family favorite dish we cook year on year...

There are maestros who have posted step by step recipes with techniques, so I have lazily skipped that step. You can take a look at Garima's blog here


 Rasmalai : 

Ras Malai consists of two main steps , First : make the sponge cheese patty and then second step is to prepare the the saffron-and-cardamom-infused sweet creamy milk to soak the patty.

Step 1:  Prepare paneer by curdling the milk with lime juice, once curdled, remove from heat immediately . know knead till it leaves the fat. Now prepare the sugar syrup with a ratio of 4:1 water:sugar.

Then b) divide into 10-12 portions. and now roll each portion into a ball and flatten it gently between your palms.  Your patty will increase in its size after cooking.

Now once your sugar syrup is boiling , drop the patty one by one. I make in a pressure cooker. I pressure cook on high for one whistle. Then 7 minutes on medium heat and 2 minutes without heat. Then open the lip by pouring cold water on cooker. Now take the patty out and drop them one by one in water. 

Step 2 is preparing the Saffron and Cardamom infused milk . I used 1 litre milk and boiled it in a saucepan on medium heat for at least 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it reduced to half . Now add the 1 cup of saffron soaked warm and crushed cardamoms and pistachios. Finally add 1/4 cup sugar . Cook for 5 more minutes. You are set , adjust to taste. Once cooled add the water soaked patty (after draining out the water) and chill for a few hours.  Enjoy!!