August 15, 2006

RICOTTA CHEESE RAS MALAI

How do you improve a Indian dessert and make it Americanized? Hmmm... What do you do if you donot get Indian Paneer ?? Hey ! I know !! Use good old Italian Ricotta and instead of boiling milk forever to get a thick sauce, why not use condensed milk ? Okay... Can I use Vanilla to flavor it ? Food color to replace saffron ? NO WAY !! Cardamom powder and saffron stays and Yesss ! That's It !!! Ricotta Basundi is born!! :D



YOU NEED:
1/4 Cup Sweetened Condensed Milk mixed with enough milk to thin it
1 tsp Cardamom Powder
Pinch of Saffron mixed with milk

Heat all the above in the microwave until creamy but not very thick.Chill in the fridge.

RICOTTA ROUND:
1/2 Cup Ricotta cheese ( Low- Fat is okay)
1 tbsp or more Plain Flour
2 tbsp or more Sugar
Little Cardamom Pd


GARNISH:
Few toasted Almonds
Pinch of Cardamom Pd
Rose Petals

HOW TO:
1. Mix and knead all the above lightly to one firm ball or smaller balls adding some more or enough flour if required.
2. Place it on a no-stick oil sprayed baking pan, and bake at 350F for 15-20 mins in the oven until firm. Cool. Chill in the fridge for sometime until firm.
3. Take out the ball from the fridge,pan fry with 1 tsp ghee quickly in a non-stick pan until the bottom and top gets a golden color. Chill again.

NOTE:Baking first is recommended to cook the flour and then get the golden color by pan frying gently, works well this way.

TO SERVE:

1. Take out chilled basundi sauce and pour into a bowl.
2. Place in ricotta ball in the center gently!
3. Garnish sprinkled with little powdered cardamom, toasted flaked Almonds and Rose petals if you happen to have them !!

Serve and don't forget to smile!!!

NOTE: Please do not add the warm Ricotta ball into warm basundi sauce. Believe me, it will sink like Titanic!! ( Yeah! it has happened to me before)..LOL..

13 comments:

Krithika said...

Came here thru' Indira's blog. You have a great blog with some amazing recipes

Anonymous said...

Saw your comment in Indira's Blog and came here. You have a great blog- simple recipes for everyday meals.

My favorites and must try ones from your blog are Masala Baingan,Mysore Saaru,Tendi Palya,green peas saagu, dal palak. Love the rest of the recipes too.

Adding you to my blogroll rightaway :)

Menu Today said...

Hi,
Nice picture and nice recipe, thanks for sharing.

Unknown said...

That looks divine. Itz a must try. Thanx a lot for sharing.

FH said...

I thank all of you visiting!!

I hope y'all try that too. It tastes divine as it looks!! Just make sure both are chilled before you arrange it in a bowl!!

Anonymous said...

This looks good and seems easy to try....

Great work!!!

FH said...

Thanks Anu! Hope you will try and welcome to my blog!

Vini K said...

Hi Asha,rasmalai is one of my favs..looks easy work to do.great picture..you make food look sooo appealing,I am sure your kids clean their plates every single time!:)

FH said...

Thanks Vini. This dessert I am really proud of creating myself!It's really tasty and easy too.My kids loved this one,usually they don't like Indian food!:)Hope you try.

MS said...

Dear Asha
First of all, I have to thank you for all your recipes and maintaining a nice website for new and passionate cooks everywhere.
I tried making the ricotta cheese ras malai yesterday. Should the mixture of the cheese and flour be pretty thick (or should it be like dosa flour consistency).Also, should I apply some butter or ghee to the aluminum foil before placing the balls in the oven, cause, without that, after 20 min at 350, the balls which I made stuck to the foil and wouldn't come out.
Comment please.
Thanks, M

FH said...

Hi Madhu, glad you tried to cook the Ras malai.
Drain all the liquid from the Ricotta well first and then add flour enough to make a firm dough like a ball or thick enough to put in the pan.Not at all like liquidy batter.Don't add too much flour either,just enough.
Try adding 1tbsp corn starch to absorb extra water too and then spray the foil or a pan with no-stick spray and bake just until almost dry.Take a scoop of dough,roll to a ball and chill it.To get color,slightly butter a heated pan,put the ball until the bottom gets color,chill again.
Hope this helps!:)

Anonymous said...

Dear Asha,

I plan to try this recipe for new year. How do you get the color? Does saffron give the color or do I need to add some color to the basundi sauce.

FH said...

Hi Anon,yes,it is the saffron mixed with milk which gives the color.Enjoy.