How to prepare fresh Chena
To prepare fresh Chena, pour full cream milk in a heavy-bottomed vessel and put it over medium flame to boil.

After the milk starts to boil, reduce the flame to low. Add around 2 tablespoons of vinegar or lemon juice in the milk and continue stirring the milk. You will see the milk starts to curdle. If the milk does not curdle completely add little more vinegar or lemon juice and stir it well with a spoon.

When the milk gets curdled completely, switch off the flame and let it rest for 2-3 minutes to settle.

After 2-3 minutes add 1-2 cup of cold water in the pan. This will help not to overcook the curdled milk and thus we will get soft Chena perfect for our Ras Malai Recipe.

Now place a large steel strainer lined with thin muslin cloth over a large bowl. Pour the curdled milk over this muslin cloth lined over the strainer, to collect the Chena on top.

Collect the open edges of the muslin cloth and remove the excess water by lifting the cloth and pressing it lightly.

Then Rinse this Chena under cold running water, to remove it's acidic behavior and sour taste that it has acquired from vinegar or lemon juice.

Now and tie the open edges of the cloth together to form a bundle. And hang it for around an hour to remove excess water from it. After an hour of hanging our, Chena will be ready to prepare Ras Malai.

How to make Rasmalai
Put the Chena on a plate and rub it with your hands to turn it into smooth and soft. Rub the Chena till the grain gets removed in it. As soon as the grains disappear from the Chena, stop rubbing it. A very soft dough like Chena is ready.

Take out a small piece of Chena from this soft Chena dough. Then roll it between your palms to make small balls. Once it turns into a ball, press it between the palms and make a thick flat spherical shape.

Similarly, make a thick flat spherical shape from the rest of Chena and keep it on a plate. Cover them with a wet cloth and keep aside.

You can easily make 10 to 12 Rasmalai from this much Chena.

How to cook Rasmalai
For cooking Rasmalai we need to prepare sugar syrup first. For this mix 300 grams of sugar with 3 cups of water in a vessel and keep it on high flame over the gas.

When the water starts boiling and the sugar dissolves completely in the water, check for impurities in sugar syrup. If you find impurities in sugar syrup, then add a tablespoon on milk in the syrup and let it boil.

After 2 minutes, you will observe all the impurities of sugar that have solidified and get collected at the top in a cloudy foam type texture. Remove all these foam from syrup with the help of a strainer and you will find a crystal clear sugar syrup.

Once the sugar syrup is crystal clear put all the chenna balls in this boiling syrup and let them boil for 18-20 minutes.

Always keep the syrup boiling and bubbling to cook Rasmalai thus always keep gas on high flame. Cooking the Rasmalai this way turns them to almost double in size while soaking the syrup.

As they turn double in size turn off the gas and let the Rasmalai cool down while keeping them in the syrup.

How to prepare thickened milk for Rasmalai
To thicken the milk, put the milk in a heavy-bottomed vessel and keep it over the gas on medium flame.

Once the milk starts boiling, keep it constantly stirring with a spoon. Also, add saffron and chopped dry fruits in it.

Keep cooking, till the quantity of milk reduces to it's half. Once the milk is reduced to half add sugar and cardamom powder in the milk and cook for another 2-3 minutes while stirring continuously, till the sugar dissolves completely.

After the sugar gets dissolved in the milk, turn off the gas. The thickened milk is ready for Rasmalai.

Take out the previously cooked Rasmalai from the sugar syrup and put it in this thickened milk.

Delicious Rasmalai is ready. Keep it in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 hours.

Please tag @appetizing.adventure on Instagram if you try it!