Boil milk in a heavy bottom pan. Once it comes to a boil, switch off the flame and start adding lemon juice/vinegar till milk curdles.
Using a clean cloth/ strainer drain the water and collect the chena. Rinse it under cold tap water immediately so that the paneer will be soft and there’s no trace of lemon juice in it.

Hang it for 10 mins to drain out excess water. Take the chena in a plate. Start mashing the chena till it’s smooth. Mash constantly for 10 minutes using your palm. Once it’s smooth, make small balls out of it.

Heat 1 cup sugar and 4 cups water in a wide pan and wait till it comes to a full boil. Drop the balls in boiling sugar syrup and cook for 15-17 minutes. The balls will double in size by then. Take out the balls from the syrup and drop them in fresh icecold water. If they sink to the bottom, the balls are done. They are always done by 15-17 minutes so you can skip this step if you want. Keep them in the ice water for 5 mins.

(TIP) :Use a wide pan to cook the rasmalai balls. The balls double in size so there should be enough space in the pan for them to cook. Don’t overcrowd the pan with too many balls. The water to sugar ratio is 4:1. So for every 1 cup of sugar we add 4 cups of water. This ratio is important to get the right syrup consistency. Drop the balls in the syrup only when it comes to a full boil and the heat should be set to maximum throughout the duration of 15-20 minutes till the balls are cooking.

Tip : If you feel the sugar syrup is getting thicker and balls are sticking to the bottom of the pan, then keep adding little water constantly. The balls should not touch the bottom of the pan. The syrup should always be thin in consistency. With 4:1 ratio, you will hardly need to add any water. That’s why I said this is the perfect ratio for maintaining the correct syrup consistency.

When the rasmalai balls are cooked, in the meantime take another heavy bottom pan, boil 1 lt of milk. Soak few strands of saffron in a tablespoon of warm milk and set aside.
Once the milk comes to a boil, lower the flame and continue to stir the milk at regular intervals. After 10 minutes add sugar and mix.
After 20-25 minutes the milk will thicken to desired consistency, add soaked saffron and crushed cardamom. Also add finely chopped dry fruits. Mix and switch off the flame.

After 10-15 minutes transfer the balls to thickened warm milk. Chill in the refrigerator overnight or for 5-6 hours. Garnish with chopped nuts before serving. Now soft spongy Rasmalai is ready to serve..