Category: Indian Desserts

Priti’s Quick, Easy and Tasty Rasamalai

rasamalai

Ingredients:

  1. 2 cans of Haldiram’s Rasagula (white sponge-like balls)
  2. Half & Half milk – one quart
  3. Sugar – 3/4 cup
  4. Powdered Cardamom – few pinches
  5. Saffron – few threads
  6. Ground nuts – Almonds, pistachios, and few cashews  (Ratio 5:8:3. You can make a powder of this and store as well for future use. A nice addition to kids cereal etc. This recipe needs about two tablespoons of this nut powder)

Preparation: Boil milk in a pan. Allow it to boil for some time (about 15mts. Stir so that milk won’t stick to the bottom). Add ground nuts, cardamom, and saffron.  Stir for few more minutes.

Take rasagula balls out from the can and squeeze all water out with the hand from balls. Add the squeezed sponge-like balls to the milk. Let it all boil, and when the bubbles start showing, switch off the stove after 2-3mts. Allow it to cool. After 30mts add sugar. Adding sugar early will make it watery. Enjoy!!!

Note: Priti sent me these pictures while sharing the recipe. At the end, you can see a baby bowl which she is saving for me…. 🙂 🙂 yummmmm. Thank you!!!

Easy Rice paalpayasam (Milk payasam)

Ingredients:

  1. Milk    – 3.75  litre (about 1 gallon)
  2. Sugar  – 2  Cups ( change depending on your sugar needs)
  3. Sweetened Condensed Milk  – two  14oz  cans (In India Nestle Milkmaid has it. I used Nestle Carnation). If you don’t have this ingredient.. increase the amount of sugar to your taste.
  4. Rice    – 1  Cup
  5. Cashew and Raisins fried in ghee/butter for garnishing (optional).

Preparation:

Mix Milk and Rice in a Pressure cooker. I used Long grain rice (Pachari. India has more variety of payasam rice) unwashed.

Milk and rice together should fill only half of the pressure cooker. So, choose the cooker size depending on the quantity.

Put a stainless spoon, which is big enough to show  above the milk and cover with lid, and keep in medium flame for 15 minutes, stirring in between.

(I read this tip in a recipe. It avoids milk from flowing out when it boils) (If you are cooking for smaller quantity 10 minutes is enough).

Now add Condensed milk and sugar. Stir and Mix well.

Cover the pressure cooker, put weight (for whistle), and cook on medium heat until the first whistle comes. After first whistle,  Switch the stove off, move the pressure cooker away from the hot stove, and let it stay for 40 minutes.

(If you are cooking for small quantity… 30 minutes is enough).

Open the lid and enjoy the nice pink paal payasam. Lift the cooker weight/whistle slowly and make sure all the steam is out before opening.

Optional: You can garnish with Cashew and Rasins fried in Ghee/butter. I like it without cashew and raisins.

Note: Courtesy to Mallika Sukumaran’s recipe. Slightly modified.