Ras Malai, cotton soft cheese in a creamy milk sauce, is a delectable Indian dessert. Find out how easy it is to make and impress your family and friends. Ras Malai is a delicious and perfect end to any Indian meal. Make it for your next party or holiday celebration!
Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: approx 1 hour (in various stages)
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients:
Whole Milk – 8 cups (divided)
Lemon Juice – 2 Tbsp
Water – 5 cups (in a pressure cooker)
Sugar – 1 cup
Saffron – pinch
Cardamom Powder – 1/4 tsp
Pistachios & Almonds – 2 Tbsp, roughly chopped
Sugar for the Ras – to taste
Method:
1. Boil 4 cups milk in a steel pan and boil the remaining 4 cups milk in a non-stick pan (The milk in the non-stick pan needs to be reduced to half the quantity so once it comes to a boil, keep the flame low and keep cooking while stirring occasionally. Grind saffron with a small amount of sugar and add it to the milk while boiling).
2. Once the milk in the steel pan comes to a rolling boil, slowly add lemon juice.
3. When the milk curdles (paneer), switch off the stove and strain the paneer in a cheese cloth.
4. Pour a little cold water over the paneer and hang the cheese cloth on the tap for approx 30 minutes to remove all of the liquid.
5. Remove the paneer from the cheese cloth and run it through a food processor to smooth it out. You can knead the paneer by hand but it will take a long time to make it smooth.
6. Divide the paneer into 12 equal portions a little smaller than the size of a ping pong ball.
7. Roll the portions in your hands until a smooth ball is formed. Lightly press the ball until it flattens out.
8. In the pressure cooker with water, dissolve 1 cup sugar and add the flattened paneer.
9. Close pressure cooker lid and cook until one whistle sounds. Immediately switch off the stove and set the timer for exactly 5 minutes.
10. After 5 minutes, carefully take the pressure cooker to the sink and pour cold water over the lid to remove the pressure.
11. Remove the cooked paneer with a slotted spoon into a bowl and allow it to cool.
12. Meanwhile, the milk in the non-stick pan should have reduced to half. Add sugar to taste, cardamom powder and nuts. Switch off the stove and keep milk aside.
13. Once the paneer is cool enough to handle with your hands, gently squeeze out the sugar syrup from the paneer and place the paneer into a serving dish.
14. Pour the prepared reduced milk over the paneer and chill in the refrigerator.
15. Garnish with additional chopped nuts.
Awesome recipe. I followed the exact steps and they turned out so soft.
Is there a way to cook them in sugar syrup instead of pressure cooking them? I want to make large batches. Thanks !
Hi
Is there another way of cooking without pressure cooker have no need to have one in my ordinary cooking. Can I steam the paneer in an idli maker as a substitute for cooking in a pressure cooker?
Lovely recipes have tried the Dhokla and the Dahi Vada they were perfect.
Yours Sincerely
Uma
Hi Hetal and Anuja
I just was trying my hand at your recipe and followed the instructions to the T, but when I opened the pressure cooker after putting cold water, I see my paneer balls had crumbled completely. There was no sign of a ball itself.
Could you suggest as to what must have gone wrong and what can be done now. I had found absolutely no issues in making the paneer patties..it was nice n smooth. And even puffed up slightly and came up to the top when I put it into the pressure cooker.
Thanks
Rini
Hi Rini,
No idea – the only thing we can think of is that the balls were not kneaded/smooth enough to keep the bind…don’t give up – try once again – fingers crossed 🙂
Hi .. Last week I tried GITS Rasmalai but it came out really bad, so thought to give a try to you receipe.. and I am amazed.. The Rasgula came out soo soft ..Thanks a lot for the recipe..
Hi Pooja,
It is hard-er work than from a package but it is so worth the effort, right?
Glad you enjoyed the recipe – Happy Holidays 🙂
Hi,
I have tried your recipe and found the rasgulla was not not sweet and hardened after refridgerating.
Do you have a suggestion for rasgullas to absorb milk?
– Should sugar syrup be boiling in pressure cooker when we add paneer balls before putting the pressure cooker lid?
– Should the flavoured milk be hot/warm or cold when we pour on squeezed rasgulla?
Regards
Hi,
The same for me being that the paneer went hard after refigerating. After re-heating it softed but not to the softness that it had after coming out of the pressure cooker. Did you manage to find out the reason why, please? I have had a few explainations:
1.) The doughy paneer should NOT be left out for short periods of time i.e. it should be made into balls and cooked straight away.
2.) The paneer should not be left to dry.
3.) The dough wasn’t soft enough. (Small cracks did appear after squashing paneer from balls to dome shape. This could mean that dough was not soft enough.)
Another couple of things:
a.) The paneer did not expand much after boiling in the pressure cooker.
b.) The paneer was quite heavy to eat! Eating two was too much. Usually I can eat eight in one sitting!
Let me know, please, if anyone has any suggestions…
Thanks.
Hiii!!!
It looked so amazing but the idea of cooking in pressure cooker doesnot work. I tried it and all the balls of rasmalai shattered in the cooker….
I am planning to make these for a party. To do all the work in a single day will be too much. I was wondering if I can make all the paneer previous day and then make rasgoullas next day – will the paneer be still soft??
I saw a posting that some one made it for 100 people party. I would like to know how much time did it take for you to make so many ras malais.
thanks
-anju
how many cups of milk is needed for 50 rasmalais.And do we need to increase the quantity of lemon also.
Hi, is possible to substitute evaporated milk for the syrup/liquid portion? Thank you in advance!
hi,
i have made this rasmalai 6 times and each time it has turned out superb.I made them again yesterday and somehow the balls haven turned out as soft and spongy and felt a little uncooked too from the centre although they had doubled in size and were really spongy when hot.I Am not able to figure out what may have gone wrong.
Having read this I believed it was very informative.
I appreciate you taking the time and energy to put this content together.
I once again find myself personally spending way too much time both reading and leaving
comments. But so what, it was still worthwhile!
Hi Anuja and Hetal,
Thank you very much for this lovely receipe. I tried this at home for mother’s day and everyone loved it.
You guys are doing a fantastic job! I ad a question for Ras Malai…..I have American cottage cheese with small curds can I use this to make it?
Hi Sha,
Although many people call paneer “cottage cheese”, it really is not the same as the cottage cheese that is available in American grocery stores.
No words other than fantastic. Yummy dessert and nice presentation…
Hi Hetal and Anuja,
Tried your rasmalai receipe and it turned awesome, and yummy,infact my son and husband liked it very much.
thanks
Thanks so much for the feedback Precy!
Hi,
Could you please tell me measurement of one cup that is used? Is it 250 ml?
Hi Adity,
We use a standard US measuring cup which is 8 fluid ounces or approximately 236 ml.
kool
Hi Hetal and Anuja,
I absolutely love rasmalai. When in India I use to have it every week and my mom also use to make it at home and I use to absolutely relish each and every bite of it. I came to US for my studies and my university is in the middle of nowhere. Nearest grocery or Indian restaurant is 2 hrs drive from my place. Its been years and I very much missed.
After watching your video, I ran to walmart and brought home all the ingredients and prepared. It came out extremely well (Just the way some of the best mitaiwalas in india made). I am eating it every day.
Thanks a ton for doing my fav dessert. Never know it is so easy. Only part I hate is boiling the milk for 1 hr. Wondering if I can use half and half? Give some pointers. I am a bachelor student! Any quick and easy method to cut time on boiling?
Hi Vijay,
So glad you enjoyed the ras malai! Yes, boiling down the milk is a tedious task. You could try evaporated milk. The taste may be a little different than actual milk that is reduced, but may work for the busy life style of a student bachelor :).
thanks a lot ,,,just made mine
Dear Maam,
I tried making the dish, Rasa was good but something wnt wrong with the paneer balls after it was pressured cooked the size didnt increased..but the balls were soft but later it became rock hard….
No idea what went wrong..
Could you help me out so that next time it would be perfect..
Thanks
Hi,
Is it possible to make the paneer rassgullas in advance, leave them in the fridge in syrup for a day or two and then add them to freshly mad Ras the day they need to be served? Would it work?
Thanks
Hello Hetal Ji and Anuja Ji,
Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe. When I tried it, everything turned out well but the paneer pattie had a little kachcha(uncooked) taste to it. Could it be because I pressure cooked it with the gas on high? I watched your video before I made it but I could not tell if you cooked it on medium or low gas.
Please advise.
Hello,
Please respond when you get chance.
Sorry for missing your question…
We usually keep the flame at medium when we use pressure cookers. I don’t know if the level of the flame caused the uncooked taste. Did you knead the paneer well and rolled it to a smooth texture before pressure cooking?
I appreciate your response Hetal ji.
Yes I kneeded the paneer in a food processor just like you have shown in the video, and did roll it to a smooth texture just like gulab jamuns. They did not fluff up like urs in the video either.
tats cuz u r dumb!!
LOL !! Wonder how people like you have so much time on your hands. You have the nerve to call someone dumb, but too coward to display your name.
Anyways Hetal ji and Anuja ji please let me know if you can think of anything that could have gone wrong with the way I cooked.
Hi Newbee,
Please disregard rude messages…we get plenty of them :). I’m sorry but I cannot figure out what went wrong with your ras malai. Maybe some of our other viewers can help out here.
Hetal Ji,
I appreciate your response 🙂 .. It will give it a shot again and see how it goes.
Hi,
I am plannning to make this recipe for a group of 100 people for my son’s birthday party. I have already tried ur rasagulla recipe for another party it came out good. my question is can I make the Ras part for the rasmalai with ricotta chesse and whole milk will it be good.
Thank you and i will be waiting for ur reply.
Hi Sus,
We have not tried it but it may work. I would definitely try it out on a small batch first. You can put in just a bit of ricotta cheese so that it feels as though the milk has solidified. The thing is…the whole milk will still not have the cooked down flavor that ras malai is known for. You may want to add some evaporated milk or a little condensed milk to give it that flavor. Let us know if it works out for you. And…a very happy birthday to your son!
Hi Hetal,
I made the ras part with ricotta cheese it came out very well and actually i didn’t even added evaporated milk and i added only whole milk. I made around 150 rasmalai,i just used 15 gms of ricotta chesse for the whole ras part it was as thich as it is prepared with condensed milk.
Thank you, and sorry for the late reply.
Hey Anuja and Hetal,
It would just be not fair of me if I did not thank you after making this wonderful recipe.. Though I am not quite a follower of food blogs,I came across your site and ended up making rasmalai. And it has just come awesome.The rabri was perfect and the dumplings were super soft and never lost its shape.
Thanks a lot to both of you. 🙂
Hi Rashmi,
Thanks you so much! Glad you enjoyed the ras malai!
Dear Hetal and Anuja,
can you please tell me if i can use the rasmalai recipe for rasabali? In these recipe the paneer patties are fried instead of boiling. Would it works?
Thanks for your answer
Hi Reni,
Yes, this recipe would work. You would have to add a couple of teaspoons of sooji, sugar and a bit of baking soda to the paneer before kneading, making balls and frying.
Hello,
I am an Italian engaged to an Indian.. I wanted to make Ras Malai for my fiance but realized his mother makes it completely different!
When the milk curdles, she puts ice into the pot, and she does not always use a pressure cooker, she sometimes boils them.
Can you tell me what the difference is? Will it come out any differently if I make it your way or hers?
Hi Gianna,
For ras malai, you do not want the paneer to be hard…by adding ice to the pot, it stops further cooking and ensures the paneer stays soft. You can do this step. It is also not necessary to use a pressure cooker, though it cuts down on cooking time. The end product should be the same. Good luck!
Hello, Ladies,
I have tried quite a few of your recipes with great results. Last week I tried the Ras Malai of which the Ras was absolutely divine but the paneer balls were a bit hard… what did I do wrong?
Thank you
Can’t thank you guys more…Finally a perfect recipe…i tried so many recipes on the net but yours one is the best…my kids loved the rasmalai and my husband was really appreciative…..glad to have u girls in our kitchens(lol)….keep up the good work…and ya your pizza recipe was already a hit in our family…once in a week its a must…:))
Yummy ras malai turn out good.thanks please can u post how to make chocolate Brownies