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.
I wanna know whether the paneer which we’ll get from shop will be good for making this
Hi Ponnu,
Some people have said it works but honestly we have not tried it. The store bought paneer is very stiff and you need the paneer to be very soft for good ras malai.
Dear Hetal and Anuja….
After 2 attempts my ras malais turned out well…hmm yummy…After relocating from India this is the first time had delicious ras malais.
I have tried some 7-8 recipes in last month..All are superlikes from my husband..You both are doing a great job..God bless you both..
You and your recipes are rocking worldwide…
Regards,
Sapna
Thanks for the sweet words Sapna, we happy you’re finding SMTC useful and enjoyable :).
hi, love your work. my hubby says i have become a great cook! kudos to you both!
i tried ras malai, but my dough has become super soft. i guess i didnt drain water enough. Can youplease help? i have guests over tomorrow and need to make atleast 40 ras mali’s URGENT HELP NEEDED.
Hi Anuja & Hetal,
Thanks for the recipes u have posted.they are really helping me a lot.I tried to prepare rasmalai with Amul malai paneer bought from the shop and I blended it in the mixer.When I put the paneer balls in the sugar syrup they started spreading in the syrup and it was all waste.Please tell me how to avoid that or is it must to prepare the paneer at home?
Awaiting the response..
Thanks,
Sapna
Hi Sapna,
We have never used Amul brand of paneer so can’t guide you there 🙁
We have always made homemade paneer for the ras malai. We know that some viewers have used the store bought one and made Ras Malai brand etc – we don’t know.
try using ricotta cheese–works great but not in the pressure cooker (falls apart) i’ve baked it.
Hi Hetal and Anuja,
Let me first commend you on the good work you guys are doing by keeping our Indian cuisine alive and accessible 🙂
I made ras malai today and did try to copy all the rules to the T, but my ras malai even after sitting in the fridge for the whole evening hasn’t become soft. It came out of the cooker soft, but after adding it to the ras and referigerating hasn’t become soft. Can you let me know, what I must have done wrong?
Awaiting your eager reply.
Hi Pallavi,
After refrigerating the rasmalai in the fridge, it will harden and not get softer. Ras Malai is the softest when it’s still warm. After refrigerating, it should not be rock hard.
I don’t know whether you will reply to this or not, BUt The ras malai I made, was very nice and soft when warm, when I kept it in refrigerator It went hard and When I tasted It It felt like I am eating crumbled sweet Paneer ball, Why did this happen
Hi,
Thanks for wonderful demo. I made it. It tastes amazing.
Hi Renu,
Good to know – enjoy the Ras Malai 🙂
hi
was a wonderful recipe thanks alot
RASMALAAAAAIIIIIII!!!!
Anyways, hi, just want to let you know you’v made my year, i love rasmalai and now i can make it!!
thank youuuu from london!!!
Hey,
This is a wonderful recipe! I enjoyed it very much! I think it can also be used for Ras Gulla except for the milk part..right?
i tries it at home the first dish of this wwebsite it turned out great thank you very much. Can’t wait to try mor dishes fromthis website of yours.
AGAIN THANK YOU VERY HETAL AND ANUJA.
Thanks for the recipe, i tried it this weekend! it was awesome!! thanks for the recipe……..
CAn you make this with ricotta cheese?
yes you can:) I’ve been making it w/ Ricotta cheese for years and I bake it in the oven vs using pressure cooker (325 F for about 45 min or until it sets). good luck.
Hi,
I just found u yesterday and i really liked ur site.I am a great fan of rasamalai.I never cooked at home,and this is not our sweet item at all.just happened to have from one party.i loved it.I never thought this is damn easy to make till i found u.I did 1attempt last night,paneer was not soft and it didnot doubled its size and not sweet.But i understood where i went wrong from all ur old reply.Thank u very much for the great work and giving inspiration to people like me who are babies in cooking.
Thanks a lot.I will definitely do the attempt again and will let u know the outcome.
luv
Nisha
OMG!! what an AWESOME recipe!
I tried it for the 1st time today as Ras Malai is my husbands favourite.. and he loved it!
Thank you for posting it online 🙂
Hi Upasana,
Glad to hear that both of you enjoyed the Ras Malai 🙂
Hai, when paneer prepared in home it won’t come like cubes. how to prepare paneer cubes at home?
nice
Hi
Hetal & Anuja
today i tryed rasmalie but when put in cocker for boil all the ball r broken , y this happed dont no
so next what i do
i dint hav a pressure cooker….alternative cooking tym please………i will be using normal aluminium pan.
Yummy. Thanks very much for the recipe. I am gonna try it tomo n let u know how does it turn out.
Hi Smita,
Enjoy your ras malai… 🙂
Hi Hetal & Anuja,
I always did not find the perfect recipe. After finding yours, my search ended. This is by far the best rasmalai recipe that I have tried and it came out really well….
I have been hunting for this recipe for about two years now and have probably tried to make it about 10 times and failed and lost all my milk or all my so called paneer. All this, because rasmalai is my all time favorite dessert.
Now that I have made it, I have a small doubt. I feel the rasmalai balls are not sweet, only the ras is sweet. Can I knead sugar along with the paneer so that the balls also turn out sweet?
Awaiting your reply to do another batch day after tomorrow for some guests.
Thank you
Hi Prathima,
We are so happy that the ras malai worked out for you. Though we have not tried it, you should be able to add a little sugar to the paneer. A friend of mine once told me she puts a small piece of sakar (rock sugar) in the middle of the paneer balls before cooking them. This is another option as well. Good luck.
Thankyou so much for your wonderful recipe. I made it exactly the same way you guys did it and it came out perfectly delicious.The paneer was ultra soft. AWESOME is the only word to say. Thankyou once again. God bless you.
Thank you for the feedback Mary. We’re so glad you enjoyed the ras malai.
oh i prepared this today n it turned out yummmmmm thanks a lot
Thanks Annu,
Glad the ras malai turned out well!
Hi Hethal,
I tried this recipe and it came out really good. Except that the paneer had lemon taste in it. Next time I’ll try with vinegar.
Thanks a ton for the recipe 🙂
Hi Neetha,
You can rinse the paneer out with cold water and the lemon taste will wash away.
Hello Hetal and Anuja,
I tried this recipe tonight for dinner and it and tasted really amazing. I’ve never made Ras Malia before and to make it from scratch and have it come out good was really exciting. The recipe you guys provided was really easy to follow. Thanks again for sharing and keep the recipes coming. =)
Thanks for the feedback Purvi!
Instead of Lemon or lime juice use regular vinegar to curdle the milk by which the sour taste of lemon is not there in the paneer
I tried the recipe. Step 13 requires the syrup to be made with 5 cups of water & ???1cup of sugar and I had quite a lot of syrup left over.
Your instructions do not suggest what to do with the remaining syrup.
Perhaps the recipe could include suggesting that the remaining syrup could be reduced further & then be strained and served in a sauce jug or small milk jug for any sweet toothed person who may prefer to have extra sweetness/ syrup.
Thank you for the recipe.
Hi Mohan,
The sugar syrup is not meant to be used up completely in this recipe. Unfortunately there is no good use for the remaining sugar syrup. It serves it purpose and then you have to discard it (unless you want to keep it in the fridge to make another batch of ras malai later). Maybe some of our other viewers can come up with clever ideas on how to use it :).
this is simply amazing. everybody loved it. i made it on diwali and every single person appreciated it.thanks a lot for sharing the great recepie.
That’s awesome Aarti! Glad everyone enjoyed the ras malai!
i tried it turned superb thanks lot
Ladies – Just wanted to tell you what an awesome recipe this is! I’ve made it twice and it’s turned out fabulously both times – unlike the other Rasmalai recipes I’ve tried in the past.
Just a quick note, for those who are asking about using store-bought paneer. Though I always make my paneer for this, I left my last batch hanging a little longer than I should have, giving it a consistency similar to store-bought when I ran it through the food processor. I added the milk I was boiling for the ras, a little bit at a time through the food pro tube while it was spinning, to add the necessary moisture back in. It worked like a charm and the paneer was the exact texture I needed. If store-bought is easier (though I’m not sure how!), this is a great way to “fix” it for this recipe.
Anyway, thanks again for the wonderful recipe and all of the extremely helpful videos – can’t wait to see more!
Hi Mona,
Thanks so much for posting your feedback and suggestion regarding store bought paneer. We’re sure that it will help many other viewers.
Hi Hetal and Anuja,
How long we can store rasmalai..in ref. like if we have to make it for a party..how many days in advance we can make them?
Thanks for wonderful recipes!!
Hello, I’m from Pakistan and I’ve been looking for a perfect Ras Mali recipe for so long…I’m so glad to have found your website, i tried the gulab jamun and my family fell in love with it 🙂 ….i tried the ras mali today, the ras turned out great but the paneer patties, well they didn’t increase in size at all and weren’t really spongy, kinda hard. I used cartoned milk and i whizzed the paneer in the processor for about five minutes…will it make a difference if i use the milk from the milk man? how, please tell me how i can make them bigger and spongier? Thanks
Hi Shaista,
The key to soft ras malai is soft paneer. As soon as the milk separates, try putting some ice cubes in the pot to cool it down immediately.
Dear Hetal and Anuja
I am writing to u guys for the first time and I could not stop myself from writing.. I was referred to this website from my sister from Sydney… it is absolutely amazing.. I tried Rasmalai, used the exact measurement as told, and they turned out awesome… I never had thought that I could have cooked a sweet like rasmalai… u guys rock. keep up the good work.. I am also looking for recipe to make stuffed capsicum.. kndly put it on ur list as well.. thanks…
Hi Shalini,
Thanks so much for your feedback…it really makes us smile and keeps us going to hear success stories :). We will put stuffed capsicum on our list to do.
Hi
I tried rasmalai two or three of them were broken. Can you tell me the reason for it. Though it was broken I strained it and used the broken rasmalai to make kheer.
Hi Arunthathi,
Either the paneer balls were not rolled smoothly (had some cracks) or they were overcooked. Sometimes different pressure cookers have different pressures at which they cook food. If your’s overcooked the rasmalai with the time we gave you, next time you can try to reduce the time before releasing the pressure.
Hi Hetal & Anuja,
Your recipes rock!!Your fruit tart was such a big hit at my husband’s b’day party!!Thanks a loTT
Just a quick doubt abt pressure cooker..any pressure cooker will work or only steel pressure cooker is required!!
i don’t have steel pressure cooker ..itz hard anodized .Plz clear my doubt..can’t wait to try this recipe!!
Thanks
Anshita,
Glad you enjoyed the fruit tart! We have not tried it with anything other than steel, but it should work. If you are really worried, you can perhaps try just a couple of ras malai balls as a test run so you do not waste all of it.
Thanks for the great recipe, and it is so easy to follow. I love your website. I made this for the first time, and it turned out great. I just have 1 questions, I had to make 2 batches of paneer since I needed more Rasmalai, and the first batch came out like your video/ recipe. The second batch turned into paste in the food processor – does this mean I did not let it hang in the cheese cloth long enough and it still had a lot of moisture in it?
Hi Gita,
Yes, if the paneer became pasty in the food processor, then there was probably too much water in it.
Same thing happened with me.. pasty creamy paneer after the food processor.. is there anything we can do with this now? i am hoping that it is not a complete waste!
Hi Karishma,
Sorry to hear that. The paneer becomes pasty only if the whey did not properly drain out. You may be able to add some milk powder and see if that works. Unfortunately, we have not tried it so it is a guess. Sorry.
hi Hetal and Anuja,
Your simple steps to do the rasamalai was simply superb.I tried following steps.My rasmalai had the following faults
1. Rasamalai neither absorbed the sugar nor the malai.
2.It was rock hard 🙁
I didnt have a food processor hence Kneaded the paneer with my, put all my pressure to Knead it for more than 30 mins
Any suggestions why rasamalai didnt turn out well?
Thnks & Regds,
Abinaya
Hi Abinaya,
Sorry to hear about your rasmalai. One thing you can do to get soft and absorbent rasmalai is to strain the paneer immediately after it separates and run cold water through it. It helps the paneer to remain soft. Also, the rasmalai will not absorb if it is not cooked enough.
Hi Hetal,
It was so nice of you to have given the suggestions.
I had one more doubt..
I Kneaded the paneer for more than 30 mins applying full pressure so as to make the paneer soft ..
Can this have made the rasamalai hard??
Regds,
Abinaya
Hi Abinaya,
Honestly, I do not think that over kneading the paneer would make it hard…that only happens with flour where gluten is formed when overworked.
Hi Hetal and Anuja!
I noticed that a lot of people have asked if they can make the paneer from low fat milk, and that you’ve both said that probably wouldn’t work, as paneer is primarily milk fat. I just wanted to point out – and this comes from my mom, a nutritionist – that paneer, and any cheese for that matter, is made from curdling the protein in the whey of the milk and actually isn’t related to the milk fat at all. So it is in fact possible to get just as much paneer out of low fat or even non-fat milk – granted, it won’t be as rich as the whole milk paneer, but I know from personal experience that it still tastes very good! Just wanted to share :).
Thanks, and as always, keep up the wonderful work!
Hi Malavika,
We always say this and we’ll say it again, “we learn something new everyday”. Thank you and your mom for enlightening us about the making paneer from lowfat milk.
hi,
i tried to make this recipe. everything was going fine until i opened the lid from my pot that had the paneer balls but there where no paneer balls. they where just small pices of paneer every where. i wonder how did that happen?
Hi Farah,
Two things could have happened. Either the balls were not kneaded well and there were cracks in them before cooking or they were overcooked.
Hi,Can’t we do it without using Pressure cooker?PLs Suggest.I am very excited to do …
Hi Sowmya,
If you dont have a pressure cooker, you can bring your sugar/water mixture to a rapid boil in a regular pot with a tight fitting lid. Drop the paneer balls in the boiling water and cover the pot. Cook until they have doubled in size (5-8 minutes).
Hi!
It took me three batches but I finally got the kind of rasmalai that “squeaks” in the mouth. Unfortunately it didn’t stay that way after overnight in the fridge. I expect it to be firmer of course but it had lost all it’s sponginess. It was almost too good to be true just the night before, so i doubt if it was the kneading or boiling. I’d really appreciate any help!
Thanks for this great website!
Hi,
I am planning on trying this favourite sweet,for the first time, for my hubby’s birthday. I use curds to make paneer at home and paneer comes out very soft. should I use this same paneer to make rasmalai?
u have a wonderful site,
Thanks.
Hi Deepa,
Yes, it should work just as well.
Hi
Can u please post the recipe for CHENA MURKI another popular sweet of bengal
Thanks in advance
hi i tired the recipe in the same way u had guided me.but the problem i encountered was tat..the balls made out of the panner was of the same size,after it was taken out of the pressure cooker as it was before i put it in the cooker!!!
Hey Guys… Just made Rasmalai for a few guests and they just loved it.. They couldnt believe it was made at home. It was a big hit.. Thanks to the two of you for such lovely recipes. One query though, if we have to make rasgullas, after removing it from the pressure cooker, do we use the same liquid in which it was cooked or do we have to make sugar water again? Because when we get rasgullas from outside, the syrup is of a thicker consistency.
Also, could you please put up videos of Gujrati Theplas and Mathris?
Thank you so much guys for all the great work you have been doing. And we also loved the episode of barbecue with the guys.. It was just hilarious and too good..
hi Hetal and Anuja,
Over the weekend, i had guests over, they were visiting from India, i made RAS MALAI, i followed all the steps carefully and my desert was a big hit!, all the credit goes to you. Thank u so much.
Hi Sunita,
Kudos to you 🙂
Girls, (as my now 4yr old refers to you)
We enjoy watching your videos AND trying out the recipes. Am planning to make ras malai-only problem is that my pressure cooker doesnt whistle. So, would this work-bring it to pressure on high heat, lower heat and cook on medium for 5 minutes. Let it stand for 2 minutes and cool down?
Thanks for your clarifications!
Hi Stella,
Love being referred to as “Girls” – very few people call us that these days 😉 !
The general rule of the thumb for non-whistling pressure cookers is: bring it to pressure on high, lower and after that every 3 minutes is a whistle….and then you carry on the process.
Love to the little one from the “girls” 🙂
Anuja,
Thanks for the clarifications. The ras malai was the biggest hit at the party-thanks to you two. Btw, you might be interested to know that your website was introduced to me by my son’s Scottish art teacher. Her English husband is vegetarian and she finds your website the best! And in case you’re wondering-we’re all in Switzerland…..Keep the recipes coming!!
Hi Stella,
WOW! Thanks for letting us know the connection 🙂 We do not advertise SMTC and depend on folks like you to spread the word so thank you to you and to your son’s Scottish Teacher, we are truly grateful 🙂
hey gals! my mom made this dish today and it was sooooooooo yummy!she was more so happy because her previous attempts of this dish had failed..but this one, was heavenly!!
god bless you both..
thanks again 🙂
Hi Rashi,
Thanks for the blessings 🙂 Glad you enjoyed the Ras Malai!
Hi, does the remaining milk for paneer gets thrown out? or can it be continued to curdle on boil?
thanks!
Hi Naz,
Once the milk fat has separated from the whey, you can use the whey for making chapati or add it to daal.
Do you have the recipe for ras malai using Ricotta Cheese??
Thanks in advance.
Keep up the good work
Hi Shakuntala,
Sorry, we don’t have it but we’ll put it on our list to do.
Hi Hetal,
I followed your recipe for the ras malai to a ‘T’,but it didn’t swell or turn spongy.The center of the paneer seemed compact.Do you think I should have cooked more.I have the same pressure cooker that you used.What do you think might have gone wrong? I’m trying it again,so if you think of any suggestion,please let me know.
Thanks,
Shakuntala
Hi Hetal,
tried again.This time kept on slowheat for 3 mins after 1 whistle.& then cooled the cooker after another 2 mins.It turned out really well.Very spongy & soft.
I’m really thrilled that I can make ras Malai now.
Shakuntala
Hi Shakuntala,
Awesome! So glad you had success!
hi hetal and anuja, great recipe! the rasmalais came out perfect. I used 10 oz can of condensed milk and 1 cup milk for the ras.
Hi Marasim,
Great idea and a big time saver, we sure!