Angoori Rasmalai (winter special)

This was coming in my mind for last few days, but life was so hectic. So finally I decided to compromise with my window shopping and started writing this. Today I will share a recipe of delicious dessert, that I tried few days back in my kitchen. In Calcutta specially in winter season, you would find several kinds of 'mishti's or desserts, made of Nolen Gur (Date Palm Jagerry). I know my Bengali friend’s mouths started watering, by hearing this name. You get this 'Nolen Gur' only in winter and the Sweet Shops or the confectioneries will become full of 'Gurer Rasgulla', 'Nolen Gur r Sandesh', 'Gurer Rasmalai' and so on from the beginning of winter. I used to make Rasamalai regularly for last 6 years or so, sometimes for my guests, sometimes on any special occasion. This time I got a large amount of Date Palm Jagerry in my pantry and most of the Bengali can die for anything with 'Nolen Gur'. So thought of making “Angoori Rasmalai with Nolen gur”. The difference between Angoori Rasmalai and regular Rasmalai is only the size. Angoori Rasmalai is tiny sized, spongy cottage cheese dumplings soaked in milk pudding,  whereas the other one is bigger sized and flatten. The name Angoori Rasmalai probably came from the word 'Angoor' that means grape in English. This Angoori Rasmalai is also called simply Rasmalai at many sweet shops in Calcutta or 'Indrani' in some places. But as Shakespeare said, what’s in a name ! always tastes heavenly!! :) 

My special thank to Suchismita didi for this recipe of Rasmalai whom I met 7-8 years back through some social networking site. She has immense expertise in all types of Indian cooking and an equally good soul too. She has inspired me to experiment with all the recipe she shared with me. Sometimes I don’t belive that I am making Rasmalai or Sandesh, who couldn’t make 'daal' properly ten years back. So when I started my journey of cooking, just used to follow her blindly and the outcome was always great. Now I'm confident enough that I can make a new experiments with any basic recipe. All the credit goes to her teachings.

Here is the easy recipe of Angoori Rasmalai

Winter special Angoori Rasmalai ( Rasmalai with baby Rasgulla) : serves (6 to 8)

Ingredients:

For making Rasgulla

1.     Whole Milk - 1 liter 

2.     Lemon juice - a big lime and mix it with 2 tsp of water

3.     Flour - 1/2 tbsp

4.     Sugar - 1 tbsp

5.     Sooji (semolina) - 1/2 tsp

6.     Cardamom powder-1/3 tsp

For making Syrup

1.     Water - 5 cups

2.     Sugar + Date palm Jaggery (Nolen Gur / Khenjur Gur / Patali Gur ) - 2 1/3 cups (half + half)

3.     Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp 

For the Malai or Kheer

1.     Whole Milk - 1 liter 

2.     Date Palm Jagerry - 5 - 6 tbsp (as per your taste)

3.     Pistachios or any choice of your dry fruits - few (chopped)

Method :

1.     Boil the milk in a pan, stir continuously. Once the milk starts boiling, lower the flame.

2.     Pour the lemon juice. Stir the milk. Once the milk starts curdling and changes into chhana (cottage cheese) and greenish water, remove the pan from heat.

3.     Leave the chhana / cottage cheese in this condition for 5-7 minutes.

4.     Put it over a soft cotton cloth / or a cheese cloth (if you have any). Let all the water drain away.

5.     Now put this cloth with the chhana under cold running water for 2-3 minutes. This will help to remove the smell of lemon. 

6.     Hang the chhana along with the cloth on the kitchen tap / faucet for 45 minutes to 1 hr.

7.     Now once again squeeze the cloth if there is any extra water. Try to get rid of as much water as possible but note that the chhana(cottage cheese) should not get too dry.

8.     Now put the lump of chhana over flat surface. Add 1/2 tsp semolina, 1/2 tsp flour, 1 tsp sugar, cardamom powder into it.

9.     Knead them nicely together. Press the dough with your palm continuously for about 3-4 minutes. Once you feel dough is oily then you are done.

10.  Now from this dough make some big pea sized round balls, approximately 30 to 35 small / baby rasgulla you can make with that dough.

11.  Take a big pan with lid. Put the water and sugar to boil for some time. After 5 minutes, place the cottage-cheese balls into the syrup carefully. Cover it. Turn your stove on to a medium heat. Let it cook.

12.  After 25 minutes, open the lid to check. The rasgulla will be about one and half times of their original size and become spongy too.

13.  Turn off the gas. Now remove the rasgulla from the syrup, gently squeeze out  and keep aside.

14.  In another pan, boil the one liter of milk at low flame, stir occasionally to prevent it from burning at the bottom. Once it becomes half in quantity, add date palm jagerry, add the balls in it along with cardamom powder.

15.  Let it simmer for couple of minutes, check the sweetness and turn off the gas. Your Angoori Rasmalai is ready!! Serve cold with a sprinkling of chopped pistachios.

16.  Note: In the same process you can make the Rasmalai where the cheese-balls will be big size and flatten. Recipe will remain same. Again you can skip the jagerry part with sugar.