RAS MALAI:
Ingredients:
2 lbs ricotta cheese
1/2 cup sugar
32 oz half & half milk
A pinch of saffron
1/4 tsp crushed cardamom seeds
1/2 cup blanched almonds
2 tbsp crushed green pistachios
Preparation of ras malai:
Mix the cheese with sugar and little cardamom powder and spread out on a baking tray.
Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until it sets. It should not get brown.
Remove from oven, cool at room temperature and cut into 2" squares.
Place them in a dessert bowl.
Mix the other ingredients, except the pistachios well in a separate dish and pour over the squares.
Decorate the rasmalai with pistachios, chill for 2-3 hours and then serve.
BESAN LADOO:
Ingredients of besan laddoo:
2 cups gram flour (besan)
11/2 cup sugar (grinded)
1 cup ghee
1 tsp each almonds, pistachios, cashew nuts (chopped)
Preparation of besan ke ladoo:
In a kadhai mix gram flour and ghee over a low heat.
Keep constantly stirring to avoid lumps.
When it releases an appetizing smell, it is ready.
Remove from the heat and allow it to cool.
Add sugar and nuts to the gram flour and mix thoroughly.
Now form ping-pong size balls of the mixture.
Besan Laddoo are ready to be served.
JALEBI:
2 cups All purpose flour (maida)
11/2 tbsp fine grained semolina or rice flour
1/4th tsp baking powder
2 tbsp curd (plain yogurt)
11/4th cups warm water
1/2 tsp saffron threads, slowly dry-roasted and powdered
3 cups sugar
22/3rd cups water
1/2 tsp green cardamom seeds powder
11/2 tbsp kewra water or rose water
Ghee or vegetable oil for frying
How to make jalebi:
Mix the flour, semolina or rice flour, baking powder, curd and 3/4th cup of the water in a bowl (preferably a ceramic bowl). Mix well with a whisk. •
Mix well and then add remaining water and 1/8th tsp. of saffron powder, and whisk until smooth.
Set aside for about 2 hours to ferment.
Whisk thoroughly before use.
Prepare one string syrup by dissolving sugar in the water. Just before the syrup is ready add saffron and cardamom powder.
Heat oil in a kadhai. Pour the batter in a steady stream ( or coconut shell with a hole) into the kadhai to form coils. Make a few at a time.
Deep fry them until they are golden and crisp all over but not brown.
Remove from the kadhai and drain on kitchen paper and immerse in the syrup.
Leave for at least 4-5 minutes so that they soak the syrup.
Take the jalebi out of syrup and serve hot