Kesar Rasmalai

Take 1 litre cow milk in one vessel and 1 litre full cream milk in another. Heat both on medium flame.

Finely chop the almonds, cashews, and pistachios.

Cut a lemon and extract approximately 2 tbsp of juice. Mix with 2 tbsp of water.

Take a scoop of the warm full cream milk and add it to the saffron strands in a small bowl. Let it soak.

Peel the green cardamoms and grind them into a fine powder.

Once the cow milk boils, turn off the flame and let it cool for 3 minutes. Gradually add the lemon juice mixture, stirring gently, until the milk curdles and separates into chenna and whey. Wait a minute between additions.

Place a fine-mesh sieve over a large mixing bowl, and line it with a clean cheesecloth. Pour the curdled milk into the sieve. Gather the corners of the cheesecloth and gently squeeze out excess water from the chenna.

Rinse the chenna under cold running water to remove any sourness from the lemon. Squeeze out as much water as possible.

Transfer the chenna to a plate. Knead it with your hands for 4-5 minutes until it becomes soft and smooth. Add 1/2 tsp cornflour and knead for another 3-4 minutes until the dough is pliable and ready.

In the second vessel, heat the full cream milk on low flame, stirring occasionally, until it reduces by about 50% and becomes dense. This will take about 15-20 minutes.

Once the milk is thickened, add the chopped nuts, saffron-soaked milk, and cardamom powder. Stir well.

In a separate pot, combine 1/2 cup sugar with 4 cups of water. Heat on medium flame until the sugar dissolves completely to make a light sugar syrup.

When the thickened milk is dense, add 1/2 cup sugar and cook until it dissolves. Turn off the flame and let the milk cool.

Take small portions of the chenna dough, flatten them into small discs (pedas), and then gently press them into oval or round shapes. Ensure there are no cracks.

Bring the sugar syrup to a rolling boil over high flame.

Carefully drop the shaped chenna discs into the boiling sugar syrup, one by one. Cover the pot and cook on high flame for 15-16 minutes, allowing the rasmalai to puff up and become spongy. Occasionally check to ensure they are cooking evenly.

After 15 minutes, check if the rasmalai are soft and spongy. Turn off the flame once they are cooked.

Place the pot with the cooked rasmalai over a cooling rack and let them cool down.

Gently remove the rasmalai from the sugar syrup, squeezing out excess syrup lightly. Place them in the bowl with the cooled thickened milk.

Cover the bowl and refrigerate the rasmalai for at least 1 hour before serving. This allows the flavors to meld and the rasmalai to absorb the milk.

Arrange the rasmalai in a serving platter. Pour some of the saffron-infused milk over them. Garnish with a little chopped pistachio shavings. Serve chilled.