Rasmalai.....Bijoyar Mishti Mukh

Durga Pujo.....whenever we Bengalis hear this word the image of Maa Durga-the goddess of power and strength comes to our mind. According to mythological stories Maa Durga was created by the most powerful Gods: Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh in order to defeat the demon Mahishasur.

Durga Puja is the most popular and glamorous festival of Kolkata. It's not only a festival for us but it's a blessing for us. You can judge our madness for this festival by the fact that as soon as we get the new calendar the first thing we see is when is the Durga Puja? 

The city of joy-Kolkata get's decked up like a newly wedded bride. The whole city gets embellished with lights. You can find fairy lights on every nooks and corners of the streets, buildings and even on trees. Thousands and thousands of pandals and idols are prepared months before the celebration. Idols are mainly prepared in Kumortoli. 

This carnival of madness is the celebration of love, color, light, enthusiasm and most importantly Food. We Bengali's can't imagine any festival without impeccable food. 

People start their shopping months before the festival and make different plans what to wear, when to wear, how to deck up on different days of Puja, where to go for Pandal hopping, what to eat, where to eat and the list goes on and on and on.......

This year I got a chance to be a part of this carnival. Though I enjoyed the festivities in Nagpur, Maharashtra (I grew up there) but missed all the fun and frolic of Kolkata. We went for shopping, did lot of Pandal hopping with friends and family, enjoyed Bhog in our complex Puja, tasted different varieties of food starting from street side to fine dining restaurants and finally bid a tearful adieu to the goddess at my Uncle's residence Puja.

Due to this reason I took a break from the blogging world and enjoyed the largest and biggest festival of Bengali's. During the 5 days of Durga Pujo I prepared different varieties of food and for the climax i.e Dashmi I prepared a special dessert for my family: Rasmalai. 

Rasmalai are creamy cheese dumplings dipped in cardamom and saffron infused creamy milk. Firstly, cheese dumplings are prepared the same way you prepare Rasgulla (for the recipe of Rasgulla Click Here). Once they had soaked enough sugar syrup, press to release the syrup. Secondly, Rabri is prepared and flavored with cardamom powder and saffron (for the recipe of Rabri Click Here). Finally, the dumplings are dipped in this Rabri and garnished with chopped almonds and pistachios. 

So, let's begin with the recipe of Rasmalai:

Ingredients:

For Making Cheese Dumplings:

1. Milk : 1 liter 

2. Lime Juice : 4 tbsp (mix with 1 tbsp of water)

3. Sugar : 4 cups

4. Water: 2 cups

5. Crushed Cardamoms: 4-5

For Making Rabri (Malai):

1. Milk: 2 cups

2. Sugar: 1 cup

3. Green Cardamoms: 4-5

4. Saffron Strands: few

5. Almonds (chopped): for garnishing

Method:

1. For the recipe of making Cheese Dumplings click here. Just give a flattened shape to the cheese balls instead of round.

2. For the recipe of making Rabri (Malai) click here.  

3. Take out the cheese dumplings from the sugar syrup and press them to release the syrup out of them. Keep them aside.

4. To assemble the Rasmalai take a serving plate and place the dumplings. Pour a generous amount of Malai/ Rabri on top of the dumplings.

5. Garnish the Rasmalai with chopped almonds and pistachios. Allow the dumplings to soak the Malai for good 15-20 mins. 

6. You can refrigerate it but take it out 10-15 mins before serving. Enjoy!!

Ya Devi sarva bhuteshu Matri rupena samsthita

Ya Devi sarva bhuteshu Shakti rupena samsthita

Ya Devi sarva bhutesu Shanti rupena samsthita

Namestasyai Namestasyai Namestasyai Namoh Namah

Translation

The goddess who is omnipresent as the personification of universal mother

The goddess who is omnipresent as the embodiment of power

The goddess who is omnipresent as the symbol of peace

I bow to her, I bow to her, I bow to her

SUBHO BIJOYA !!

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If you want the recipe in Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu (or any other language) click on the Google Translate button on the left side.