Chef Varun Inamdar's recipe for Walnut Milk Rasmalai is made with soft, spongy chenna balls soaked in fragrant, nutty walnut milk flavoured with cardamom, saffron and nuts.
Photograph: Kind courtesy California Walnuts
Walnut Rasmalai
Servings: 12 portions
Ingredients
For the chenna
- 8 cups full cream milk
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- ¼ cup water
For the walnut milk syrup
- 2½ cups walnut milk, available in gourmet stores or online or make at home (please see the recipe below)
- 3 tbsp milk powder
- 1/3 cup sugar
- Few drops of yellow food colour
For the garnish
- 1/8 tsp kesar or saffron strands
- ½ tsp cardamom powder
- 1 tsp pistachio flakes
- Handful of walnuts, chopped roughly
For the sugar syrup
- 3 cups water
- 1 cup sugar
Method
For the chenna
- Boil the milk in a heavy-bottomed saucepan.
When it starts to boil, add the lemon juice and water mixed together.
Stir and take off heat.
Using a muslin cloth-lined channi or colander placed over a large bowl to strain the curdled milk and wash the milk solids under running water.
Keep aside to allow the whey to further drain.
Using your hands, knead the chenna until it has a smooth texture.
Divide it into 12 equal-sized portions, roll it using your palms and flatten it.
Keep aside.
For the sugar syrup
- Heat the water in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and add the sugar.
Keep stirring till the sugar dissolves and bring the mixture to a boil.
Drop the chenna balls into the sugar mixture and cover the saucepan.
Allow the balls to cook in the syrup in a rolling boil for 15 minutes.
Take off heat, and let it cool to room temperature.
For the milk syrup
- In another heavy-bottomed saucepan bring the walnut milk to boil.
Add the sugar, yellow food colour and the milk powder.
Keep stirring until the sugar dissolves and then take off heat.
For the assembly
- Lightly squeeze the chenna balls to drain off the excess sugar syrup and drop them, one by one, into the walnut milk syrup.
Garnish with saffron strands, pistachio flakes, cardamom powder and chopped walnuts. Serve chilled.
How to make walnut milk
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole walnuts
- 1 cup cold water
Method
- Soak a cup of untoasted walnuts for 2 hours in 2 cups of water.
Strain and rinse the walnuts well. - Transfer to a blender with the cold water.
Blend on high for a minute. - Strain through a muslin cloth till you get an almost dry powdery mass in the cloth after pressing the milk.
- Transfer into a glass jar and store in the refrigerator. This gives approximately 2 cups of homemade pressed walnut milk.
Varun Inamdar is a chef, food stylist and chocolatier.
