Super easy Rasmalai with Ricotta Cheese

A very, very happy Diwali to all of you !

Diwali is never complete without a spread of the best Indian sweets and this Rasmalai preparation is very easy, simple, quick and just tastes absolutely delish!

Diwali is an Indian festival also known as the 'Festival of lights' and is usually ushered in by lighting small clay lamps (diyas) filled with oil or engaging in colorful and varied fireworks, to signify the triumph of good over evil. All the celebrants wear new clothes and share sweets and snacks with family members and friends.  The exact day of the festival is decided by the position of the moon and Amavasya or 'no moon day' is considered as the perfect day to celebrate Diwali.

Growing up, my sister and I used to love this time of the year with all the firecrackers, mouth-watering Indian traditional sweets and colors. We used to visit our close family and friends and each house had their own assortment of delicious sweets and treats...

Makes 12

Ingredients
1 (24 oz) Tub - Ricotta cheese (Whole, Low-fat or Fat free)
1/8 Tsp - Cardamom powder (*Refer Notes)
1/2 Cup - Sugar
4 Tablespoon - Milk Powder

For the syrup
1 (12oz) Can - Evaporated milk
12 - Pistachio, shelled

3/4 Cup - Whole Milk (divided)
1/2 Tsp - Cardamom Powder(*Refer Notes)
1/2 Cup - Sugar
A few threads of Saffron
10 - Pistachio, roasted and chopped for garnish

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 350F
• Drain any excess liquid from the Ricotta cheese.
• Add Ricotta cheese, sugar, milk powder and cardamom powder into a bowl and mix it using a electric hand mixer until smooth.
• Divide the mixture equally into the muffin tray
• Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the ricotta mixture.

For the syrup

• Add 12 Pistachio and 1/4 C milk to a blender and grind the Pistachio to a smooth paste
• Add evaporated milk, 1/2 C milk, pistachio milk from the above step, sugar, cardamom, Saffron to a non-stick sauce pan and heat until the sugar dissolves.Take the sauce pan off the fire
• Add the baked Ricotta into the syrup and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Serve cold.

Notes and Tips

• To make cardamom powder, grind the seeds and well as the skin in the spice grinder until its fine. If you are using cardamom powder which is made up of the seeds only, then it will be more potent, requiring a lesser quantity than mentioned in the recipe
• If you don't have a Muffin tray, you can just bake the Ricotta cheese mixture in a rectangular glass or non-stick pan or any oven safe dish in which you bake your cake. After baking, cut it into the desired shape. I used a silicon muffin tray.
• This recipe was updated on 1/15/2014