reposting : rasmalai for monthy mingle potluck party ;)

Once ,long time back we all gal friends had a lunch potluck at my place and one of my friend mamta deshmukh was suppose to make the desserts ,and there she was serving us rasmalai which was homemade.The ras she made was with evaporated milk which was less time consuming and kinda new to me,i was so amused as i never had rasmalais which were home made,we always get it ready made from the sweet marts and so i had to learn from her  immediately and i took the recipe from her.After that i made these quite a few times and now few days back we had our first family potluck with 14 adults and 5 kids and this time i had taken desserts and just cudnt think better other than rasmalais.I made 50 pieces for the first time and i was too excited  ,it was a super hit and by god's grace it came out perfect.Everyone just loved it,even i was happy with my culinary skills this time as i was very confident and it was the best sweet dish made by me so far :P.Thank u so much dear mamta for sharing such a lovely recipe.Sending this over to sara for hosting this month's monthly mingle party treats  an event started by meeta.

approx makes 10-12 pcs
ingredients :
11/2 lts full cream milk
2 -3tbsp lemon juice/ 2-3 tsp white vinegar
1 can evaporated milk
1/4 tin sweetened condensed milk
1-2tbsp sugar ( according to your sweetness adjust the quantity )
1-2 tbsps grated unsalted pistachios
1 tsp cardomon pwd
1cup sugar & 4 cups water (for sugar syrup)
few strands of saffaron ( soaked for 5-10 mins in 1-2 tsps of milk )
4-5 drops rose essence / rose water ( gulab jul )

method :
Heat milk in a pan and bring it to boil. Add  lemon juice to the boiling milk. Stir slowly and gently until white curd forms on the surface and separates from whey, switch off the flame.Cover for 2 mins then strain this milk in a muslin cloth, the curd that is obtained is called "chenna"or paneer.Wash chenna well under cold running water and twist the cloth tightly so that all the water is strained.Keep some heavy weight on paneer for sometime so that all the extra water is removed.
Boil evaporated milk in a heavy base saucepan on a very slow flame taking care it doesnt stick to the pan,keep stirring.Add condensed milk to it and mix well. Keep stirring.Bring one boil and then reduce the heat to slow. Cook for 8-10 mins.Stir occasionally to prevent its sticking to the bottom of the pan. Add sugar and cook for 5 minutes.Switch off the heat. Let this milk (ras) cool.Add rose water after it cools down.
 Knead chenna to make a smooth dough. Make small (desired size or walnut size )balls of equal size and slightly press it of the chenna keep aside.
 Next step is to make sugar syrup. Mix sugar and water in a saucepan and bring it to boil. Add chenna balls to the syrup and cook for 12-15 minutes with lid covered and in between keep an eye and can stir. Chenna dumplings will puff up. Remove the paneer dumplings from the syrup and slip them into the evaporated milk mixture (ras ).
Sprinkle cardomon pwd.Garnish with the pistas,almonds and soaked saffaron. Refrigerate and serve chilled.