Kitchen Champions

Procedure to make paneer : In a heavy bottom vessel bring 1 Gallon milk to boil. When it boils slowly add lemon juice little at a time. You will witness the curdling of the milk. Then add half of the white vinegar . The process of curdling speeds up. If you can see the liquid turning transparent and watery, you can turn off the gas. If not add more lemon juice and vinegar. Once the milk has curdled completely , strain it in a cheese cloth and rinse it twice with cold water. Squeeze out excess water by pressing slowly. Let the paneer not ooze out of the cloth by too much pressure. Make sure the upper part of the twisted cloth is drained very well. Now place it on a plate slightly flattened and keep a heavy weight on top. Let it stay like it for couple hours. Check in between if necessary squeeze out excess water. Then remove it from the cloth. It should be well formed by now. Break it and knead it for several minutes. Alternatively You can also do pulse once or twice in mixie ( apply ghee to mixie and then do this). Then carefully remove it and roll it into a flattened ball. It shouldn’t be too thick. Approximately 1.5 cm thickness . Make sure the corners don’t break. If it does then u need to knead even more. Once the paneer balls are ready, take a cooker (or may be 2 cookers ) . Take 1 cup water and 1/2 cup sugar in each cooker. Heat it to melt the sugar, then add 1 more cup water and now place your paneer balls such that they don’t come one on top of the other. They r gonna double up in size so make sure it has enough space. Pressure cook for 1 whistle and off immediately. Procedure to make Rabbadi/Malai In a large nonstick vessel (or a heavy bottom which does not burn the milk) apply little ghee and boil the milk. Soak some saffron strands in warm milk and add to it. If you like malai , stir occasionally, if you don’t then stir often. Let the milk reduce to three-fourths of the original quantity and then add the sugar. Let it continue reducing until half of the original. You can add the chopped nuts now or just before serving . Rabbadi is ready! From the cooker, Scoop each flattened ball out with a spoon and press gently with another laddle so that to squeeze out excess water. Place each one into a vessel in a single layer and pour warm rabbadi on top so that it covers all the flattened balls. (Or Drop them carefully into the warm malai. ) let it soak for couple hours and then refrigerate it. Serve by topping few nuts!