Ras malai, rasamalai, or rossomalai is a dessert originating from the eastern regions of the
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
. The dessert is called ''rossomalai'' in
Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
, ''ras malai'' in
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
,
and ''rasa malei'' in
Odia
Odia, also spelled Oriya or Odiya, may refer to:
* Odia people in Odisha, India
* Odia language, an Indian language, belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family
* Odia alphabet, a writing system used for the Odia languag ...
. It is popular in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
The origin of the sweet is impossible to verify but there are several underlying stories.
K.C. Das Grandsons
K.C. Das Grandson Pvt. Ltd. is an Indian confectionery famous for its sweet and snacks. It is especially known for the white spongy form of rossogolla in Bengal, invented by the founder's ancestor, Nobin Chandra Das.
History
For details se ...
claims that it was invented by
K.C. Das in
Kolkata
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
. The Sen brothers of Comilla operating under the
Matri Bhandar brand also claim to be the original maker of the dessert.
Bangladesh has begun the process of registering
geographical indication
A geographical indication (GI) is a name or sign used on products which corresponds to a specific geographical location or origin (e.g., a town, region, or country). The use of a geographical indication, as an indication of the product's source, ...
status for Comillar rasmalai.
Origin and etymology
It is believed to have originated somewhere in Eastern
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
, presumably in the
Bengal
Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
region.
According to ''The Diner's Dictionary: Word Origins of Food and Drink'' published by
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
"The term comes from Hindi ''raś'' 'juice', and ''
malai
Malai (Hindi: मलाई, Urdu: ) is a type of clotted cream, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in the cuisine of the Indian subcontinent, especially, in regards to sweets from the Indian subcontinent. It is made by heating no ...
'' 'cream'.
Ingredients
Ras malai consists of flattened balls of
chhena
Chhena () or chhana () are a style of cheese, originating from the Indian subcontinent, made from water buffaloDalby, A 2009, ''Cheese: A Global History'', Reaktion Books, p. 73, Kapoor, S & Kapoor, A 2006, ''Sanjeev Kapoor's No-oil Vegetarian C ...
soaked in
malai
Malai (Hindi: मलाई, Urdu: ) is a type of clotted cream, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in the cuisine of the Indian subcontinent, especially, in regards to sweets from the Indian subcontinent. It is made by heating no ...
(
clotted cream
Clotted cream ( kw, dehen molys, sometimes called scalded, clouted, Devonshire or Cornish cream) is a thick cream made by heating full-cream cow's milk using steam or a water bath and then leaving it in shallow pans to cool slowly. During this t ...
) flavoured with
cardamom
Cardamom (), sometimes cardamon or cardamum, is a spice made from the seeds of several plants in the genera ''Elettaria'' and ''Amomum'' in the family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to the Indian subcontinent and Indonesia. They are rec ...
. Milk is boiled and a bit of vinegar or lime juice is added to split it. The whey is discarded and the milk solids are drained, cooled and kneaded into a dough. The dough is divided into small balls and the balls are cooked in hot water with a bit of rose water added. The balls are then cooked in milk with
saffron
Saffron () is a spice derived from the flower of ''Crocus sativus'', commonly known as the "saffron crocus". The vivid crimson stigma and styles, called threads, are collected and dried for use mainly as a seasoning and colouring agent i ...
,
pistachio
The pistachio (, ''Pistacia vera''), a member of the cashew family, is a small tree originating from Central Asia and the Middle East. The tree produces seeds that are widely consumed as food.
''Pistacia vera'' is often confused with other sp ...
s and
kheer
Kheer, also known as payasam, is a sweet dish and a type of wet pudding popular in the Indian subcontinent, usually made by boiling milk, sugar or jaggery, and rice, although rice may be substituted with one of the following: daals, bulgur whe ...
as stuffing.
Variations
Different types of ras malai can be found in different areas. In
Dhaka
Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...
and
Rangpur, the rasmalais are similar in shape to the
rasgulla
Rasgulla, also known as rasagola, rosogola or rosogolla, is a syrupy dessert popular in the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent. It is made from ball-shaped dumplings of chhena and semolina dough, cooked in light sugar syrup made of suga ...
s
,and round discs.
See also
*
Basundi
Basundi ( gu, બાસુંદી, kn, ಬಾಸುಂಡಿ, mr, बासुंदी, ta, பாசந்தி, te, బాసుంది) is an Indian sweet mostly in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Ka ...
*
Gulab jamun
*
Khira sagara
Khira sagara ( or, କ୍ଷୀର ସାଗର) is an Odia sweet dish that literally translates to ''ocean of milk'' in the Odia language. The sweet has depiction in the Hindu mythological scripture about Lakshmi serving Vishnu and Madhusudana wi ...
*
Rasabali
Rasabali (, IAST: rasābaḷi) is a sweet dish from Odisha, India. Rasabali is offered to Baladevjew, and originated in the Baladevjew Temple of Kendrapara. It is one of the Chapana bhoga of Jagannath temple.
It consists of deep fried flattene ...
References
External links
Bangladeshi desserts
Culture in Comilla
Bengali desserts
Sweets of West Bengal
Indian desserts
Pakistani desserts
Muhajir cuisine
North Indian cuisine
Bengali cuisine
{{Bangladesh-cuisine-stub