Indrayani (Rakshabandhan Special)

 

Indrayani

This is a very famous & delicious North Indian sweet. It is very rich & creamy dessert. It consists of tiny, soft & sweet Rasgullas dipped in saffron flavoured milk. This is very different from Rasmalai though you might find both of them similar. Rasmalai consists of slightly thickened milk while Indrayani contains significantly thicker milk.

What you'll need:

 For Rasgullas - 

Tip: You can either make Rasgullas to home by using below mentioned ingredients or you can completely skip making them at home & buy them from outside.

1. Cow's Milk (Without cream) - 250 ml
2. White Vinegar - 2 tsp 
3. Water - 2 tsp

 For Sugar Syrup - 

1. Sugar - 50 grams or as per taste (approximately ½ cup)
2. Water - 3 cups

  For Thickened Milk -

1. Full Cream Milk - 1.5 litres
2. Sugar - ½ cup or as per taste
3. Chopped Nuts - A few (Preferably Cashew Nuts, Almonds, Pistachios) 
4. Saffron strands - 10 to 12

How to make?

 For Rasgullas - 

• Firstly, prepare Chenna by boiling Milk. When Milk starts to boil, turn off the gas.
• Till the Milk boils, mix White Vinegar & Water in a bowl.
• Now, slowly add the White Vinegar & Water mixture to the boiled Milk slowly, 1.5 tsp at a time & mix slightly with a spoon.
• Similarly, mix the entire White Vinegar & Water mixture in boiled Milk & stir till the Milk curdles.
• Now, strain this curdled Milk in a cotton cloth. Drain the water properly.
• Now, wash the Chenna prepared above using cold water so that the effect of Vinegar goes away.
• Now, drain the excess water by squeezing the cotton cloth lightly. Do not over squeeze it. Let some moisture remain. 
• Now, take out this Cheena in a plate & rub it well using hands till it's texture becomes smooth so that a ball can be formed out of it. It will take 5 minutes to become smooth.
• Now, for Sugar Syrup, in a pan, take ½ cup Sugar & 3 cups Water & bring it to boil.
• Meanwhile, prepare mini Rasgullas using the Chenna prepared above. Make sure Rasgullas are really small because they will increase in size later.
• Now, put these mini Rasgullas in Sugar Syrup prepared above, cover it with a lid & let it boil for 15 minutes on high flame.
• After 15 minutes, remove the lid half way & let it boil for another 2-3 minutes on medium flame.
• After 2-3 minutes, turn off the flame. Let the Rasgullas cool.

 For Thickened Milk - 

• Firstly, boil Milk & keep stirring in between.
• When Milk gets reduced to half, add chopped Nuts, Saffron strands & Sugar in it & let it again boil for 5 minutes.
• Turn off the flame.

 For Indrayani -

• Take out the Rasgullas from the Sugar syrup & squeeze them to remove the Sugar Syrup (Tip: If you do not squeeze the Rasgullas to remove the Sugar Syrup, your Thickened Milk will become liquidy. So, make sure to squeeze your Rasgullas well).
• Now, put all the Rasgullas in the above prepared Thickened Milk. Let this boil for 2 minutes on high flame. Turn off the flame.
• Finally, your Indrayani is ready to be served.

Shelf Life - 5 to 6 days in fridge or 2 days at room temperature

Enjoy your Rakshabandhan Festival this this super rich & creamy Indrayani!