Well, after 2 weeks of slaving away at school, I’m finally catching a break.  To enjoy this little break, I decided to make myself one of the treats that I’ve been missing most after coming back from India.  It’s a dessert called rasmalai (literally meaning the “juice of cream”).  Traditionally, rasmalai is a pretty labor intensive dish to make, but you all know how much disdain I have for long preparation times.  So this is pretty much as simple as it gets.  No muss, no fuss, just a delicious dessert for everybody to enjoy.  Even my dad (a general anti-raw guy), gave me a wide-eyes “Wow” when he ate these.  So try it out, and tell me what you think!

(click for more views and to enlarge)

Ingredients
Milk:
* 2 tsp rose water
* 1 handful cashews (~1/2 cup)
* 2 tbsp agave nectar
* 4 green cardamom seeds – powdered
* water

Rusgulas (balls):
* 2 handfuls cashews (~1 cup)
* 2 handfuls almonds (~1 cup)
* 5-6 soft dates

Directions
Milk:
Place all milk ingredients in a blender, and add water until total volume is just over 2 cups.  Blend it all together.

Rusgulas (balls):
In a food processor, grind down 1 handful of cashews and 1 handful of almonds into a fine powder.  Again using a food processor, grind down the other handful of cashews and almonds into small granules.  In a large bowl, mix ground nuts with dates by hand until evenly distributed.  Add 2 tablespoons of the milk into the mix and mash further. Next, shape the mix into 1 1/2 inch diameter saucers, and set aside.

Finally, place the rusgulas in a bowl, and pour the milk over them.  Allow everything to sit for 7-8 hours so the rusgulas soak up the flavor from the milk and soften.  Before serving, top with crushed pistachios.

Now go make yourself some!

–Rishi