Sweet demand shoots up whenever a festival is around the corner, but worries about adulterated sweets sold in the market often hold buyers back. That is pushing many households to make their own festive sweets at home instead of buying them. Kavita Kumari from Koderma has shared an easy homemade method for saffron milk malai sweets made with milk, chenna and saffron, a treat that turns out both flavourful and visually striking.
Preparing soft, lump-free chenna
According to Kavita Kumari, the process begins with about one litre of milk. Roughly 900 grams of this milk is boiled thoroughly. Once it comes to a good boil, vinegar is added little by little until the milk splits. The chenna that forms after the milk curdles is separated out and then washed well in cold water so that all the sourness from the vinegar is rinsed away. The chenna is then mashed thoroughly by hand until it turns completely smooth with no lumps left in it.
Making the saffron milk and combining it with chenna
Once the chenna is ready, the next step is preparing saffron-infused milk. A pan is kept on low flame with a little water in it, and about 100 grams of milk is placed over that water and heated. A few strands of saffron are then added to this milk. As the milk keeps boiling, its colour gradually turns saffron. That same saffron hue is what later makes the sweet look attractive, while the saffron itself gives the dish its distinct aroma and flavour. Once the saffron milk is ready, the mashed chenna is added to it and the two are mixed together well. About 2 to 3 teaspoons of powdered sugar are then added according to taste, and the quantity can be adjusted up or down depending on how sweet one wants the final dish to be. The mixture then needs to be stirred continuously on low flame so that the milk and chenna combine into a thick paste without sticking to the bottom of the pan.
Shaping the sweets and adding the final touch
Kavita Kumari explains that once the mixture thickens well and starts to firm up, the flame should be turned off and the mixture allowed to cool slightly. Small portions of this mixture are then taken and rolled into round ladoo-like shapes using the hands. The prepared sweets are arranged neatly on a plate. Finally, a few strands of saffron are placed on top of the sweets along with a light drizzle of saffron water. This final touch makes the sweet look even more attractive and gives it a festive finish that suits the occasion.
