Malai Burfi

Malai burfi is best known for its melt in the mouth texture. Malai is milk fat! So a burfi made out of pure fat. How bad that can be? It is one of the most scrumptious burfis that I have tasted and loved. If you know your way around making paneer, this is a piece of cake. (not literally!).  :)

Ingredients:
6 and 1/2 cups milk (I use 2%, use anything more than 2%)
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup sugar
2 tb spoon milk powder (dry milk)
1/4 tea spoon cardamom powder
2 tb spoon sliced nuts (almonds or pistachios)

Method:
In a heavy bottom pan, bring 5 cups milk to a full boil. Lower the heat and add lemon juice; little at a time, stirring  the milk continuously. Switch off the heat once the milk is fully curdled. At this point, you will be able to see whey and paneer (milk fat) separated. Transfer the mixture into a colander lined with a cheesecloth and drain the excess whey. Run cold water on paneer and squeeze out maximum water you can. This helps getting rid of sour taste of lemon.
              Transfer paneer into a heavy bottom pan with remaining 1 and 1/2 cups of milk and simmer this mixture on a low heat until almost all the milk is evaporated stirring occasionally. Add sugar and cook the mixture until all the sugar is melted and the mixture starts to leave the sides of pan and turns into a soft ball. Add cardamom powder and milk powder and stir everything together until you get a very soft ball. This should not be very dry. Do not overcook this mixture to remove any excess liquid, else you will end up with chewy burfi. Transfer the mixture onto a greased plate and form a square of 1/2 inch thickness,using a spatula.Garnish with chopped nuts while the mixture is warm. Allow it to cool completely before cutting into desired shape.
                 Store in air tight container in the refrigerator. This will last for couple of days only.
                

Note- Always cook paneer mixture on a low heat to prevent it from burning or changing its bright white colour!