Indian
Gluten freeMalai sandwich
Paneer sandwiches in rose syrup
Paneer squares soaked in rose syrup and sandwiched with sweet mawa
Malai sandwich is a Bengali-style sweet of soft paneer squares poached in rose syrup, soaked overnight, then split and filled with warm, sweetened mawa (khoya). They're spongy, juicy and creamy. Serve them chilled in small paper cases; the recipe makes 20.
- Prep
- 40 min
- Cook
- 35 min
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Serves
- 10
- Per serving
- 230 kcal
Ingredients
For the paneer
- 6 ¼ cups full-fat milk
- 1 tsp citric acidor the juice of 1 lemon
For the syrup
- 9 ½ oz white sugar1⅓ cups
- 4 ¾ cups water4½ cups
- 3 drops rose essence
For the filling
- 1 tbsp milk
- 1 ¾ oz mawa (khoya)½ cup, grated
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 pinch yellow or pink food colouring
- 2 drops saffron essence
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Method
0/10 doneStep 1: Make the syrup: boil 9 ½ oz white sugar, 4 ¾ cups water and 3 drops rose essence in a wide pan for 8–10 minutes.
9 minStep 2: Make paneer: bring 6 ¼ cups full-fat milk to the boil, add 1 tsp citric acid and stir until it curdles and the whey turns clear (see the paneer recipe). Drain in muslin and squeeze out the whey.
15 minStep 3: Knead the paneer in a chopper until smooth, then divide into 20 portions.
Step 4: Shape each portion into a 3.5 cm square, 6 mm thick.
Step 5: Add the squares to the boiling syrup and boil for 10 minutes.
10 minStep 6: Take off the heat. When cool, cover and leave to soak overnight in the fridge.
480 minStep 7: Next day, heat 1 tbsp milk in a small pan, add 1 ¾ oz mawa (khoya), 2 tbsp sugar, 1 pinch yellow or pink food colouring and 2 drops saffron essence and cook for about 1 minute, until the mawa melts.
1 minStep 8: Lift the squares out of the syrup and cut each one horizontally into two.
Step 9: Spread a little warm mawa on one half and cover with the other half. Repeat with the rest.
Step 10: Put the malai sandwiches in small paper cases and serve chilled.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 230 kcal
- Protein
- 9 g
- Carbs
- 34 g
- Fat
- 7 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does malai sandwich take?
- About 75 minutes in total: 40 minutes to prepare and 35 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 10 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of full-fat milk?
- Oat, soy or almond milk, same amount (use unsweetened for savoury dishes).
- What can I use instead of citric acid?
- Juice of 1 lemon or 1 tbsp white vinegar per tsp (for curdling milk).
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