Ras malai

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title: "Ras malai" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["bangladeshi-desserts", "culture-in-comilla", "bengali-desserts", "sweets-of-west-bengal", "indian-desserts", "pakistani-desserts", "muhajir-cuisine", "north-indian-cuisine", "bengali-cuisine"] description: "Dessert from Bengal" topic_path: "geography/india" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ras_malai" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Dessert from Bengal ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox food"]

Field	Value
image	Ras Malai 2.JPG
alternate_name	Rossomalai, roshmolai, rasamalei
national_cuisine	India, Bangladesh, Pakistan
region	Bengal, South Asia
course	Dessert
served	Cold
main_ingredient	Chhena, malai, saffron, sugar
variations	Comilla's roshomalai,
Kolkata's roshomalai
similar_dish	Rasgulla, paskha
country	Bangladesh
India (West Bengal)
cookbook	Rasmalai
::

| name = | image = Ras Malai 2.JPG | caption = | alternate_name = Rossomalai, roshmolai, rasamalei | national_cuisine = India, Bangladesh, Pakistan | region = Bengal, South Asia | course = Dessert | served = Cold | main_ingredient = Chhena, malai, saffron, sugar | variations = Comilla's roshomalai, Kolkata's roshomalai | calories = | other = | similar_dish = Rasgulla, paskha | country = Bangladesh India (West Bengal) | cookbook = Rasmalai Ras malai, also known as rasamalei or roshmalai, is a dessert that originated in the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent. The dessert is called roshmalai in Bengali, ras malai in Hindi, and rasa malei in Odia. It is popular in India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.

Origin and etymology

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/Advertisement_of_Rosomalai.jpg" caption="A Bengali advertisement of "Rasmalai" in February 1932 by Das grandsons claimed it as their invention"] ::

The original term for ras malai is rosh malai (Bengali: রস মালাই), which derived from the Classical Bengali word "rosho malai" with the same meaning.

The term is a combination of the Bengali word rosh (Bengali: রস), which means sap, and the Hindustani word malai (Hindi: मलाई, Urdu: ), which means clotted cream, hence the name: sweet sap of clotted cream.

The sweet allegedly became popular when the Sen brothers opened Matri Bhandar in 1930 and shared their ancestral recipe in Tipperah district (now Comilla, Bangladesh) of the Bengal Province, which has been granted a geographical indication (GI) in Bangladesh. Soon, in the mid-20th century, ras malai became a regionally popular sweet across South Asia, spreading beyond Bengal. Other variations include Ras Malai of Kolkata by K. C Das.

The Sen brothers of Comilla, operating under the Matri Bhandar brand, claim to be the original maker of the dessert. This is disputed by K.C. Das Grandsons, who claim that it was invented by K.C. Das in Kolkata.

Process

Ras malai consists of flattened balls of chhena soaked in malai. Milk is boiled, and a small amount of lemon juice is added to curdle it. The whey is discarded, and the chhena is drained, cooled, and kneaded into a dough. The dough is divided into small balls, and the balls are cooked in a sugar-water mix. The balls are then soaked in milk mixed with saffron, pistachios, rose water, cardamom, or a combination of those flavourings.

Variations

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/92/Rasmalai_Dessert.jpg" caption="Ras malai dessert"] ::

Different types of ras malai can be found in different areas, such as Rasmanjuri of Rangpur Division. In Dhaka and Rangpur, the ras malais are similar in shape to the rasgullas, and round discs.

References

References

1. "The interesting story of the origin of Rasmalai, The Times of India".
2. "Ras malai: Traditional Cheese Dessert From West Bengal".
3. (28 February 2020). "Odia Treat for Amit Shah & Other Dignitaries at Naveen Niwas |".
4. (2015). "Flat Food, Flat Stomach: The Law of Subtraction". Post Hill Press.
5. "Geographic Indication – BFTI".
6. "Fame of Matri Bhandar's Roshmalai continues". Dhaka Tribune.
7. (25 June 2012). "Ras Malai - A Milk based Dessert of India".
8. (6 November 2017). "Matri Bhander's roshomalai under siege from copycats". Dhaka Tribune.
9. Michael Krondl. (2011). "Sweet Invention: A History of Dessert". Chicago Review Press.
10. (19 October 2017). "Rasmalai is simply the dessert to beat". Gulf Times.
11. Mahmud Nasir Jahangiri. (2012). "Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh". [[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]].

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::