In a heavy bottomed pan, add the milk and bring to a boil.

Add the saffron and let the milk simmer on low heat, stirring so it doesn't burn, until the milk reduces of half (this will take approximately 40 minutes).

Then add the sugar and stir to dissolve it. Add the cardamom powder and stir well. Remove from the heat and keep it aside.

In a heavy bottomed pan, add the milk and bring to a boil.

Add the lemon juice and stir. The milk will curdle and separate.

Leave it untouched for 5 minutes, then place a muslin cloth in a colander and gently pour the separated milk in it.

Run cold water over the separated milk to remove any traces of lemon juice.

Squeeze out the excess water from the paneer, wrap it in the muslin cloth and place a heavy object over it to help drain all the water out.

Leave it like that for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes transfer the paneer to a bowl, add the flour and knead well to form a soft dough.

Roll out 12 walnut sized balls from the paneer making sure there are no cracks. Flatten them slightly (like patties) and keep them under a damp tea towel.

In a wide-bottomed saucepan with a lid, add 2.5 cups of water and 4 tablespoons of sugar.

Allow the syrup to boil, then add the paneer balls into it.

Cover the pan and let the paneer balls cook for 15-20 minutes on low heat.

When ready, the paneer balls will be spongy and will have doubled in size.

Let them cool down a bit and when you can handle them, remove them from the sugar syrup. Slightly press each ball between your palms to remove the excess sugar syrup.

Place the squeezed balls in the milk syrup made in step one. Let them cook on low heat for a couple of minutes so they soak up the milk syrup.

Transfer the Ras Malai to a serving dish, let it cool down and refrigerate it.

Just before serving, garnish with chopped pistachios, almond slivers and a few strands of saffron.

Serve cold.