Rasgulla is a traditional Indian dessert primarily associated with Bengal and Odisha. It is white, soft, and spongy balls made from paneer and dipped in sweetened sugar syrup.
Ingredients:
For Chhena:
Milk – 1 liter (full cream cow or buffalo milk, which will make more chenna)
Lemon juice – 2 tablespoons (or 2 teaspoons vinegar, to break the chenna)
Water – 1/2 cup (to dilute the lemon juice)
For Syrup:
Sugar – 2 cups (to make the rasgullas sweet)
Water – 4 cups (for sugar syrup)
Cardamom powder – 1/4 teaspoon (optional, for flavouring the syrup)
Cooking Method:-
1. Preparing Chhena
Firstly, add 1 liter of milk in a large vessel and boil it on medium flame. Keep in mind that the milk should not burn at high temperatures, so keep stirring in between.
When the milk boils, reduce the flame. Now take 2 tablespoons of lemon juice or vinegar and mix it in 1/2 cup of water. Slowly add this solution to the milk and keep stirring.
The milk will curdle immediately and the water will separate. You will see the separation of paneer and whey.
Now strain the chenna through a thin muslin cloth or cotton cloth. Tie the cloth tightly and hang it for 30 minutes to drain out the excess water. It is very important to wash the chenna so that the sourness of lemon or vinegar goes away.
2. Kneading the Chhena
When all the water is drained from the chenna, take it out on a plate and knead it for 8-10 minutes. Knead it well with your hand so that the chenna becomes very smooth and soft.
This step is very important because the more well the chenna is kneaded, the softer and tastier the rasgullas will be.
Now shape small balls from the kneaded chenna. Each ball should be completely smooth, and there should be no cracks in them. Note that these balls swell in size when cooked, so keep the size a little small.
3. Preparing the Sugar Syrup
In a large vessel, add 4 cups of water and 2 cups of sugar and boil it on medium flame. Let the sugar dissolve completely and bring it to a boil.
If you want the rasgullas to have a little more flavor, you can add 1/4 teaspoon of cardamom powder. Cardamom gives a nice fragrance.
4. Cooking the Rasgullas
When the syrup boils well, slowly add the chenna balls to it. Make sure that the balls are completely immersed in the syrup.
Cover the vessel with a lid and cook on a medium flame for 15-20 minutes. The rasgullas swell to twice their size after cooking.
When the rasgullas start cooking, they become light and juicy. While boiling the rasgullas in the syrup, keep stirring them carefully at times so that they do not stick.
5. Cooling and Serving the Rasgullas
Once cooked, remove the vessel from the gas and let the rasgullas cool in the syrup itself. The longer the rasgullas stay in the syrup, the juicier and tastier they will become.
After cooling the rasgullas, you can keep them in the fridge. Cold rasgullas taste even better. Serve them with syrup and enjoy.
Tips and Suggestions:
Proper kneading of chenna: The more velvety and smooth the chenna is, the softer the rasgullas will be.
Water in syrup: The amount of water while making the syrup should be sufficient so that the rasgullas can cook completely in it.
Cook on low flame: Do not cook the rasgullas on high flame, or else they may become hard. Cooking on medium flame will keep them fluffy.
Check by pressing: After boiling the rasgullas, press them lightly, if they spring back to their original shape then it means they are well cooked.
Rasgullas are a traditional Bengali sweet that can be made at any festival or special occasion. Rasgullas made with this recipe are soft, juicy, and full of flavor.
