Traditional Bengali Rasgulla Recipe - Cottage Cheese Balls In Sweetened Syrup
Bengali rasgulla recipe is an excellent recipe for this regional classic from the state of West Bengal. Delicate cottage cheese dumplings, soaked in sugar syrup, they’re also called Rosogolla. The process has multiple steps, but yields a super soft rasgulla that is steamed and then soaked in a flavoured sugar syrup.
Ingredients
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6 cups Milk
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3 tablespoons Lemon juice
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2 tablespoons Curd (Dahi / Yogurt)
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2 cups Sugar
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4-1/2 cups Water
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1/4 teaspoon Cardamom Powder (Elaichi)
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1 Cloves (Laung)
Instructions
Step 1
To begin making the Bengali Rasgulla, first mix curd and lemon juice together in a bowl
Step 2
Bring the milk to a roaring boil; when it starts to foam and rise, reduce the flame to medium and add curd-lemon juice mix and give it a stir
Step 3
The milk will begin to curdle and get separated from the whey
Step 4
When all the milk is curdled and only a clear whey remains, turn off the heat
Step 5
The curdled milk is the cottage cheese, allow the milk to rest in the whey water for a few minutes
Step 6
Spread a muslin cloth/cheese cloth (Make sure its big enough to get tied up) and drain the curdled milk
Step 7
Now bring the edges of the cloth together and immerse it (up and down process) in a bowl filled with ice cubes and cold water
Step 8
Slightly rub the bag so that it releases the lemon juice flavor and bring the curdled milk together to a ball
Step 9
Squeeze water well and tie the bag
Step 10
Now on a flat plate, first place the sack, then a tawa or plate and finally some heavy weight
Step 11
This helps to squeeze all excess water
Step 12
Let it sit for 1 hour without any disturbance, until you see a lot of whey is released
Step 13
Remove the paneer from the muslin cloth and place it on a flat surface
Step 14
Scramble and knead using your palm for 10 minutes
Step 15
You can feel the paneer getting soft
Step 16
Make them to equal-sized balls by rolling in your hand, making sure there are no cracks on the ball surface
Step 17
In a pressure cooker (wide enough) boil sugar and water
Step 18
When bubbles starts to form, add Cardamom powder, clove and paneer balls (one by one) slowly
Step 19
Cover the cooker and pressure cook for 1 whistle
Step 20
After a whistle, reduce the flame to low and let it simmer for another 5 minutes
Step 21
Turn off the heat and allow the pressure come down
Step 22
Once the pressure is completely released, open the cooker
Step 23
You will notice the Rosogolla are doubled in their size
Step 24
Replace the rasgullas carefully to another bowl, cool down completely
Step 25
Refrigerate for 2 hours minimum before serving
Step 26
NotesWash the paneer well to avoid lemon taste in rasgullas
Step 27
Squeeze the maximum to drain the water and then place a weight
Step 28
You can use the whey water for making chapati batter
Step 29
Kneading the dough is a very important step to get the rasgullas soft
Step 30
My friend's mother suggested to add a teaspoon of maida and stir after kneading the paneer
Step 31
This helps rasgullas to be a bit firm and withstands its round shape
Step 32
If you feel the paneer is very much drained or is not binding while making balls, then drizzle some drops of water alone and knead again
Step 33
Please make sure to use a wide cooker or pan as rasgulla expand after cooking
Step 34
Do replace rasgullas to another bowl after cooking to avoid overheating
Step 35
We can also prepare them in a large pan by simply closing them for 10 to 15 minutes after paneer balls are added
Step 36
When rasgullas are cooked they are extremely soft but will get firm after refrigerating