Mom's Recipies

         Homemade soft and spongy Rasgullas (Cottage Cheese Dumplings) cooked in sugar syrup

Are you still looking for the last-minute Rakhi / Raksha Bandhan sweets than look no more. Here is a perfect step by step tutorial to homemade Rasgulla recipe.
                              Rasgulla is one of the popular traditional Indian Bengali Sweets . It is prepared with freshly prepared chenna.This Rasgullas simply melt in your mouth and excites your taste buds ,making you want more.The perfect round and spongy rasgullas are not difficult to make; it just takes a little bit of time,practice, and patience. 

Try out this easiest and scrumptious sweet to celebrate the auspicious occasion of Rakhi / Raksha Bandhan. 


Cuisine -Indian ,Bengali
Servings :- 20 medium sized rasgullas
Time - 1 hour
Course - Desserts and Sweets
 
Ingredients :-
Full Fat whole Cow's  Milk / Full Fat  Milk - 1 litres
Sugar - 2 cups
Lemon Juice / Vinegar -2 tbsps
Water - 4 cups
Milk - 1 tbsp (tablespoon)
Corn starch / Maida / Sooji - 1 tsp
Cardamom Powder - 1/2 tsp
Pistachios -few
Saffron Strands -few



Method:-

Making Chenna /Paneer for Rasgulla:-

1) Take milk in pan and keep it to boil on a medium flame.


2) As the milk comes to a boil, add the lemon juice gradually and stir the milk gently. The chenna / Paneer will start separating from the whey, turn off the heat.Depending on the quality of milk ,you may need to add 1 to 3 tbsp of lemon juice and stir after adding the lemon  juice . Sometimes with 1 tbsp  lemon juice only milk will curdle ,sometimes we have to add 3 tbsps lemon juice to curdle the milk.
3)Once the milk curdles ,switch off the flame .The milk should curdle completely with green watery whey.If milk does not curdle add 1/2  to 1 tbsp of lemon juice more.
4)Now pour the curdled milk in muslin cloth or cheese cloth lined strainer or bowl.


5)Wrap the chenna  in a muslin cloth, and rinse under cold water, and squeeze well. This process brings down the temperature of chenna and takes out the sourness  from the chenna.
6)To take out the excess water squeeze the muslin cloth, or press the wrapped chenna under a heavy pan or heavy weight for about one hour or you can also hang the chenna for 1 hour .Taking the right amount of water out of the paneer is the most important part of this recipe.There should not be excess water or moisture in the chenna as then the rasgullas will break while cooking.

Making Rasgulla balls

1) To check if enough water is out of the chenna /Paneer , take a little piece of chenna  on your palm and rub with your fingers. After rubbing the chenna for about 15-20 seconds, you should be able to make a firm but smooth ball.
2) Once the chenna  is drained, add 1 tsp of corn flour / maida / sooji to help to bind the mixture.
But I didn't add anything.
3) Mix the corn flour or sooji or maida with the chenna and then begin to knead.


4) Knead the chenna /paneer by dragging the palm of your hand hard on the chenna /paneer. Keep scooping it back to together and knead more.


5) This Kneading process is very very important and it also decides the texture of chenna. When you feel your palms becoming a bit greasy ,its time to stop. Just a bit of greasiness is required..I kneaded for about 10 minutes.
6) If the paneer is too crumbly, add a teaspoon of water. Your palm will be little greasy.
7) Now pinch small prtion from the chenna and roll them between your palms to a smooth small round balls.


8) The balls should be tiny and not big as they expand in size after boiling.
9)Prepare all small balls this way and cover all the chenna balls with a moist muslin or kitchen towel and keep aside.

Making Sugar Syrup for rasgulla

1) In a pan ,take 2 cups of sugar and 4 cups of water. Use wide pan or pot so that there is enough space for rasgullas to cook and double in size.You can use pressure cooker also.
2) Keep the sugar solution pan on stove and heat the sugar solution .Stir it  so the suagr dissolves.
3) Add 1 tbsp milk in the sugar solution and stir. Adding milk helps in removing impurities. Once the sugar solution becomes hot the impurities become to float on the top.You can remove it with a spoon.

Cooking Rasgullas
1) Bring the sugar syrup to a rolling boil . Add cardamom powder. Then add the balls one after the other gently.


2)Cover the pan with a lid.
3) Cook on a medium flame for 10 mins.
4) Gently stir every 2-3 minutes to ensure even cooking and puffing. They double in size and also sink when cooked completely.


5) Remove the pan immediately from the stove to prevent them from cooking further.
6) Allow rasgullas to rest.
7) Cool completely, add crushed pistachios or saffron strands on top.
8) You can serve them as it is or place them in fridger and then serve they taste yummier.

Delicious and Mouth drooling Rasgullas are ready to Serve !!!



Suggestions:

   1) Rasgulla can stay fresh refrigerated for up to 4-5 days, in the sugar syrup .

Tips:-

1) Always use full cream milk or whole milk to make rasgullas. The fat content in full milk makes the best rasgullas.
2) Wait for milk to get bubbly before adding the lemon juice or vinegar. This will result in perfect chenna/paneer.
3) Wash chenna /paneer before proceeding. This will wash away all the taste of lemon from chenna/ paneer.
4) Knead the chenna for 8-10 minutes for a smooth dough. The dough should not feel sticky at all.