Rasagulla is a typical Bengali sweet, made out of milk protein or the cottage cheese. Whole full fat milk is boiled at the right consistency and then vinegar or lemon juice is added. The boiled milk then curdles out and then the cottage cheese gets filtered out using a muslin cloth.
Meanwhile, sugar syrup is prepared by adding 1 proportion of sugar with 1.2 proportions of water and once it boils down, add rose essence and cardamom powder. While the sugar syrup is simmering, knead the cottage cheese or make use of a mixer for kneading the cottage cheese. Make tiny cheese balls out of it. Finally, drop the cheese balls into simmering sugar syrup and cook for about 10 minutes on low flame. Tada! mouth watering rasagullas are ready...slurp :)
Ingredients:
1.5 litres of whole milk
1 tbsp lemon juice or vinegar
2 cups of sugar
2.5 cups of water
1/2 tsp cardamom powder or 1 green cardamom
few saffron strands or rose essence
1/4 cup of powdered sugar or granulated sugar
1 tbsp of milk
How to make rasagulla at home:
1. In a sauce pan or a kadai, boil 1.5 litres of milk.
2. Once the milk starts to boil, add lemon juice or vinegar.
3. The milk starts to curdle immediately.
4. When you can see the milk proteins separate from the whey, switch off the flame.
Tip: If you let boil the curdled milk further for 2-3 minutes, then the resulting rasagulla becomes harder.
5. Using a muslin cloth or any cotton cloth, filter out the cheesy part of the milk from it's whey.
6. Let it hang down for about 30 minutes. I alternatively use the method of keeping a heavy vessel on top of the filtered milk cheese/cottage cheese. This helps in draining the whey completely.
7. After 30 minutes, add the cottage cheese and 1/4 cup of powdered sugar or granulated sugar to a mixer or food processor and blend it for a minute. This helps in giving the right texture for the rasagullas.
8. Make small round shapes out of the cottage cheese. Rasagullas are ready to be boiled in sugar syrup. Keep it ready.
9. For preparing the sugar syrup, heat a pan with 2 cups of sugar and 2.5 cups of water.
10. Let the sugar dissolve in water on medium flame. When it starts to boil, add a tbsp of milk so that the dust particles in sugar syrup form a foamy layer which can be removed by a spatula.
This step ensures, the sugar syrup is crystal clear.
11. Once the sugar syrup boils, add cardamom powder and saffron strands.
12. The sugar syrup is ready. Now, slowly add the rasagullas on low flame.
Tip: Do not over crowd the rasagullas, as it tends to expand in size once boiled for 10-12 minutes. I was in a hurry to prepare dinner and hence adding all the rasagullas at one go.
13. Boil it covered for 10-12 minutes on low flame.
Tip: If you boil the syrup with rasagullas on high flame or for longer time, the rasagullas might become very hard and chewy. We just need soft and spongy rasagullas, hence cook on very low flame and for just enough time.
Now, you can see the rasagullas have expanded in size and there is no space in the pan.
14. Store the rasagullas refrigerated for an hour or so.
15. Serve the chilled rasagullas as a dessert after your lunch or dinner and relish the homemade sweet!
Meanwhile, sugar syrup is prepared by adding 1 proportion of sugar with 1.2 proportions of water and once it boils down, add rose essence and cardamom powder. While the sugar syrup is simmering, knead the cottage cheese or make use of a mixer for kneading the cottage cheese. Make tiny cheese balls out of it. Finally, drop the cheese balls into simmering sugar syrup and cook for about 10 minutes on low flame. Tada! mouth watering rasagullas are ready...slurp :)
1.5 litres of whole milk
1 tbsp lemon juice or vinegar
2 cups of sugar
2.5 cups of water
1/2 tsp cardamom powder or 1 green cardamom
few saffron strands or rose essence
1/4 cup of powdered sugar or granulated sugar
1 tbsp of milk
How to make rasagulla at home:
1. In a sauce pan or a kadai, boil 1.5 litres of milk.
2. Once the milk starts to boil, add lemon juice or vinegar.
3. The milk starts to curdle immediately.
4. When you can see the milk proteins separate from the whey, switch off the flame.
Tip: If you let boil the curdled milk further for 2-3 minutes, then the resulting rasagulla becomes harder.
5. Using a muslin cloth or any cotton cloth, filter out the cheesy part of the milk from it's whey.
6. Let it hang down for about 30 minutes. I alternatively use the method of keeping a heavy vessel on top of the filtered milk cheese/cottage cheese. This helps in draining the whey completely.
7. After 30 minutes, add the cottage cheese and 1/4 cup of powdered sugar or granulated sugar to a mixer or food processor and blend it for a minute. This helps in giving the right texture for the rasagullas.
8. Make small round shapes out of the cottage cheese. Rasagullas are ready to be boiled in sugar syrup. Keep it ready.
9. For preparing the sugar syrup, heat a pan with 2 cups of sugar and 2.5 cups of water.
10. Let the sugar dissolve in water on medium flame. When it starts to boil, add a tbsp of milk so that the dust particles in sugar syrup form a foamy layer which can be removed by a spatula.
This step ensures, the sugar syrup is crystal clear.
12. The sugar syrup is ready. Now, slowly add the rasagullas on low flame.
Tip: Do not over crowd the rasagullas, as it tends to expand in size once boiled for 10-12 minutes. I was in a hurry to prepare dinner and hence adding all the rasagullas at one go.
13. Boil it covered for 10-12 minutes on low flame.
Tip: If you boil the syrup with rasagullas on high flame or for longer time, the rasagullas might become very hard and chewy. We just need soft and spongy rasagullas, hence cook on very low flame and for just enough time.
Now, you can see the rasagullas have expanded in size and there is no space in the pan.
14. Store the rasagullas refrigerated for an hour or so.
15. Serve the chilled rasagullas as a dessert after your lunch or dinner and relish the homemade sweet!
