Rasgulla

When we think about sweets rasgulla has a major place. According to me most of us like rasmalai and the next best sweet will be rasgulla.

I know people who ask me what's the difference between rasmalai and rasgulla 😂. I know right. 

Rasmalai is a much softer paneer ball that's cooked in the thickened and flavoured milk which is called the rabdi. Rasmalai melts in your mouth. 

On the other hand, rasgulla is cooked in thin sugar syrup and it has a bite to it. Its a bit chewy than rasmalai.

Today I have made 2 types of rasgulla. One is the regular plain white rasgullas. The other one is a bit different. 

The other one is called a rajbogh, it is flavoured with saffron and usually, rajbogh has a nut stuffing in the middle but I made the saffron flavour alone and let the nuts part. 

Both have the same preps except the sugar syrup is different. 

You can check out my RasMalai recipe which can be done under 30 mins.

INGREDIENTS

Rasgulla

2-litre cow milk

2 tbsp lemon juice/vinegar

3 cups of ice-cold water

Syrup

2 cups of sugar

4 cups of water

4 elaichi pods

**A fat pinch of saffron (see note) 

METHOD

° Bring the milk to boil, while roll boiling add the lemon juice/vinegar to it. 

° Slowly the milk will start to curdle. When the milk solids and whey is completely separated, switch off the heat and let it sit for 2 mins. 

° After 2 mins mix in the 3 cups ice-cold water into the curdled milk. This will stop further cooking and keep the milk solids soft.

° Strain the curdled milk into a cheesecloth. Pour more water to it so the lemon/vinegar flavour is washed away. Let it strain completely. Hang the cheesecloth for an hour until the excess liquids are drained. 

° After an hour remove the milk solids from the cheesecloth and transfer to a large plate. This mixture should be crumbly. 

° Using your the palm only (see picture below), knead the milk solids into a smooth dough. It should not be grainy. 

° Once the dough is smooth enough, take small portions (remember it will double in size) of the dough and roll it into small and smooth balls without any cracks. 

° Cover the balls with a damp cloth. 

° Add the ingredients of syrup to a large pan and bring it to a roll boil for 5 mins. 

° After 5 mins add all the milk solid balls to the sugar syrup, cover the pan and let it cook for 10 - 15 mins. 

° Remove the pan from heat and let it cool completely. 

° Serve chilled. 

NOTE

° Don't overcook the curdled milk for long as the milk solids will become hard and the rasgulla will turn rubbery. 

° If you want the plain rasgulla omit the saffron. But trust me the saffron gives a beautiful colour and flavour. 

° Make sure you rest the curdled milk for 2 mins before adding the ice water. This helps to make the milk solids hard enough. 

° If the milk solids are soft and not pliable, it will be sticky while making the balls. Add 2 tbsp of all-purpose flour or cornflour to make it less sticky. 

° Do not use a spoon to move the rasgullas while boiling in the sugar syrup. This will break the balls. 

° Try to keep the pan covered while the rasgulla is cooking.