Rasgulla Recipe (Soft & Spongy)

Ingredients

• 1 litre whole milk
• 2 to 3 tablespoons lemon juice or add as required
• 2 cups sugar or raw sugar
• 1 litre water
• 1 tablespoon milk – optional
• 1 teaspoon sooji (rava or cream of wheat) or all purpose flour or cornstarch
• 1 to 2 tablespoon rose water or kewra water or ½ teaspoon cardamom powder

Steps

Making chenna

1. Bring the whole milk to a boil in a pan over low to medium heat.
2. Line a strainer or bowl with cheesecloth or muslin while the milk heats.
3. Stir the milk at intervals to keep froth from forming on top, the base from browning and milk solids from sticking to the bottom.
4. When it boils, lower the heat to its lowest setting. Add 1 to 3 tablespoons lemon juice, starting with 1 tablespoon and stirring. If curdling is incomplete, add 1 tablespoon more. Keep the lemon juice to hand.
5. Depending on the milk, 1 to 3 tablespoons of lemon juice may be needed; stir after adding it. The source author reports curdling milk with 1 tablespoon on some occasions and needing 3 tablespoons on others. Vinegar is another option in place of lemon juice.
6. Curd or yogurt is another option: add 4 to 5 tablespoons yogurt, or more if needed. Chenna made with yogurt does not need the later water rinse.
7. Switch off the heat once the milk curdles. It must curdle completely, leaving green watery whey. If it does not curdle, add another ½ to 1 tablespoon lemon juice.
8. Pour the curdled milk into the strainer or bowl lined with cheesecloth or muslin.
9. Gather up the sides of the muslin and rinse the chenna, or coagulated milk, thoroughly under running water. This cools it and removes the lemony flavor and tangy taste.
10. Squeeze the muslin thoroughly with your hands to drain the extra water from the chenna. No excess water or moisture should remain, since that would make the rasgullas break during cooking.
11. Put a heavy weight on the chenna for 7 to 8 minutes, or hang the chenna for about 30 minutes.

Making chenna balls

1. After 7 to 8 minutes, take off the cheesecloth. The chenna should have neither too much moisture nor be too dry.
2. Add 1 teaspoon sooji, rava or semolina; all-purpose flour (maida) is also an option. Either binder helps the mixture hold together.
3. Mix the sooji into the chenna first, then start kneading.
4. Mash and knead the chenna with the heels of your palms. Keep gathering it from the sides and continue mashing and kneading.
5. Kneading determines the chenna's texture, so stop when your palms feel just a little greasy. Only a slight greasiness is needed.
6. Do not knead until all the chenna becomes greasy. The source cook kneaded for about 10 minutes with very light hands. The chenna quality and kneading pressure can make it take more or less time; the chenna should only begin to feel greasy.
7. Finish kneading with the chenna formed into a smooth ball.
8. Pinch off small amounts of chenna and roll each between your palms into a smooth, round ball.
9. Make all the remaining small balls the same way. Cover them with a moist muslin or kitchen towel and set aside.

Making sugar syrup

1. Put 2 cups sugar and 4 cups water in a large pan.
2. Use a large pot or pan with room for the rasgullas to cook and expand; a stovetop pressure cooker is another option. The source cook used a pot measuring 8.5 inches in diameter and 4.5 in height, a 3.4 litre stainless steel pot.
3. Heat the sugar solution in this pan on the stovetop, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Kneading the chenna and cooking the syrup may be done at the same time.
4. Add 1 tablespoon milk and stir to help remove impurities. If there are no impurities, skip the milk and go directly to step 6 of the sugar-syrup instructions.
5. As the solution gets hot, impurities float to the top. Lift them off with a spoon, or strain the solution through a strainer lined with cheesecloth or muslin.
6. Take ½ cup of the purified syrup and reserve it in a cup or mug. This ½ cup will be added while the rasgullas cook.
7. Keep another 1 cup of the sugar solution reserved in a serving bowl.

Making rasgulla

1. Return the remaining 2.5 cups of sugar solution to the same large pot and bring it to a boil over medium-high heat.
2. Gently slide the rasgullas into the boiling sugar solution.
3. Once all the rasgullas are added, shake the pot. Do not use a spoon to stir them; simply shake the pot gently.
4. Put the lid on immediately and let them cook over medium or medium-high heat.
5. After 4 minutes, lift the lid, add ¼ cup of the reserved syrup and shake the pan. This addition keeps the syrup's temperature and consistency steady and stops the sugar from reaching thread consistencies.
6. Cover once more and keep cooking.
7. After 4 minutes, add another ¼ cup reserved sugar solution. Cover and cook for 2 minutes more. The source cook cooked them for 10 minutes; timing varies with the pan thickness, quality and depth, and heat intensity.

To check the doneness

1. There are two tests for doneness. For the first, put a rasgulla in a bowl or cup of water: it is cooked if it sinks to the bottom.
2. For the second test, press a small part of a rasgulla with your finger. If that part springs back to its original shape, it is cooked.
3. Once cooked, turn off the heat and set the pan on the countertop.

Soaking in sugar syrup

1. Use a spoon to move each rasgulla into the bowl holding the reserved 1 cup sugar solution. Cover and leave aside.
2. Wait until the syrup used for cooking is warm, then add it to the serving bowl with the rasgullas.
3. After the entire mixture has cooled, add 1 to 2 tablespoons rose water.
4. Kewra water (pandanus extract) or ½ tsp cardamom powder can replace rose water if it is unavailable. Stir gently and leave to soak in the sugar syrup for 30 minutes.

Serving & Storage Suggestions

1. Serve now, or refrigerate the rasgullas to serve later cold or chilled.
2. Put the desired amount of rasgullas in each serving bowl and pour a few tablespoons sugar syrup into each. Slivered almonds or pistachios may be used for a garnish if preferred.
3. Store them in an airtight container, covered with the sugar syrup. They keep for about a week in the refrigerator. Do not store them at room temperature.