Rasgulla or Rasogolla

One of the popular desserts of west Bengal that is often prepared during festivals. This Indian cottage cheese balls are boiled in sugar syrup and are spongy.

Makes/Serves: 8 to 10 Servings

Ingredients:

·      1 liter whole milk

·      ½ cup lemon juice or vinegar 

·       Ice cubes or chilled water

·      1½ cups sugar (you could increase by another half to quarter cup, if you like)

·      3cup cups water

·      ¼ tsp. cardamom powder

·      ½ tsp. rose water (optional)

·      Few saffron stands (optional) for garnishing

Method:

·      Bring the milk to a boil.

·       Switch off the stove and leave it for 2 mins. Then add lemon juice. The entire milk gets curdled well within 2 to 3 mins. Add ice cubes or chilled water to the curdled milk to stop the cheese from further cooking. This way it stays soft. Leave it aside for 2 to 3 minutes

·      Filter and collect the cheese in a cheesecloth or muslin cloth.

·      Rinse the cheese under running water we used lemon juice or vinegar to curdle.

·      Tie up the cloth and hang it for 45 mins and drain excess water. Chenna is ready now

·      Add sugar and water to a wide pan or pot, bring it to a boil

·      Knead the cheese well to make it a smooth dough.  Proper kneading to smooth dough is very important to get good rosgulla Take small portions of this and roll to tiny balls. They should be tiny and not big

·      To the boiling sugar syrup, add cardamom powder and rose water.

·      Let the sugar syrup boil; add the balls one after the other gently.

·      Cover the pot with a lid and cook for 15 mins on a medium high flame. Gently stir every 3 minutes to ensure even cooking and puffing. They double in size when done.

Recipe Credit: From my GrandMa’s Rasoi

Cook Tip: