By Rose Pottermore
Hello Everyone! Rasgulla is an Indian delicacy, a milk based sweet made by curdling milk, draining the whey and kneading the milk solids to make small balls. These balls are cooked in hot sugar syrup until light and spongy.
Preparation Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 18 rasgullas
INGREDIENTS (1 cup = 240 ml)
For the Rasgulla:
1 litre milk (full fat or whole milk)
2 to 3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 litre ice water or a few ice cubes
For the sugar syrup:
1 and 1/2 cups refined white sugar
4 cups water
3 green cardamom pods
1/2 tablespoon rose water (optional)
1 pinch saffron stands for garnishing (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Making chena for Rasgulla
Bring milk to boiling in a container.
(If using non homogenized milk, then keep the container aside for 5 minutes. If using homogenized milk from a carton or packet, then reduce the flame to low.)
Add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and stir until the milk curdles. (If it doesn’t curdle, add more lemon juice and stir.)
When you see the milk curdled completely, switch off the stove and let it rest for 2 minutes.
Pour cold water in the curdled milk.
Drain the curdled milk with a thin cloth and colander.
Rinse the chena under running water to remove the acidic flavour.
Tie the cloth and squeeze it well to remove the excess whey as much as possible.
Let it rest for 1 to 1 and half hour. It must not have any extra whey and must be crumbly.
2. Making the sugar syrup
Add sugar, cardamom and water in a wide pan. Make sure you use a pan wide enough to hold all the rasgullas, as this is very necessary.
Stir to dissolve the sugar and bring it to a boil.
3. Making the Rasgulla
Knead the chena well for 3 to 5 minutes to make a smooth dough. (Do not knead it more than necessary or it will become soggy or greasy.)
When you see the mixture turn uniformly smooth and no more grainy, stop kneading.
Take small portions of this and roll them into small balls. They should not be too big as they will expand in size after boiling.
Add rose water to the sugar syrup. (optional)
Bring the sugar syrup to a rolling boil on medium flame.
Remove the cardamom pods from the sugar syrup and gently put the balls in it, one at a time.
Cover the pan immediately with a lid.
The syrup must be boiling steadily at a constant heat.
Cook on a medium flame for 9 to 10 minutes. Add the heat depending on the kind of pot/pan used.
After 5 minutes, gently stir the syrup once with a skewer. Do not touch the rasgullas while doing so. Cover immediately.
If you feel like the heat is too much, reduce it slightly, but ensure that the syrup keeps bubbling and boiling all the time.
After 10 minutes, remove the pan from the stove immediately.
Keep the lid closed for 20 more minutes.
Allow the rasgullas to rest and get cool completely.
Serve them chilled. Garnish with saffron.
Happy cooking!