Rasgullas, bright white and soft, are a favourite for many. They’re often enjoyed chilled, although some people prefer them warm. They are soft and airy, and break apart easily in the mouth. It's beguiling to think that such a simple looking dessert can be rather complex to make. That’s where we come in. we’re here to make it super easy for you to make your own rasgullas at home. Simply follow this guide and you’re all set.
Ingredients:
- 1,000 ml whole milk
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 cups sugar
- 1,000 ml water
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1 teaspoon sooji or all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoon rose water
Directions:
- In a pan over medium heat, boil the milk. Add the lemon juice to and stir. This will cause the milk to curdle. As soon as it does, turn off the heat and strain the chhena in a bowl through a muslin cloth.
- Drain the excess water from the chhena by squeezing the cloth and place a heavy weight on the chhena for about 10 minutes.
- Now add sooji to the chhena and start kneading it. Knead for about 10 minutes or until it starts to become greasy.
- Shape the chhena mixture into small balls. Set aside.
- In a pan, add the sugar and water over medium heat. Keep stirring till all the sugar dissolves.
- Take part of the sugar syrup in a pot and bring it to a boil. Slide the rasgulla balls into the mixture. Cover and let them cook.
- There’s two ways to know that your rasgullas are done cooking. First, place the rasgullas in a bowl or cup of water. If they sink to the bottom of the bowl, they are cooked. Second, press a part of the rasgulla with your finger. If it bounces back to its original shape, it's cooked.
- Once cooked, turn off the heat and let the pan sit on the counter.
- Now immerse the rasgullas in the sugar syrup and cover. Set aside.
- Once it has cooled, add the rose water to the bowl. Stir gently and let it soak for another 30 minutes.
- You can serve the rasgulla immediately or let it get chilled in the fridge and then serve. Garnish the rasgulla with almond slivers and serve.
- Store in an airtight container and they will stay good for about a week.
Notes, tips and tricks:
- It’s best to use full fat milk when making such milk based desserts. Skim milk or low fat milk might ruin the consistency of the rasgullas.
- When making the chhena, if one spoon of lemon juice doesn't do the trick, slowly add another spoon. If you don't have lemon, you can also use vinegar to curdle it. Or, add some yoghurt to the milk and it will curdle. The idea is to get curdled milk that’s greenish in hue, and scoop out the chhena that will start to form.
- To strain it, place a muslin cloth on top of a large bowl, and pour the curdled milk into the cloth. The liquid will pass down into the bowl and you’ll be left with the chhena in the cloth.
- Shape and wrap the chhena and then place a heavy weight on it.
- When kneading the chhena and sooji, you can also use flour instead. You have to knead using the palms of your hands and shape it into a ball. Slowly, it will start to extract fat. This greasiness is a sign that you should stop kneading.
- When shaping the chhena mixture into balls, ensure that there are no cracks or it will fall apart while cooking. If you need more moisture, knead it more so that more grease will be extracted.
- If your chhena is too dry, the rasgullas will shrink or flatten when cooking. So be patient when kneading and get the right consistency.
- Make sure the pot you're cooking the rasgullas in is big enough that the rasgullas have the place to expand a little bit. Don't stir when cooking or the balls might break apart.
- The sugar syrup should have a thin consistency, not forming any strings when pulled apart.
- If you don't have rose water, add cardamom powder. But some flavouring is necessary, otherwise the rasgullas will taste milky, which might be weird.