Rosogolla is not only a sweet it’s an emotion for Bengali people. For others it needs no introduction. Rasgulla which is a milk-based sweet is one of the most common sweets on the event menu grid, as it is soft, spongy, mouthwatering, and easily melts in the mouth. If you are craving for this dessert during the lockdown period then don’t worry about finding them at the stores, as you can easily make them at home. To make this famous Bengali sweet you only need three ingredients i.e. milk, sugar, and lemon juice. The tension of procuring ingredients is not in question anymore as such ingredients are handy and readily available in the kitchen all the time. Rasgullas (Rasogolla) are easy to make as they take only 15 minutes of preparation time and a maximum of 30 minutes of cooking time. Outlined below is a step by step recipe which you can follow to make spongy, soft, and tasty Rasgulla, just like the ‘Halwai’.
Ingredients required
- 1 Liter Cow milk
- 2 tablespoons of Lemon Juice
- some ice cubes
- 1 tablespoon of All-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon of cooking soda
- 2 cups (6 oz) of sugar
- 3 cups (6oz) of water
- ½ cup milk
- 15 gm green cardamom pods
Cooking Method
Step 1: Take one-liter milk and pour it in a utensil and bring it to boil on a medium flame. Mix 2 tablespoon of lemon juice with 2 tablespoons of water and mix the blend with milk.
Step 2: After adding the mixture of lemon and water, stir the milk continuously with the help of a spatula. Within a minute or two you’ll notice the solid portion of the milk (chhena or cream cheese) and whey separating. When you notice the solid milk portion on the top, turn off the flame and put the ice cubes in the curdled milk to let it cool, strain the Chhena and place it on a wet muslin cloth. Avoid using a colander (or rice strainer) as it can deteriorate the quality of the chhena. To remove the sourness or lemony taste, you’ll have to rinse it by pouring around 2 glasses of water over it.
Step 3: Tie the cloth tightly and drain the water by squeezing it softly. Then hang the muslin cloth for around thirty minutes to get rid of the excess water.
Step 4: Untie the muslin cloth and you’ll find a lump of soft chhena, transfer it to the platter. Crumble the chenna with soft hands. add the all-purpose flour and cooking soda then knead the chhena
Step 5: As you knead chhena into a dough, knead it with your hand so that it comes together. Kneading the chenna will make it release fat and you can start feeling it when your hands turn greasy.
Step 6: Make small balls from the kneaded chenna. Ensure the size of the balls is small & there is no crack in it, as they tend to become big when it boils in the sugar syrup and that will break the Rasgulla
Step 7: Take a thick bottom utensil and pour 3 cups of water and add 2 cups of sugar. Put the utensil on medium flame, as the sugar dissolves add ½ cup of milk in it, the purpose of adding the milk is to remove impurities from the sugar, by adding the milk it will form a scum on top of the sugar syrup that needs to be skimmed off for a clearer sugar syrup (Chasni), add cardamom pods and when the sugar syrup comes to the boiling point, drop the small chenna balls in it.
Step 8: Cover the utensil with a lid, remember if you are using a pressure cooker just cover the lid and don’t place the whistle. Cook the Rasgulla on a medium flame.
Step 9: Remove the lid from the utensil after 5 minutes and stir it. Once that’s done cover the utensil again and let the Rasgulla cook for another 7-8 minutes (you can stir it once in-between).
Step 10: Turn off the gas and remove the lid, you’ll notice that the size of the small chenna balls has increased (almost double the size). Transfer the Rasgulla to a bowl along with the sugar syrup and place it in a refrigerator for around 3-4 hours or 5-6 hours if you are not using a refrigerator. Your soft, spongy, and yummy Rasgullas are ready to serve.
Note if you want to make Gur (jaggery) ka Rasgulla (Nolen gurer Rasogolla), use 1 cup of sugar & 1 cup of jaggery for preparation of sugar syrup
Hope you fulfill your craving of eating Rasgulla in the lockdown period with this easy recipe.
