Rasagullas

Rasgullas are considered the king of Indian sweets. Originated in West Bengal, they are the flag bearer of Bengali cuisine , esp. the sweets. As many other sweets of Bengal, rasagullas are also made of chaina (paneer/cottage cheese) and they are soft, spongy, and just the right amount of sweet.

Ingredients
  • Full cream cow’s milk – 1 lt
  • Vinegar/Lemon Juice – 2-3 tbsp
  • Corn Flour – 1 tbsp
  • Sugar – 2 cups (1 cup for sugar syrup and 1 cup for cooking)
  • Water – 10-12 cups
  • Ice-cold chilled water – 1 bowl (to dip the cooked rasagullas)
Method
  1. Prepare the ice-cold water –
    1. Take a bowl full of water. Add some ice cubes and keep in the fridge to chill.
  2. Prepare the sugar syrup –
    1. Add 1 cup of sugar into 1 and ½ cup of water and keep it aside.
  3. Take a bowl full of water and keep it aside. We will use this bowl to check if the rasagullas have cooked.
  4. Prepare the chaina –
    1. Take a vessel and add 1 lts of milk and let it come to boil. Once the milk has boiled, take it off the heat and let it rest.
    2. Take 2 tbsp of vinegar or lemon juice in a bowl and add 2 tbsp of water. Mix it well.
    3. Add the vinegar or lemon juice to the milk, one tbsp at a time.
    4. Once the milk has curdled, sieve it through the cheese cloth.
    5. Rinse the chaina in cold water and wring it gently till all the water has been drained. Do not wring too hard. (If possible, leave the cheese cloth to hang for 10-12 minutes to drain out the water.) The chaina should not become dry.
  5. At this point, you need to do two things together – keep the water to boil and prepare the dough.
    1. Prepare the water for cooking –
      1. Keep a large vessel with heavy bottom on the gas and add sugar (1 cup) and water (10 cups) to it.
      2. Let the water come to boil while you make the dough and balls.
    2. Prepare the dough and balls –
      1. Take the chaina out on the plate and start kneading it with your wrists while collecting with your fingers and palms.
      2. Knead for 4-5 minutes until the crumbly and grainy chaina becomes soft.
      3. Add 1 tbsp of corn flour to it and knead again for 3-4 minutes.
      4. Your dough should be now velvety and soft.
      5. Pinch out equal amount of dough and make small balls with firm hands. There should not be any cracks on the surface.
  6. Once the balls are ready and water is boiling, drop the balls one by one into the water. After dropping one ball, wait for the water to be boiling again. Then drop another ball. You should be able to drop 9-10 balls in the hot boiling water in 3-4 minutes.
  7. After all the balls have been dropped in the water, immediately cover the vessel with a lid. Put a timer for 5 minutes. Do not open the lid in between.
  8. After 5 minutes, open the lid and quickly check the rasagullas. Very lightly stir them and cover the lid again. Do not leave rasagullas open for too long. Let the rasagullas cook for another 5 minutes. Put a timer for 5 minutes. Do not open the lid in between.
  9. After another 5 minutes, check the rasagullas again. Take one rasagulla in hand and see if has bloomed completely. Make sure to put the lid on the remaining rasagullas.
  10. You can also check if your rasagullas have cooked by dropping one rasagulla in a bowl full of water. If the rasagulla sinks to the bottom, it has been cooked.
  11. Once the rasagullas have been cooked, immediately transfer each rasagulla one by one into the chilled water bowl to stop the cooking process.
  12. Remove the vessel from the gas and let the water cool down.
  13. Once the rasagullas have cooled down, squeeze the extra water out of them and dip them in the previously prepared sugar syrup and let them rest in fridge for 1-2 hours.