Rasgulla recipe. It is a popular Bengali candy. There are two distinct types of rasgulla. One is the spongy and the other is a non-spongy rasgulla.
In this recipe article, I have shared the method of making a delicious, spongy and sweet rasgulla recipe with lots of suggestions and tips.
This is our favorite Bengali candy. It is also one of those rare recipes for which I have the most requests. After many tries, I share the rasgulla recipe. After trying so many times you realize your mistakes and make them better. So it was in my case. I learned from all the mistakes I made.
While it can be tricky to make rasgulla, this article will help you get it right. There are also Indian sweets which are easy to make and you can even try them for Diwali or any festival – Gulab jamun, Besan ladoo, Malpua.
These round white beauties stay good in the fridge for a week.
Serve them plain as sweet. You can also make Rasmalai with them, which I did with some of them. This recipe makes 18-20 rasgulla.
What is rasgulla?
Rasgulla is a famous sweet from Bengal made from milk. To make rasgulla, first the milk is clotted to make chenna which is basically coagulated milk solids. These coagulated milk solids are separated from the whey and kneaded with all-purpose flour (maida) or sooji (semolina). Round balls are made from the chenna petri which is then cooked in a saucepan in sugar syrup. To flavor the rasgulla, cardamom powder or rose water can also be added.
A spongy rasgulla should be soft and light. In this article, I have mentioned below the suggestions and tips so that you can easily make a squishy rasgulla recipe in your own kitchen.
I have divided the rasgulla recipe into four parts for easier reading:
- Making chenna
- Make rasgulla balls
- Preparation of the sugar syrup
- Cooking rasgulla
Also Read: Carrot Halwa | Gajar Halwa
How to make rasgulla
Making chenna
1. In a saucepan, take 1 liter of whole milk and boil over low to medium heat. I used organic milk of cow which is low in fat. If you use buffalo milk, it has too much fat and forms a thick layer of cream / malai floating on top. Before proceeding with the making of the chenna, you must remove the thick layer of malai.
2. So when the milk heats up, ready a bowl or colander with a cheesecloth.
3. At intervals, continue to stir the milk so that the foam does not form on the top and the base does not brown or the milk solids stick to the bottom.
4. When the milk begins to boil, reduce the flame to its lowest level. Add 1 to 3 tablespoons of lemon juice. First add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and mix very well. If the milk has not clotted completely, add 1 tbsp more. Keep the lemon juice on hand. Depending on the quality of the milk, you may need to add 1 to 3 tablespoons of lemon juice. Stir after adding the lemon juice. Sometimes I added 1 tbsp of lemon juice and the milk clotted and sometimes I had to add 3 tbsp too. In place of lemon juice, vinegar can also be added. Another option is curd / yogurt. Add 4 to 5 tablespoons of yogurt or if needed, you can add more.
5. Turn off the flame, as soon as the milk curdles. The milk should completely clot with the green watery whey.
6. Now pour the curds into the bowl or the colander covered with cheese cloth / muslin. Reserve the whey and add it to your dough of chapati or in curries. Don’t throw the whey out as it is very nutritious.
7. From the sides, gather the muslin and under running water, rinse the chenna or coagulated milk solids. This lowers the temperature of the chenna and removes the lemon flavor and tart taste from the chenna.
8. Now with your hands, squeeze the muslin very well so that the excess water is drained from the chenna. Remember that there should not be excess moisture or water in the chenna, as the rasgulla will break during cooking.
9. Place a heavy substance on the chenna for 7-8 minutes. For about 30 minutes, you can hang the chenna also.
10. Remove the cheesecloth from the chenna after 7-8 minutes. Note that the chenna should not be too dry or have too much water.
Make rasgulla balls
11. Add 1 teaspoon of unroasted rava or semolina or sooji. The rava I had was a bit rude. Fine rava or sooji also works great. Also, you can add all purpose flour / maida. Adding either one helps bind the mixture together. For a gluten-free option, add 1 teaspoon of cornstarch instead of all-purpose flour or semolina.
12. First mix the sooji and chenna, then start kneading. While kneading the chenna, if you see that it is watery or wet, it means that there is more water. To absorb the extra moisture, you can add maida (all-purpose flour). If not, again keep a heavy substance on the chenna so that the extra water or whey drains off. There is less moisture, if the chenna looks crumbly and dry. So to make it correct, while kneading, sprinkle 1 to 2 teaspoons of water. This will add moisture to the chenna. A little moisture in the chenna helps to bond.
13. With your palms, crush the chenna and knead. From the sides, keep scooping up the chenna and keep crushing and kneading. This kneading process is very important and also makes the chenna texture. It’s time to stop, when you feel that your palms are getting a bit oily. A little fat is needed. Avoid kneading to a point where all the chenna becomes greasy. For about 10 minutes, I kneaded it because my hands are very light. So, depending on the quality of the chenna and how much pressure you apply while kneading, you may take more or less time. Note that the chenna should start to get oily.
14. Knead into a smooth chenna ball that should be able to come together without breaking or falling apart.
15. Now take small portions of the chenna and roll them between your palms to form a round, smooth ball.
16. Prepare all the small balls this way. There will be fine cracks on the balls of chenna and it’s good to have them.
17. Cover all the balls of chenna with a damp muslin or tea towel and set aside.
Make sugar syrup for rasgulla
18. Take 2 cups of the sugar in a large saucepan.
19. Add 4 cups of water (1 liter). I used organic raw sugar and thus the golden orange tones. You should use a large pot so that the rasgulla can cook properly and increase in size. You can also use a pressure cooker. I used a pot of 8.5 inches in diameter and 4.5 inches in height. Basically a 3.4 liter stainless steel saucepan.
20. Keep this saucepan on the stove and heat the solution of sugar. Stir so that the sugar dissolves. Heat a little and stir so that the sugar dissolves. You don’t need to boil or heat the solution further. Go to the next step, if there are impurities in the sugar solution. Go to step 26, if there are no impurities. You can also do it this way.
21. Add 1 tablespoon of milk and stir. Adding milk helps remove impurities. You do not need to add milk if there are no impurities, and go directly to step 26.
22. Once the sugar solution becomes hot, impurities start floating on top.
23. You can remove it with a spoon.
24. Or filter the impurities through a colander having cheesecloth or muslin. I prefer this method.
25. From the filtered sugar solution (or if you haven’t filtered the sugar solution), reserve ½ cup in a mug. This ½ cup of sugar solution will be added when cooking the rasgulla.
26. In a serving bowl, reserve another 1 cup of the filtered sugar solution.
27. Pour the remaining 2.5 cup sugar solution to the same large saucepan and bring it to a boil over medium-high heat.
Cooking rasgulla
28. Gently slip the rasgulla into the sugar solution.
29. Shake the pot, once all the rasgulla have been added to the sugar solution. Do not stir the rasgulla with a spoon. Gently shake the pan.
30. Cover with a lid immediately and let them cook. Keep the flame at medium to medium intensity.
31. Open the lid after 4 minutes and add ¼ cup of the reserved sugar solution. Shake the pan. Adding this reserved sugar solution ensures that the consistency and temperature is maintained and that the sugar does not cook to its wire consistencies.
32. Cover again and continue cooking.
33. After 4 minutes, add another ¼ cup of the reserved sugar solution. Cover and cook for another 2 minutes. I cooked for 10 minutes in total.
The time needed to cook the rasgulla
34. After 10 minutes the rasgulla grow and were cooked. Turn off the flame once cooked, and hold the pan down. Rasgulla cooking time will vary depending on the intensity of the flame, the size of the pan and the thickness and quality of the pan. Thus, the time interval can be between 7 to 11 minutes. Instead of 4 minutes, you can therefore add the ¼ cup of sugar syrup after 2 to 3 minutes also. I used a deep, heavy-bottomed, large pan so the cooking time was slightly longer for me.
35. There are two ways to check the completeness of rasgulla.
- The first method is placing the rasgulla in a bowl or cup of water. If the rasgulla settles at the bottom and stays there, it’s done.
- The second method is to press a small part of the rasgulla with your finger. It’s done, if the squeezed part returns to its original shape. You need to check the completeness while the rasgulla are simmering. So, with a spoon take a rasgulla and add it to the water bowl. If the rasgulla does not settle at the bottom and floats above the water, you need to cook it further.
Serve the rasgulla
36. Once cooked, with a spoon take each rasgulla out.
37. And place it in the serving bowl with 1 cup of the reserved solution of sugar. Cover and keep aside.
38. Heat the solution of sugar in which the rasgulla were cooked. Then to the serving bowl, add this sugar solution.
39. Once all the mixture has cooled, add rose water about 1 to 2 tablespoons. You can also use kewra water (pandanus extract) or ½ teaspoon cardamom powder instead of rose water. You can also use both cardamom powder and rose water. Stir gently. Aroma must be added, otherwise in the rasgulla, you will get a milky taste. In case the milky taste is there, you can add more rose water or add 1 teaspoon of cardamom powder. For about 30 minutes, let them soak in the syrup so that the aromas are infused into them.
40. You can serve the rasgulla now or refrigerate and serve later.
