Rasgulla recipe, How to make rasgulla - Raks Kitchen (2024)

Rasgulla is an milk based Indian dessert with chhena, popular in Bengal. With just milk and sugar, this is so easy to prepare this mithai if you follow these simple steps.

Rasgulla is an excellent dessert for get togethers, celebrations and festivals like Diwali.

You can turn rasgulla into a quick sweet Rasmalai too, making it more special. Check out my other Diwali sweets in my website.

What is Rasgulla?

Rasgulla is a traditional Indian sweet that originates from the Indian state of Bengal and very popularly known Bengali sweet.

Rasgulla is a milk based sweet, made by curdling milk to get milk solids called chenna. Chenna is rolled into small balls and cooked in simple syrup.

It is juicy, soft, spongy, mildly sweet. When you squeeze, it still holds the shape when put back to syrup like a sponge.

I have never thought of trying this popular mithai at home until Jeyashri shared how to make it.

To my surprise, my first attempt with low fat milk itself was a success. Now after many times making at home, I have noted what are the important points to get a perfect rasgulla at home just like we get at mithai shops.

Ingredients

• Milk - Whole milk. I have done with low fat milk as well.
• Sugar - White sugar works best and widely used.
• Vinegar or lemon juice - Use for curdling the milk to make chenna.
• Cardamom - Green cardamom for flavor

How to make rasgulla?

There are various methods to prepare rasgulla at home. The recipe varies from one another in each household.

Curdle milk firstly with vinegar or lemon juice. Then, when whey separates clearly from milk solids, strain it. We call the remaining milk solid as chenna or Chhena.

Secondly knead chenna well to smoothen the texture. Roll it into

Cook it in thin sugar syrup and the dessert is ready.

Taste

The cooked chenna in sugar syrup is just delicious and so addictive. Soft and spongy texture of the rasgulla enables it to absorb sugar syrup.

When popped in to mouth it gives an unique texture, not very sugary since it is thin syrup.

You can gobble it as such warm or cold. I love to have it cold.

Top tips

To make a perfect soft, juicy, homemade rasgulla, follow these steps

• Boil milk well and whatever you use for curdling, dilute with water.
• Be patient and stir the milk with the curdling ingredient for a while, adding little by little. You have to stir for a while until the whey separates clearly.
• Once it's clearly curdled, stop the process immediately by adding ice cold water or ice cubes. This helps with soft texture of chenna.
• Drain water either manually by squeezing off the excess. Or by letting it drain naturally by hanging for about 30 mins at least.
• Rub and knead well to a smoothest texture, but do not over do. Only until you get a non-sticky dough like one.
• Do not cook the rasgulla in thick sugar syrup. Follow the recipe.

My notes

For curdling milk to make rasgulla, here are the options I have followed earlier and noted these points. Thought it is important to share with you all here. Whey should look greenish clear liquid in all the cases.

• Lemon juice - I used lemon for my first few times. It is a good natural and easily available ingredient.
• Vinegar - Quickly curdles, easily available at shops and economical.
• Curd - Gives more volume, I prefer for making paneer, but havent tried for making rasgulla.

I noticed depending on the pressure cooker you use (make & model), the time may vary. Some cookers whistle soon, which should be done in medium flame.

Some may take long time, so take note and switch off accordingly.

FAQs

Can we make rasgulla with store bought paneer?

Rasgulla turns out best with fresh chenna as it binds well together. Store bought paneer can be too crumbly to hold together.

Why rasgulla breaks in syrup?

If chenna is watery (retains water) then the rasgulla will break while cooking. So make sure to drain excess water by gently squeezing.

Same goes for flat rasgullas. It is because of more water content in the chenna.

Why rasgulla is hard?

White curdling, if you let the milk boil long time after curdling, it becomes hard and rubbery. So you have to stop cooking as soon as it curdles.

That's the reason we are adding ice cubes or cold water immediately to stop the process.

Also if you let out the water too much or over knead it, rasgulla will be dense in texture. It should have a minimum moisture for soft texture. So if it is dry, you can even sprinkle ¼ teaspoon of water. If it is sticky or has more water, add a teaspoon of corn flour.

Only until it becomes smooth and non sticky, do not over do.

Syrup too watery:

Cook rasgulla in thin syrup making it comparatively much light in sweet taste than other mithai.

Thin syrup = Soft, juicy rasgulla.

So if you want little more thicker syrup, you can take out the rasgullas and simmer syrup for 5 mins to thicken it and then add the rasgullas back. But make sure the syrup is not too thick which may affect the texture.

Can we use low fat milk?

Yes you can use low fat milk to make rasgulla too.

Tips for white Rasgulla

• Use fresh milk instead of - UHT milk carton milk that has more shelf life.
• Buffalo milk gives whitest rasgulla.
• Use pure refined sugar.

Serving suggestion

Rasgulla can be served at room temperature, cold or warm. I like best when it is cold.

Shelf life

Ragulla can keep good for a day outside. But if you want to store it, after cooling down, keep it inside fridge and consume within 3-4 days as it is milk sweet.

Recipe card

Rasgulla step by step

Chenna

1. To make rasgulla, heat milk firstly in a saucepan. When it start to boil, simmer the flame. Add vinegar diluted with water, slowly, as you stir.

2. Continue heating until whey separates from the milk solid. It will be a greenish liquid. Switch off the flame once it clearly separates.

3. Immediately add Ice cubes or cold water and mix well. It prevents the chenna to become hard and helps for soft texture.

4. After that, take a metal strainer, lined with a cheesecloth/ muslin cloth(I used my dupatta). Pour the curdled milk in it.

5. Then wash it well in the running water under the tap to remove the vinegar smell.

6. Let the water drain and hang this chenna for 30 minutes. I just slightly squeezed the excess water very gently.

You just can squeeze without hanging and waiting. In between, mix and repeat again for evenly getting out all the water.

There should not be any dripping water or chenna retaining water. It should form a mass and hold together.

7. After that, take out the chenna in a bowl. It will be now more like a crumble look wise.

8. Now knead this for 5-7 minutes or until non sticky, gently to make it like a soft, non sticky and smooth dough.

9. Make smooth equal sized small balls. I made some 20 balls, you can adjust the number according to the size you want.

Sugar syrup

10. Take sugar, cardamom powder and water in a pressure cooker and start heating. After the sugar gets dissolved completely and bubbles, add the rasgulla prepared carefully one by one.

11. Cover the pressure cooker and cook it till you get one whistle in medium heat. After a whistle, keep for another 5 minutes in low.

12. Put off the heat and wait for natural release of pressure. Then open the lid to see the rasgullas – by now it would have doubled in size.

Cool down and refrigerate and serve chilled. Or enjoy it making Rasmalai! So what you are going to make- Rasgulla or Rasmalai??👧