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Rasgulla is a popular soft and spongy Bengali dessert sweet dish prepared from Sugar and Chenna extracted from milk. In West Bengal, Bengalis call it as Rasogulla. There are number of Indian sweet dishes which we prepare from milk. One such dish is Rasgulla which is prepared from Chenna. Chenna is extracted from milk which is curdled by using vinegar or lemon juice. A good Rasgulla is soft, spongy, juicy and light. When squeezed, if the Rasgulla regain its shape, we can say that the Rasgulla is purely perfect. You can also use Chenna to prepare Cham Cham, Malai Chop, Rajbhog and Rasmalai.

The first time when I prepared Rasgullas, it came out good. It was tasty but was not so spongy. The Rasgullas were dense and was flattened. Then the next time, I tried few tips which gave some improvement in sponginess of the sweet dish. However it was not as spongy as it should be. I gave it a try for few more times with different tips and finally after so much of try and hard work, I got the result which I was waiting for a long time. I was able to get the sponginess in the Rasgullas after trying for many times with different tips and variations. Here I will be sharing different tips and variations to prepare the Bengali style spongy Rasgullas.

To make Rasgulla, first heat the milk. When the milk starts boiling, switch off the stove and allow it to cool for few minutes. Add Vinegar or Lemon Juice and stir it till all the milk curdles and the chenna separates from the water. Drain the chenna with the help of muslin cloth or handkerchief and take it in a plate or bowl. Add Corn Flour to it. Mix and knead it to make soft and smooth dough. There is no need to add water to prepare the dough. Make small balls from the dough without any cracks on it. If there are cracks it may break while cooking. Keep it aside in a plate for few minutes till the sugar syrup is prepared.

Next make sugar syrup by adding sugar into boiling water. Allow it to boil. While the sugar syrup is boiling add the rasgulla balls and allow it to cook. You will notice that the size of the rasgullas is increasing. After the rasgulla balls are properly cooked, switch off the stove and let it cool. Serve it chilled. You can keep this fresh for at least one week by keeping in freeze.

To make soft and spongy Rasgullas, below are few tips that you can follow:

1. Quality of Milk: Use full cream milk to make spongy Rasgullas. Do not use toned milk. You can use any one of pasteurized (boiled milk), un-pasteurized (raw milk), homogenized milk (raw milk) or non-homogenized milk (raw milk). If you are using Non-Homogenized Milk (Milk from Milkman), switch off the flame and keep the heated milk aside for 4-5 minutes before adding lemon juice. If you are using Homogenized Milk (Milk from Packets), reduce the heat to lowest and then add lemon juice or vinegar. Un-pasteurized or Non-Homogenized fresh milk is best for preparing rasgullas.
2. Cuddling of Milk: After boiling the milk, switch off the stove and allow the temperature to come down to 80 % of its initial temperature. Cooling of milk helps in getting spongy rasgullas. You can also reduce the temperature of the milk by adding cold water to it. If the Lemon Juice is added directly to the boiling milk, there are chances that the rasgullas will become hard on cooking. So to get soft and spongy rasgullas, add the lemon juice after cooling the milk slightly.
3. Moisture Content in Chenna: The moisture content in Chenna should neither be less nor should be more. Chenna should have appropriate content of moisture. If the moisture is high, there are chances that the balls may break while cooking and if the moisture content is low and chenna is too dry, then the rasgullas will be dense, rubbery and will flatten on cooling. If in case the moisture content is high then you can use extra corn flour to prepare the dough and if the moisture content is less, then use slight amount of water while preparing the dough.
4. Time taken to knead: Knead Chenna till all the grainy part is removed and oil just starts coming out. Approximately 10 minutes is enough to knead the chenna. Also it depends on how much pressure you are applying while kneading. Do not use water to prepare the dough. While kneading when you feel that your palm is becoming greasy, stop kneading. Do not over knead the chenna so that it becomes too greasy.
5. Preparing Rasgulla Balls: After you prepare the dough, make small rasgulla balls of size 1 inch. You can decrease or increase the size of the balls according to your preference. Roll the balls in your palm till the outer layer is smooth and there is no cracks on the layer.
6. Consistency of Sugar Syrup: The consistency of the sugar syrup should not be high. It should be watery and should not form thick threads. To make watery syrup, use sugar and water in the ratio of 1:4. If the syrup is thick, add extra amount of water and if the syrup is thin, then add extra amount of sugar. To check the consistency, take small amount of syrup between your two fingers and see how easily the thread forms. It should not be too sticky.
7. Cooking Time: The Rasgullas should not be over cooked or else it will become rubbery. Also use large pan while cooking so that the pan accommodate all the balls and it gets enough space to expand itself. Cook the Rasgullas for about 20 minutes under medium to high flame.To check whether the rasgullas are cooked or not, take the rasgulla and drop it in a glass of water. If it settles down then it means that it is cooked. If it floats, then it is under cooked.
8. Cooking Temperature: Cook the Rasgullas under medium to high flame. The temperature should be steady so that the bubbles keep on forming while cooking. If you see that the syrup is boiling rapidly, then reduce the temperature slightly. Cook the Rasgullas for about 20 minutes under medium to high flame. If the flame is high, there are chances that the Rasgullas may become rubbery and may break.
9. Resting Time of Cooked Rasgullas: After the Rasgullas are cooked properly and double its size, switch off the stove with the pan covered. Do not open the lid unless the syrup completely cools down. If you open in between, there are chances that the rasgullas may become flat.
10. How to get White Rasgullas: To prepare white rasgullas the colour of the chenna should be white and not yellowish. If the chenna is slight yellowish, the colour of the rasgulla will be yellowish. Use different brand of milk to prepare white chenna. Also use white refined sugar to prepare the sugar syrup. Some sugar makes the syrup yellowish which ultimately make the rasgullas yellowish in colour. So use white chenna and white refined fine sugar to make the rasgullas white in colour.

If you have prepared this recipe at your home, do rate this recipe and leave your valuable feedback in the comment section below. Do share this recipe with your friends and relatives through facebook, twitter, instagram and pinterst.

Try our other sweet recipes such as Gulab Jamun, Besan Ki Barfi, Besan Ke Ladoo, Cham Cham, Malai Chop, Rajbhog, and Rasmalai.

You may also like our other Sweet & Dessert Recipes:

Halwa Recipes

Kheer Recipes

Cake Recipes

Mithai (Sweets)

Let’s start preparing Bengali style Rasgullas…

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5 from 3 votes

Rasgulla Recipe/Bengali Rasogulla/Soft Spongy Rasgulla

Rasgulla is a popular soft and spongy Bengali dessert sweet dish prepared from Sugar and Chenna. Chenna is prepared by curdling Milk by adding Lemon juice or Vinegar. It is then shaped into round balls and then cooked in sugar syrup.

Course Dessert, Side Dish, Sweets

Cuisine Bengali, Indian

Keyword Bengali Rasgulla, Rasgulla, Rasogulla

Preparation Time 25 minutes minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes minutes

Passive Time 0 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 5 minutes minutes

Servings 5 servings

Calories

Author Recipe by Chits

Equipments:

• Deep base Kadai or cooker
• Muslin Cloth

Ingredients:

For Rasgulla Balls:

• 1 litre Full Cream Milk (or 4 cups)
• 2-3 tablespoon Lemon Juice or Vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Maida (All-purpose Flour)
• 4 cups Cold Water
• Few Strands Saffron (Kesar)

For Sugar Syrup:

• 1 cup Refined White Sugar
• 3-4 pieces Green Cardamom Pods (Hari Elaichi)
• 2 tablespoon Rose Water or Kewra (Optional)
• 4 cups Water

Instructions:

Preparation of Chenna for Rasgulla:

• Take the Lemon Juice in a bowl. Add equal amount of Water into it and mix it. Keep it aside.
• Now take the Full Cream Milk in a large pot.
• Boil the Milk over medium heat till it comes to boil. Keep stirring regularly so that thick layer over the milk is not formed and it does not stick at the bottom of the pan.
• When the milk comes to boil, switch off the flame and allow it to cool for 4-5 minutes before adding lemon juice or vinegar.
• If you are using Homogenized Milk (Packet milk), then reduce the heat to the lowest and then add lemon juice or vinegar.
• After 4-5 minutes when the milk cools down slightly, start adding lemon juice. Initially add 1 tablespoon of Lemon Juice and stir the milk for 30 seconds. Then add the second round of lemon juice. Stir until it curdles. If it doesn’t curdle then add more lemon juice.
• Stir the Milk till it completely curdles and chenna is formed with green coloured water separated from it.
• Now place a colander (channi or strainer) in a large bowl. Line with a muslin cloth and strain the curdled milk with the muslin cloth.
• Add cold water to the chenna and rinse it so that the sour and acidic taste of the lemon juice is removed. It will also help in stopping the chenna from further cooking.
• Now squeeze the muslin cloth tightly so that the water is completely removed from the chenna.
• Place a heavy weight over the chenna for some time or hang it for half an hour to remove the moisture. If you want you can skip this step. However, if you are skipping it, then squeeze the chenna slightly more to remove the excess moisture.
• Remove the muslin cloth and see that the chenna should not be too much dry nor should have too much moisture.

Kneading and Preparing Rasgulla Balls:

• Take the Chenna in a large plate. Add All Purpose Flour (Maida) to it. You can use Corn Flour in place of Maida. Also if you want you can use any one from suji and corn flour.
• Mix all the ingredients and knead them till they are soft and smooth. Mash them for at least 10 minutes to prepare the dough. Do not mash too much so that it becomes greasy. Stop kneading when you feel that your palm is starting to get greasy.
• Take small amount of Chenna dough and make small ball from it. Roll the ball till it is smooth and there is no crack in the outer layer. Keep it in a plate.
• In the same manner make small balls from the remaining Chenna dough. Keep it aside for few minutes.

Preparation of Sugar Syrup:

• Take a large flat pan or kadai and heat 4 cups water.
• Add Sugar and Cardamom Pods. Boil it till all the sugar gets dissolved. If you are using Refined White Sugar, move directly to step no. 6.
• If you are using normal sugar bought from the market, it may contain some impurities. So add 1-2 tablespoon Milk to the sugar syrup and boil for few more minutes.
• As the sugar syrup boils, the waste impurities will start flowing on the layer.
• Take them out from the sugar syrup with the help of spoon or you can strain it with muslin cloth. If there are no impurities, move ahead for the next steps.
• Next add Rose Water to the syrup and allow it to boil under medium flame for few minutes.
• When the Sugar Syrup comes to boil, remove the Cardamom Pods. Now we will add the rasgulla balls to cook them.

Preparation of Rasgulla:

• Now as the sugar syrup is boiling, add the Rasgulla Balls one by one into it.
• Cover the pan with the lid and allow it to cook for 5 minutes under medium to high flame. At this time bubbles will start forming in the syrup steadily.
• After 5 minutes open the lid and flip the balls to cook on the other side. The bubbling in the syrup should keep forming and covers the Rasgulla.
• Cook the Rasgulla Balls for at least 15 minutes more. At this point the balls size will double and should be cooked completely.
• To check whether it is completely cooked or not, take the rasgulla and dip it into a cup of water. If it sinks, it means it is cooked.
• The other way to find whether the Rasgullas are cooked or not is by pressing it. When we slightly press it and release it, the rasgulla will regain its size. It means it is cooked.
• If the Rasgullas are not properly cooked, you can boil it for few more minutes.
• After the balls are cooked completely, switch off the stove. Remember to keep the pan covered with lid before switching off the stove.
• Allow the Rasgullas to cool down with the pan covered. Do not touch the Rasgulla or open the lid of the pan for at least 20-25 minutes.
  
• The Rasgulla Balls will be double in size. Bengali Rasgulla is ready to be serve. Serve the Rasgullas by garnishing with Saffron and Sugar Syrup. Serve it chilled.
  

Notes:

1. Take the Lemon Juice and add equal amount of water to it with a ratio of 1:1. This is then added to milk for cuddling and preparing chenna from the milk.
2. While boiling milk, keep stirring it continuously so that thick layer or malai over the milk is not formed.
3. To make perfect and spongy Rasgullas, use Cow’s milk. If you get Cow’s Milk, prepare it with this milk only. Other type of milk can be also used but cow’s milk is best for spongy rasgullas. Buffalo Milk has too much fat, so it leaves fat while kneading. Also while cooking Rasgullas, Sugar Syrup leaves fats floating on the surface.
4. The quantity of Lemon Juice or Vinegar required for curdling milk depends on the quality of milk. To prepare the chenna, add the lemon juice at intervals. Initially add 1 tablespoon and stir the milk for a minute. Then add the second round of lemon juice and stir. Do it till the milk completely curdles. If the milk does not curdle completely then add extra lemon juice and mix it so that the milk curdles and green whey is formed.
5. While squeezing the chenna, we must keep in mind that the chenna should be squeezed such that it is neither too dry nor too wet. It should be little moist so that the rasgullas are spongy. If it is too dry, the rasgullas will be hard. If it has too much moisture, it may break while preparing.
6. Mash the Chenna for at least 10 minutes so that it is soft and smooth and there is no grain present in it. This is done to ensure that the Rasgullas are soft after cooking. Do not mash too much so that it becomes greasy. As soon as chenna starts leaving fat, stop the process of kneading.
7. Here we have used All-Purpose Flour (Maida) to prepare the dough. It can be replaced with Corn Flour. It helps in binding the chenna.
8. While making rasgulla balls, ensure that there are no cracks in them. Else it will break on cooking. So roll the balls till it is completely smooth.
9. For cooking the Rasgulla balls, use wide and flat bottom pan for preparing the sugar syrup. Here I have used 1 cup of Sugar for every 4 cups of Water to prepare the Sugar Syrup. If you want to add extra sweetness to the syrup, add 1/4 cup of more sugar to the syrup.
10. Addition of Rose Water and Cardamom Pods to the sugar syrup is optional. You can skip both or use any one of these if you want to.
11. If you do not have Refined White Sugar and are using normal sugar then there is possibility of impurities present in it. These impurities will change the colour of the sugar syrup. So while preparing the Sugar Syrup, add 1-2 tablespoon of milk to clean the sugar syrup. After the milk is added, all the impurities will start floating at the surface of the sugar syrup. Take it out with the help of spatula. If there are no impurities floating on the surface, you can move ahead for cooking the Rasgullas.
12. While boiling under medium to high heat, if the sugar syrup becomes thick, add warm water to it. Do it whenever required. The consistency and thickness of the sugar should be less so that the rasgulla balls can easily absorb it. It helps in making the rasgullas spongy and soft.
13. Always cook Rasgullas under medium to high flame. If the flame is too high, there are chances that it may break.
14. While preparing this recipe, we see that the size of the Rasgullas becomes double while cooking but shrink back on cooling. If the lid of the pan is opened for long time, they will shrink in size. Keep the pan covered before switching off the stove. After switching off the stove, allow it cool down with the lid covered. Do not open the lid unless the temperature has come down completely. It will help in fluffing the Rasgullas.
15. The total time for cooking the Rasgullas under medium to high flame should be at least 20 minutes to get soft and spongy Rasgullas.
16. The milk whey left behind after the milk is curdled can be used to prepare atta dough or in dal and curries. It is very nutritious.