Delicious, spongy, soft rasgullas flavored with rose and saffron that are perfect for festivals and sweet treats. This recipe makes making this Bengali sweet at home easy peasy
Ragullas are undoubtedly among favourite sweets of Indians. These soft, sponge balls of chaena (Indian cottage cheese) soaking in a light sugar syrup, is a dreamy dessert. “Ras” mean juice and “gulla” stands for balls. While this is an Indian sweet, its origin is shared between the states of West Bengal and Odisha. And, I am sharing with you, one of my mother’s most loved recipes, again, of rose and saffron flavoured rasgullas. While traditionally, there is no added flavouring to this sweet, I am sharing with you a slightly glamorous recipe.
However, you could skip adding these flavours, or even choose to add some other that you like. The basic rasgulla recipe will not change. It is a very easy recipe and with a few pointers in mind you will be able to create soft, spongy and juicy rose and saffron flavored rasgullas. Moreover, you will need only three ingredients to make this melt-in-the-mouth goodness, for the conventional sweet.
Ingredients
When it comes to the ingredients, milk, an acidic agent and sugar are the main ingredients you will need. In fact, these are the only ones you would need to make the traditional rasgulla. However, for the rose and saffron flavoured rasgullas, you will also require saffron and rose water. Both of which you should be able to find, no matter where you stay. In the detailed recipe that I have enumerated below, you will know, how to proceed with making the traditional variety of the sweet too.
Tips & tricks
Like I have earlier mentioned this is an easy and effortless recipe, really. However, there are some tips and tricks to bear in mind to make the perfect spongy rasgullas. And these are from my mum, who makes these to perfection. So, the following are certain pointers you will need to check:
- Always use whole milk or full fat milk to make rasgullas. Skimmed milk doesn’t have enough amount of cream to make these sweets
- Always knead the chaena (split milk solids) really well and into a smooth dough. Generally kneading for about 10 minutes should do the trick. While kneading, use your palms to flatten it out, gather, flatten and continue kneading
- When you make the cheana balls, they have got to be crack free. When the kneading is up to the mark, you will achieve crack free balls
- Keep the rolled chaena balls covered with a cloth while you convert the remaining dough into balls
- Only when the sugar syrup comes to a roll boil, you should add the chaena balls
- Use a wide pot/pan for making the sweet, as over crowing could lead to flat and not so soft rasgullas. If you are make quite a few of them, then cook them in the sugar syrup in batches
- Once you add the chaena balls in the sugar syrup, cover your pot/pan and cook
- When done, keep the vessel covered and let it cool down on its own, after which, you can remove the rasgullas to serve or store
Nolen gurer rosogolla
There is another very special variant of this sweet, from West Bengal, known as the nolen gurer rasogolla or rasgullas made using date palm molasses. You can find my recipe of nolen gurer rosogulla (rasgulla) here. In fact, as I type and think about them, my mouth is watering! The gur rasgullas have a brown colour on them and are available only during the winters in India. This is because, it is during December and January that the date palm molasses is available from West Bengal’s countryside. So keep a watch out for the Bengali mithaiwala in your neighbourhood the next winter or make them yourself!
When to have the rasgullas
It is always the right time to have rasgulls. You may make these gorgeous balls of bliss, for a festival or an Indian dinner party at home. I made mine for a Holi (Indian festival of colours) get-together. Or just simply make them for yourself. In fact, on my visits to Kolkata, I have seen people have rasgullas for breakfast too! That is some serious love for the sweet. In any case, since they are so easy to make, you are going to keep making them for no reason at all. And no matter how much I emphasize, I really won’t be able to describe to you how amazing they are to taste! Therefore, you should make them and see it for yourself.
You can enjoy these rose and saffron flavoured rasgullas, both, chilled and warm. Simply follow the recipe steps and treat yourself! And if you do try my recipe, I’d love to see how yours turned out. You could share your pictures and feedback with me on Facebook and/or Instagram.
So, now, let’s head to the “how to.”
Here are some more of my other easy dessert recipes:
Caramel bhapa mishti doi (baked sweetened yoghurt)
Eat hearty!
Rose and saffron flavoured rasgullas
Ingredients
- 1 litre whole milk
- 2 tbsp lemon/lime juice
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 pods cardamom crushed
- 6 cups water
For the rose flavoured rasgullas
- 1/2 tsp red food colour optional, for a light pink colour
- 3 tsp rose water
- 1 tsp kewra water
- 1 tbsp dried rose petals for garnish
For the saffron flavoured rasgullas
- 1 tsp saffron strands
Instructions
To male the rose flavoured rasgullas
- Set a pan with the milk to boil
- When it starts bubbling, add the lemon juice gradually and keep stirring. Turn off the flame. You will gradually see the milk curdle and the whey separate
- Drain this over a muslin or a thin cloth and rinse with water - this is the chaena. Tie the cloth and hang it so that the remaining water drains off. Make sure there isn't water in the chaena. If there remains any water, the balls won't hold shape while cooking
- Transfer the chaena to another bowl and add the food colour (if using). If you are making the traditional, non-flavored rasgulla, do not add any colour to the chaena
- Knead it for 10 minutes by flattening and then gathering it, until smooth
- You should get a smooth, crack-free dough
- Now roll them into lime sized balls and keep covered
- For the sugar syrup, add the sugar, rose water and kewra water along with the water to a pot, and heat. If making the traditional sweet, only add cardamom pods to the sugar syrup
- When it comes to a roll boil (around 15 mins), add the chaena balls and cover it. Cook them, over medium high heat, for another 12-15 minutes
- By this time, they would have doubled up in size. Turn the flame off and let the pot (with the rasgullas) cool down. Do not open the lid until the pot is cooled. Thereafter, remove and serve
For the saffron rasgullas
- Boil the milk with a few saffron strands and follow the same process to make the chaena, as above
- Once your chaena is ready, knead to form a crack free dough
- And pinch out equal sized balls out of it to make the rasgullas. Since the saffron would have already lent it's colour to the chaena, do not add other food colour (like above, if using)
- ..and while making the sugar syrup, add the cardamom pods and some saffron stands
Serving
- Garnish the saffron flavoured rasgullas with some strands and the rose flavoured ones with dried rose petals
- Extra tip! The test of a perfect, spongy rasgulla is, it should spring back to its spherical shape even after being squeezed. You can do this is step 9, before turning the gas off, to check if your rasgullas are cooked through. If not, continue cooking for another 10 minutes
Notes
- A litre of milk, yielded 12 rasgullas for me
- You can increase or decrease the amount of sugar added to make the syrup as per your taste
- Only when the rasgullas are spongy, they will absorb the sweetness from the sugar syrup
- tbsp - tablespoon
- tsp - teaspoon
