Rasagulla, also known as Rosogulla, is a popular Bengali dessert made by curdling milk. It is a melt-in-your-mouth Indian sweet recipe in which soft and spongy cheese balls are cooked and soaked in sugar syrup.
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Recipe card
Rasgulla Recipe | Bengali Rosogulla
Equipment
- Pot or pressure cooker
Ingredients
- 4 cups milk 1 litre
- 2 to 3 tablespoon Lemon juice
- 1 ½ cups Sugar
- 4 cups Water
- 3 to 4 Cardamom pods
Instructions
Making of chenna (chhena)
- Bring milk to boil in a pot, stirring occasionally to prevent it from burning at the bottom.4 cups milk
- On medium-low flame, add lemon juice and stir until milk curdles. If it doesn't curdle, then you may have to add more.2 to 3 tablespoon Lemon juice
- When milk is curdled completely, switch off the flame and let it sit for 2 minutes.
- Place a colander with a thin cloth over a large bowl. Drain the curdled milk. This is called chenna.
- Now rinse this under cold water to remove any acidic flavor from lemon juice.
- Tie the cloth and squeeze to remove the whey as much as possible.
- Hang for 1 hour so that excess moisture is drained.
- The final texture of this chenna should be crumbly to make rasgullas. (Not too dry or too wet)
- For perfect rasgulla, take this test: take a small piece of paneer (chenna) in your palm and rub it with your fingers. You must be able to form a ball in 15 to 20 seconds.
How to make rasgulla?
- Knead the chenna/paneer using the heel of your hand for about 3 to 5 minutes to make a smooth dough. Do not over-knead the dough.
- Pinch the dough to make tiny balls. They will expand after boiling. I made approx 18 balls.
- Add sugar, water, and cardamom pods in a large, wide pot and bring it to nice oil. Make sure the pot is wide enough, else the rasgulla will not expand.1 ½ cups Sugar, 4 cups Water, 3 to 4 Cardamom pods
- Drop the paneer balls in the boiling sugar syrup and cover the pot immediately. (The pot should be covered all the time)
- Cook on medium flame for 9 to 10 minutes. Switch off the flame to prevent the rasgulla from cooking further.
- Let this rest completely for another 20 minutes. Rasgulla will first double and then sink in syrup when cooked completely.
- Serve them warm or chilled, and enjoy.
- For best results, Transfer the rasgullas and sugar syrup to a bowl and refrigerate for at least 7 to 8 hours. I keep it overnight.
Notes
- Full-fat milk works best for this recipe.
- The amount of sugar and water you add may vary depending on the size of your pot.
- If the chenna is dry, you may have to add 1-2 tablespoon of water, and if it is too wet, you may have to add cornstarch for binding.
- Kneading is very important to get the best texture.
- Always cook on medium heat. Overcooking or cooking on high heat may make it rubbery or break apart or shrink.
- Read the post to learn how to make sponge rasgulla in a pressure cooker instead of pot.
Nutrition
Bengali Rosogulla
Rasgulla is a milk-based dessert that is most loved in India. The word rasgulla is derived from the words ras (juice) and gulla (ball). This Indian dessert is also known as rasagola, rosgola, rasbari, roshogolla, rossogolla, and rasbhari.
The dish originated in East India (currently the Indian states of Odissa and West Bengal), but it is so popular that it is available not only across India but also around the world.
It is made by curdling milk, draining excess moisture (whey), and kneading it to make tiny balls. These are then cooked in sugar syrup until light and spongy.
Check out how to make paneer at home, rasmalai dessert, rasgulla falooda, and a list of popular Indian sweets desserts recipes.
Ingredients
Milk: Use full-fat milk for best results.
Lemon juice: To curdle the milk. You can use vinegar or curd.
Sugar: Sweeten the rosogulla.
Cardamom pods: flavoring.
Check the recipe card for the full list of ingredients.
Step-by-step instructions
Making of chenna (chhena)
- Bring milk to boil in a pot, stirring occasionally to prevent it from burning at the bottom.
- On medium-low flame, add lemon juice and stir until milk curdles. If it doesn't curdle, then you may have to add more.
- When milk is curdled completely, switch off the flame and let it sit for 2 minutes.
Place a colander with a thin cloth over a large bowl. Drain the curdled milk. This is called chenna. - Now rinse this under cold water to remove any acidic flavor from lemon juice.
- Tie the cloth and squeeze to remove the whey as much as possible.
- Hang for 1 hour so that excess moisture is drained.
- The final texture of this chenna should be crumbly to make rasgullas. (Not too dry or too wet)
- For perfect rasgulla, take this test: take a small piece of paneer (chenna) in your palm and rub it with your fingers. You must be able to form a ball in 15 to 20 seconds.
How to make rasgulla?
- Knead the chenna/paneer using the heel of your hand for about 3 to 5 minutes to make a smooth dough. Do not over-knead the dough.
- Pinch the dough to make tiny balls. They will expand after boiling. I made approx 18 balls.
- Add sugar, water, and cardamom pods in a large, wide pot and bring it to nice oil. Make sure the pot is wide enough, else the rasgulla will not expand.
- Drop the paneer balls in the boiling sugar syrup and cover the pot immediately. (The pot should be covered all the time)
- Cook on medium flame for 9 to 10 minutes. Switch off the flame to prevent the rasgulla from cooking further.
- Let this rest completely for another 20 minutes. Rasgulla will first double and then sink in syrup when cooked completely.
- Serve them warm or chilled, and enjoy.
For best results: Transfer the rasgullas and sugar syrup to a bowl and refrigerate for at least 7 to 8 hours. I keep it overnight.
Sponge rasgulla in pressure cooker
- Add water, sugar, and cardamom pod to a large, wide pressure cooker and bring to a nice boil.
- When cooked, each ball will double in size, so make sure your pressure cooker is large and wide enough.
- Add these balls to the syrup, cover the pressure cooker with a whistle / weight, and cook on a medium flame for one whistle. It took around 12 minutes.
- After a few minutes, run cold water over and around the cooker to release the pressure. Slowly remove the weight.
Tips
- Full-fat milk works best for this recipe.
- The amount of sugar and water you add may vary depending on the size of your pot.
- If the chenna is dry, you may have to add 1-2 tablespoon of water, and if it is too wet, you may have to add cornstarch for binding.
- Kneading is very important to get the best texture.
- Always cook on medium heat. Overcooking or cooking on high heat may make it rubbery or break apart or shrink.
Recipe FAQs
Too much moisture in chenna will break, and if it is too dry, it will make them hard. But, one can make several delicacies using broken rasgullas. You can of course, present it as is, or prepare chenna pudding, kheer, carrot halwa, serve with ice creams, or be creative and prepare any other milk desserts using this 🙂
Rasgulla should be light, juicy and spongy and when squeezed must shrink to its shape. It will not be chewy or rubbery.
In Rasgulla, the spongy cheese balls are soaked in sugar syrup, and in Rasmalai, the same cheese balls are soaked in sweetened milk (rabri) flavored with saffron.
Both rasgulla and gulab jamun are popular Indian sweets, and you will see supermarkets and bakeries lined up with tins of both, especially during festivals like Holi, Raksha Bandhan, and Diwali. It is individual choice. But rasgulla is made of protein and sugar, while Gulab jamun is balls of fat and sugar.
More Indian milk sweets & desserts
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Note: We originally posted this Indian sweet rasgulla in Oct 2016. It has now been modified in Feb 2024 with Expert Chef Tips, FAQs, Storage Instructions, etc.
Anu
Looks so yummy!!
Kushi
Thank you Anu 🙂
beena
Yum yummy. My family favourite
Kushi
Thank you Beena 🙂
indiansweets
how much cottage cheese or paneer should i add?
Kushi
Around one block 200g of paneer