Roshogolla | How to make Spongy Bengali Rasgulla

Learn to make the basic Spongy Rasgulla Recipe with detailed tips and tricks. We make it with homemade chhana or paneer.

Roshogolla or Rasgulla is my choice for R in the A to Z Bengali Sweets Series focusing on Protein Rice Food. Rasgulla is popular all over the globe. Different parts of people call it differently such as Rosogolla, Rasagolla, Rossogolla, Roshogolla, Rasagola, Rasbhari, or Rasbari (Nepal).

I didn't search for any other dishes starting with R. However, for the record, I am listing out other Sweets starting with R. There is a Bengali Ranga Aloo-r Pantua, a Sweet Potato Dumpling in Syrup similar to Pantua with just chhana, then we have Raj Bhog and Rasgollar Payesh.

Coming back to this R, yes, today's recipe is a mother of all posts, in the sense that I finally researched how to make spongy Rasgulla, and from this same Rasgulla Recipe, I adapted it for the other dishes. My biggest upsetting factor was not talking about this dish upfront as this came last in the series.

A little backdrop to making this Spongy Rasgullar Recipe

I have been using the same recipe for the other boiled Bengali Sweets similar to Rasgulla like the Channar Puli, Danadar, Khirkadam, and Quick Rasmalai. If you are looking for a different sweet dish with paneer, this Baked Sandesh is a must to check out.

The funny incident about this whole series is that I haven't tasted even one sweet, even though I ate Ras Malai, the last time I made it. Trust me, everybody at home was happy that I wasn't eating. My folks weren't happy that I made only a handful of each sweet.

I never knew until recently that Konda loves Rasgullas. I knew my parents and hubby dear love Rosogulla. So, it's a bonus now that my daughter also loves it.

My list was ready and then searched for the authentic method of making Rasgullas. I referred to sites like withaspin, chitra amma's kitchen and they explained at length about making the fresh chhana, kneading, rolling, and finally boiling the balls.

I have noted down all the tips and tricks to make the perfect rasgullas at home. Thanks to these authors for sharing their knowledge with the rest of the world!

While I am going to explain the whole process in this Rasgulla Recipe post, I have already shared step-by-step pictures for making the soft chhana and kneading it.

How to Make Soft Homemade Chhana for Bengali Sweets

How to Knead Chhana for Soft Bengali Sweets

Check A to Z Bengali Sweets for Protein Rich dishes:

A for Aam Sandesh
B for Bhapa Sandesh
C for Channar Puli
D for Danadar
E for Elixir Sandesh
F for Fruit Sandesh
G for Gajarer Sandesh
H for Hot Chocolate Sandesh Truffle
I for Ice Cream Sandesh
J for Jilapi
K for Khirkadam
L for Lyangcha
M for Malai Sandesh
N for Nikhuti Payesh
O for Orange Sandesh
P for Pantua
Q for Quick Rasmalai

Step By Step Pictures for making soft Chhana for Bengali Sweets

Step by Step Pictures for kneading the chhana to a soft texture

Making Rasgullas with Step by Step Pictures

And finally here is my huge vessel which has all the different sweets made at the same time.  Below is the picture just after boiling.

This picture is after it has soaked for a while.

Ingredients

For the Rasgullas

We will need Full Cream Milk
Lemon Juice (you may not use all of this)

For Sugar Syrup

Granulated Sugar
Water for making the syrup
Cardamom spice gives that wonderful aroma to the sweet.

Instructions

Making the soft fresh Chhana for making the Rasgulla

Always use whole milk or full cream milk for best results while making this Rasgulla Recipe.
I make fresh Chhana with lemon juice, Vinegar, and fermented whey water.
If using Lemon, ensure you run the cheese in water to remove the lemon taste.
When using fermented whey water, dilute it before using.
If using vinegar, again dilute with water and use drop by drop.
Once you boil the milk, remove the milk from the fire, and slowly add the curdling agent in drops, while you gently stir the milk to enhance the coagulation.
Do not boil the milk once you add the curdling agent, or else you will end up having chewy rasgullas.
Once you get greenish liquid, it means all the cheese is formed.
Use a cheesecloth or a muslin cloth to gather the cheese.
Cover the vessel with the cloth and pour it over. Gather the cloth together, gently tie the mouth, and let it drain. Do not press it down to drain the liquid yourself.
The drained chhana should be crumbly and still have some moisture. If the chhana is too dry, you won’t be able to get the balls to hold the shape.
I left the chhana draining for 30 minutes, some do advise the chhana to be left overnight, I found 30 minutes worked out well for me.

Kneading the chhana to make the Rasgullas

For all Bengali Sweets, the first important step is kneading the fresh chhana well.
It is even more important for sweets like the boiled Rasgullas or deep-fried Pantuas types.
Once the excess Whey water is drained, take the chhana on a plate or a board. Make sure the plate is dry. I took a wide bowl so that I could hold it with my left hand and knead it with my right heel.
Start with rubbing the chhana with your fingers to break down the cheese to reduce it further to smaller size grains, gather the cheese to center again, and repeat the process for 10 mins.
Then, start kneading with your heel and rub forward. This again takes about 10 minutes. On the whole, I must have spent some 30 to 40 minutes, kneading the chhana made with 4 liters of milk for each batch.
When you feel the kneading is enough, pinch out a ball and roll it between your palms, if you notice the ball being formed without a crack and you have a sheen of oil over it, it’s done.
The ball has to be smooth and shiny.
Once this is done, you can use this basic rasgulla to make different sweets like Chanar Puli, Danadar, Ras Malai, Khirkadam, etc.

Making the Sugar Syrup for Rasgulla

The ratio of sugar to water is always 1:3 for a perfect sweet-tasting Rasgulla. We do not want an overtly sweet ball here. However, if you want more sweetness in your syrup, increase the sugar.
You can add spices like cardamom, cinnamon, or rose water as per your taste. I used cardamon for the most variety.

The cooking vessel for the Rasgulla

Rasgullas expand when they get boiled. So always use a very wide vessel for the sugar syrup. Ensure the balls are not crowding in the pot. If this happens, the rasgullas become flat or lose their shape.
So make sure the pot you use to make the syrup and boil the balls are wide enough. The rasgullas double in size after getting cooked.
Choose a vessel with a lid that closes tightly over it.
Also, the balls mustn't come in contact with air, or else they will deflate or not expand properly.

Shaping the Rasgullas for Rasgulla Recipe

Remember that the rasgullas double after being cooked. So, shape the balls accordingly. As I was making a huge batch with different recipes having different shapes, it was too cumbersome to maintain all these conditions. However, remember smaller ones tune double.

Boiling the Rasgullas

After ensuring you are using a wide vessel for boiling, make sure the pan comes to a rolling boil and the sugar melts. We do not want a string syrup here, so have all your rasgullas shaped and ready by the time the water boils over.
When the water starts rolling boil, gently drop in the balls. Cover with lid.
Boil like this for 10 minutes. If the sugar-water solution is becoming thick, sprinkle some cold water on top. It should be sprinkled and not simply poured in, as that will bring the temperature down and stop the cooking process.
Switch off the flame, and allow it to cool naturally. Don’t stir, move, or touch the vessel until the Rossogollas have cooled!

How to test Rasgullas are cooked while making Rasgulla Recipe

While it is said that the balls coming in contact with air, will deflate the shape, may use the technique of dropping the balls in a cup of water. If the ball sinks, it is done. If it floats, boil for a couple of minutes and check again.
I simply cooked it for 10 minutes on high flame, and left it uninterrupted for 30 minutes or so.

Recipe

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5 from 4 votes

Roshogolla | How to make Spongy Bengali Rasgulla

Learn to make the basic Spongy Rasgulla Recipe with detailed tips and tricks. We make it with homemade chhana or paneer.

Course Sweets

Cuisine Bengali

Keyword Indian Sweet

By Cook Method Boiled

Occasion Diwali, Festival Meal

By Diet Protein Rich

Dish Type Paneer Dishes, Under 5 Ingredients

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 5 pieces

Calories 109kcal

Author Srivalli

Ingredients

For the Rasgullas

• 1 cup Milk / 250 ml Full Cream Milk will be best
• 2 tsp Lemon Juice you may not use all of this

For Sugar Syrup

• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 1 1/2 cups Water
• 2 Cardamom

Instructions

Making the soft fresh Chhana to make the Rasgulla

• Always use whole milk or full cream milk for best results.
• I have used lemon, vineger and fermented whey water for making the paneer / chhana.
• If using Lemon, ensure you run the cheese in water to remove the lemon taste.
• If using fermented whey water, dilute it and use.
• If using vinegar, again dilute with water and use in drops.
• Once you boil the milk, remove the milk from fire, slowly add the curdling agent by drops, while you gently stir the milk to enhance the coagulation.
• Do not boil the milk once you add the curdling agent, else you will end up having chewy rasgullas.
• Once you get greenish liquid, it means all the cheese is formed.
• Use a cheesecloth or a muslin cloth to gather the cheese.
• Cover the vessel with the cloth and pour it over. Gather the cloth together, gently tie the mouth and let it drain. Do not press it down to drain the liquid yourself.
• The drained chhana should be crumbly and still has some moisture. If the chhana is too dry, you won’t be able to get the balls hold the shape.
• I left the chhana draining for 30 mins, while some advice to be left overnight, I found 30 mins worked out well for me.

Kneading the chhana to make the Rasgullas

• For all Bengali Sweets, first important step is kneading the fresh chhana well.
• It is even more important for sweets like the boiled Rasgullas or deep fried Pantuas types.
• Once you have the excess whey drained, take the chhana on a plate or a board you have cleaned and pat dried. I took a wide bowl so that I could hold it with the left hand and knead with my right heel.
• Start with rubbing the chhana with fingers to break down the cheese to further smaller size, gather again and continue this for 10 mins.
• Then, start kneading with your heel and rub forward. This again takes about 10 mins. In total I must have spent some 30 to 40 mins, kneading the chhana of about 4 liters milk each batch.
• When you feel the kneading is enough, pinch out a ball and roll between your palm, if you notice the ball being formed without a crack and you have a sheen of oil over, it’s done.
• The ball has to be smooth and shiny.
• Once this is done, you can use this basic rasgulla to make different sweets like Chanar Puli, Danadar, Ras Malai, Khirkadam etc.

Making the Sugar Syrup for Rasgulla

• The ratio of sugar to water is always 1:3 for a perfect sweet tasting Rasgulla. We do not want an overtly sweet ball here. However, if you want more sweet to your syrup, increase the sugar.
• You can add spices like cardamom or cinnamon or rose water as per your taste. I used cardamon for most variety.

The cooking vessel for the Rasgulla

• Rasgullas expand when it gets boiled. So always use a very wide vessel for the sugar syrup. Ensure the balls are not crowding in the pot. If this happens, the rasgullas become flat or lose its shape.
• So make sure the pot you use to make the syrup and boil the balls are wide enough. The rasgullas double in size after getting cooked.
• Choose a vessel with a lid that closes tightly over it.
• Also, it is important that the balls do not come in contact with air, else it will deflate or not expand properly.

Shaping the Rasgullas

• Remember that the rasgullas double after being cooked. So shape the balls accordingly. As I was making a huge batch with different recipes having different shapes, it was too cumbersome to maintain all these conditions. However, remember smaller ones tune double.

Boiling the Rasgullas

• After ensuring you are using a wide vessel for boiling, make sure the pan comes to rolling boil and the sugar melts. We do not want a string syrup here, so have all your rasgullas shaped and ready by the time the water boils over.
• When the water starts rolling boil, gently drop in the balls. Cover with lid.
• Boil like this for 10 minutes. If the sugar-water solution is becoming thick, sprinkle some cold water on top. It should be sprinkled and not simply poured in, as that will bring the temperature down and stop the cooking process.
• Switch off the flame, and allow to cool naturally. Don’t stir, move or touch the vessel until the Rossogollas have cooled!

How to test Rasgullas are cooked

• While it is said that the balls coming in contact with air, will deflate the shape, may use the technique of dropping the balls in a cup of water. If the ball sinks, it is done. If it floats, boil for a couple of minutes and check again.
• I simply cooked for 10 mins on high flame, left it uninterrupted for 30 mins or so.

Nutrition

Calories: 109kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 6mg | Sodium: 22mg | Potassium: 85mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 22g | Vitamin A: 79IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 66mg | Iron: 0.1mg

Tried this recipe?Mention @spicingyourlife_ or tag #spicingyourlife_!

This is part of the A to Z Protein-Rich dishes, where I decided to showcase A to Z Bengali Sweets with Paneer/Chhana as the main source.

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