Rasgulla | Bengali Sponge Rasgolla Recipe | Festival Recipes

Raksha Bandhan is one the most awaited festivals in India which celebrates the brother-sister bond. Raksha Bandhan literally means 'Bond of protection' where the sister ties Rakhi to her brother which symbolises that it is the duty of the brother to protect her.In Northern India, it is celebrated with full gusto as a wonderful occasion to cherish love, care and affection and togetherness as a family.  In the South, the same day is celebrated as 'Avani Avittam'. When we talk about festivals in India, it means scrumptious feasts and bonding over food. During Raksha Bandhan too, variety of sweet delicacies like Burfis, Mithais and Kheers are prepared lusciously together with a delectable meal.

For my second day of Raksha Bandhan recipes, I chose the very famous Bengali sweet, Rasgulla. Thinking of Rasgulla was a nightmare for me as it is the only recipe which let me down continuously during more than a couple of trials. Then, recently,I chanced upon this recipe at a popular Facebook food group where everyone were going ga-ga over this fine recipe by Garima and I gathered my guts for a last attempt. Lucky I tried this, it came out so soft and spongy. Only variation I did to suit our taste buds was the addition of saffron to enhance the flavour and hence you would notice a yellow shade in the Rasgullas. But,that was one absolutely heavenly treat. Do try this and let me know!

Blogging Marathon - Wk2, Day2

Theme - Festival Recipes : Raksha Bandhan

Preparation and cooking time - 1hr

Yields - 14 Rasgullas

Ingredients:-

For Rasgulla:

Cow's milk - 1litre

Lemon juice - 2tblsp

Water - 2tblsp

Ice cubes - 1-2cups

For Sugar Syrup:

Sugar - 1cup + 1/2cup,divided

Water - 5cups

Saffron - Few strands

Pistachios - To garnish

Method:-

1.  To prepare the chenna, bring milk to boil in a pan. Stir continuously so that the fat mass is evenly distributed.

2.  Dilute lemon juice with 2tblsp water and add little at a time so that milk curdles and the whey separate completely. You would find a clear whey water which indicates that all milk fat has been separated. Switch off the flame.

          

3.  Immediately drop ice-cubes in order to bring down the temperature and thereby stop the process of over-cooking. This step is a MUST as it helps to get soft Chenna. Strain it in a cloth-lined colander.

           

4.  Wash under running water to remove the sour lemony flavour. Gently squeeze the cloth to remove excess water and hang for just 10-15mins. 

           

5.  Take this and knead the Chenna for somewhere between 8-12mins by pressing gently with fingers and heels of the palm until it gives out some fat, also known as Chiknaayee. By now, it would have formed a soft dough almost without cracking.

           

6.  Divide equally and roll this gently into small balls. Make sure there are no cracks on the surface.

7.  While the Chenna balls are being done, bring 1cup sugar and 5cups water to a rolling boil.

           

8.  Drop the Rasgulla balls and boil on high heat for 10-12mins, keeping it covered. Make sure the Rasgullas have enough space to expand. I use my big Cooker for this. If you don't have a big container,do it in 2 batches. You would notice the Rasgullas have doubled in size and look spongy. To check, take one and you should be able to squeeze it so that it leaves out the sugar syrup. Switch off the heat and remove the Rasgullas into a wide bowl and let it cool.

           

9.  To the remaining thin sugar syrup, add 1/4cup sugar and bring to  boil. Simmer it for 3-4mins until the syrup becomes slightly sticky. Add saffron strands and let this to cool. I did'nt want more sugar syrup, so I threw away 1/2 of the thin syrup and used only the remaining. You may do it either ways according to your choice.

Once both the Rasgullas and the sugar syrup come to room temperature, drop Rasgullas in the sugar syrup. Chill for 2-3hrs and garnish with Pistachios. Serve!

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#42