Rasmalai, Bengali Rasmalai Recipe with step by step photos
For the saffron flavoured milk-
Boil the milk in a deep non-stick pan on a high flame, while stirring twice in between. This will take approx. 4 to 5 minutes.
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Reduce the flame to medium and cook for 15 minutes or till the milk reduces to half its quantity, while stirring occasionally and scraping the sides of the pan.
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Meanwhile, combine the saffron and warm milk in a small bowl or mortar-pestle (khalbhatta), mix well and keep aside.
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Add the sugar to the boiling milk, mix well and cook on a medium flame for 1 minute.
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Switch off the flame, add the saffron-milk mixture and cardamom powder and mix well.
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Keep aside to cool for 30 minutes and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
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For the rasgulla-
Bengali rosgulla is made using chenna. To make chenna at home, heat the cow’s milk and buffalo’s milk in a broad and deep non-stick pan and bring it to a boil. If buffalo’s milk is not available you can make the recipe using 5 cups of cow’s milk. Ideally, cow’s milk gives best result as it has less fat comparatively and the formation of malai (milk granules) is lesser. Keep stirring in between so that milk does not get stick to the bottom of the pan and get burnt.
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Switch off the flame and wait for 1 minute.
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Add the lemon juice gradually and keep stirring gently. Other acidic agents like vinegar or buttermilk can also be used to curdle the milk.
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Allow it to stand for ½ minute to curdle. The milk will curdle and the whey (greenish water) will separate. The whey has to be clear thus indicating the milk has completely curdled. If the milk doesn’t curdle completely, add more lemon juice and stir till the milk curdles completely.
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Place a clean muslin cloth over a strainer and transfer the chenna over it to strain the whey. Whey is nutritious and you can further use it to knead roti/chapati dough or prepare soup and other delicacies.
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Fold all the 4 sides of the muslin cloth and twirl it gently so that all the whey that is in the milk solids gets evenly drained out. Discard or store the whey.
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Place the muslin cloth with the chenna in a bowl of freshwater and wash it 2 to 3 times. Washing with fresh water helps to get rid of the lemon juice and sour flavor of it. Also, the internal cooking stops preventing the chenna from turning rubbery.
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Tie and hang for 30 minutes for the extra water to drain out. If the chenna is too soft, the rasgulla will not retain their shape and break while cooking. Learn how to make Bengali Sponge Rasgulla at home below.
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To make soft, spongy rasgulla at home, put 5 cups of water in a steamer or a pressure cooker. For an added flavor, you can add some cardamom pods in sugar syrup. Make sure to have enough room for chenna balls to submerge completely and swell double or triple in size while boiling.
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Add the sugar. You can add more sugar if you like but, do not reduce the quantity of sugar.
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Mix well and bring to a boil, while stirring occasionally so that the sugar dissolves completely.
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Meanwhile, squeeze the muslin cloth to drain any more water remaining. Do not hang the chenna for more than 30 to 45 minutes or else the chenna will be completely dry and rasgulla will turn hard.
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Place the muslin cloth on a flat plate and open it. Many people even add semolina, cornflour or refined flour in the chenna dough but, we won’t be using anything.
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Knead the chenna very well using your palms for 3 to 4 minutes or until it comes together to form a dough and releases some fat. Do not make use of store-bought paneer to prepare the rasgulla recipe.
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Knead until the chenna is smooth, free of lumps and has no milk granules. If the chenna is not smooth the rosogulla may turn hard. Don’t over knead or else there will be no moisture and rasgulla will develop cracks.
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Divide the chenna dough into 10 equal portions. Roll each portion into small balls between your palms. Balls should not have any cracks. The size of the rasgulla will double on cooking in the sugar syrup so make smaller balls, to begin with.
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Put the chenna balls into the sugar water.
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Cover and steam for 7 to 8 minutes over a high flame. If you are using a pressure cooker, just put the lid over the cooker, without a whistle. It is important to keep the sugar syrup boiling all the time for cooking the rasgulla perfectly. If rasgullas are overcooked then it will be chewy and rubbery.
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Switch off the flame and allow it to stand in the steamer for another 10 to 15 minutes. The chenna balls will have doubled in size.
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Remove Bengali rasgulla gently into a bowl. They will shrink a little after switching off the flame but it is normal. Before removing them if you wish to check if the rasgullas are cooked , or not drop a rasgulla in a glass of freshwater. It will sink to the bottom if done or else it will float on top if it is raw from inside.
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How to proceed-
Remove the rasgulla one by one from the sugar syrup, squeeze them gently in between your palms and add them to the saffron flavoured milk and stir gently.
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Refrigerate them for at least 30 minutes.
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Serve chilled garnished with pistachios and almonds.
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