Indian dessert: Rasgulla recipe – How to make spongy rasgulla

Rasgulla (ras means juice, gulla means round) is a simply amazing Indian dessert made with fresh homemade cottage cheese (chenna/paneer) kneaded and shaped into balls and cooked in sugar syrup.

These sweet, syrupy and soft cheese balls are so simple to make, unbelievable that with only few basic ingredients you can make such a perfect dessert – you only need milk, sugar, lemon juice and water.

In India, rasgulla is typically served on various occasions – festivals, like Diwali (Festival of Lights) or Rath Yatra (Chariot Festival), and birthday parties.

I am not too fond of sweets, but I do have my weaknesses and rasgulla is definitely one of them. There is something about this dessert that’s extremely addictive, once you have one you won’t be able to stop eating.

Making cottage cheese at home gives me such a pleasant memory of childhood days when my mom used to make it, I was staring curiously at the cottage cheese hanging in the muslin cloth for hours. The making process was taking a while but how delicious it was the result!

Here it is, rasgulla recipe, with step by step instructions

Take milk in a deep pot and put it on boil. Once it boils, turn off the heat and let it cool for some minutes.

Now add in lemon/lime juice and mix gently. The milk will start to curdle. Once the green watery whey separates from the milk, strain the curdled milk in a cheese cloth/muslin cloth.

Take a cup with cold water and wash the chhena (cheese) well. Repeat and rinse with water 4-5 times, to remove the lemon flavor.

Now squeeze the muslin gently with your hands to remove the excess of water. Tie a knot to the muslin cloth and hang it to drain for 30 – 40 mins.

Once the water is drained completely, take the chhena in a bowl and knead it gently, until you get a soft non-sticky dough (it took me 15 minutes).

When the dough is soft, take a small portion and roll it in your palms gently to form a small ball. Do the same for the remaining dough.

Now take sugar and water in a big pot and stir until the sugar dissolves. Turn on the flame and bring this syrup to boil. Optionally, add cardamom powder or rose water, if you want an extra flavored taste.

Add the cheese balls into the sugar water syrup, cover the pan with a lid, and let it cook for about 10 mins, on medium heat. You will notice that the balls have increased in volume.

After 10 minutes, turn off the heat and let it sit, covered, for 15 mins. Transfer the cheese balls along with the syrup into a serving bowl. Let rasgullas soak in the syrup for about 1 hour before consuming (room temperature or refrigerator). Enjoy!