Bengali Rasgulla
Jun 20, 2014, Updated Jan 02, 2018
One of the most popular Indian sweets, rasgulla is made with milk and sugar!
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A lot of sweets and desserts in India are made using milk and usually they are also the most popular ones. One such popular sweet is rasgulla, it comes from the state of West Bengal which is famous for it’s mouth-watering desserts.
Rasgulla is made from “chena” which is obtained by curdling the milk. The chena is mashed, made smooth and then cooked in boiling sugar syrup. The main problem with making rasgullas at home is that it doesn’t always turn soft. Actually making this sweet at home is really easy, there are just few basic things which should be kept in mind and they will always turn out perfect.
– Use a wide pan for making the rasgullas. They increase in size when dropped in boiling sugar syrup so there should be enough space for the rasgullas to cook in the pan.
– Add some water to cool down the milk before adding the lemon juice/vinegar to curdle it.
– Squeeze out all the water from the chena before you start mashing it.
– Mash the chena with your hands for total of 10 minutes. It should be totally smooth by the end of 10 minutes.
– The water to sugar ration should be 4:1. So for 1 cup of sugar you have to add 4 cups of water and boil it at high flame.
– The rasgullas increase in size while they are cooking in the sugar syrup so don’t make them too big unless you want huge rasgullas.
– Drop the rasgullas in the sugar syrup once it’s completely boiling at high flame.
– The flame has to be high throughout the entire time when the rasgullas are cooking.
– To check if the rasgullas are cooked, drop them in fresh water. They will sink if done.
– Transfer the rasgullas from the fresh water to the sugar syrup once the sugar syrup has cooled down.
– Make a day in advance, they taste the best the next day when the rasgullas have soaked the sugar syrup well.
I will definitely update this post with step by step pictures when I make rasgullas again. Since I made these in India and it was too hot in the kitchen, I couldn’t keep up with clicking pictures side by side.
I have made these rasgullas twice already in the past 1 week and they always come out perfect. So give it a try and enjoy these soft and delicious homemade rasgullas.
* Use whole milk for best results.
* If you think the flame is too high on your gas stove and you are afraid the rasgullas might burn, you can cook them in another way. Let the sugar and water come to a boil, drop the rasgulla into it and then lower the heat to medium, cover and cook for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove the cover, flip the rasgullas, cover and let them cook for another 15 minutes on medium flame. But remember to boil the sugar syrup before adding the rasgullas.
Rasgulla
Ingredients
- 1 litre whole milk
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon cornflour
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 cups water
Instructions
- Heat milk in a heavy bottom pan.
- Once the milk comes to a boil, switch off the flame and add 1/2 cup of water to bring down the temperature a bit.
- Add lemon juice till the milk curdles.
- Drain the curdled milk using a muslin cloth. You are now left with what is known as "chena" or "paneer".
- Squeeze the muslin cloth to remove all the water from the chena.
- Take the chena in a plate and add cornflour to it.
- Mash the chena with your hands for 10 minutes to make it soft and smooth. This is an important step to make sure that the rasgullas are soft.
- Make small balls from the chena after the mashing is done.
- Meanwhile in a pan mix the sugar and water and let it boil at high temperature.
- Put the rasgulla balls in the boiling sugar syrup.
- Cook the rasgullas in sugar syrup for 18-20 minutes on high flame.
- Refrigerate the rasgullas with the syrup and serve chilled.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Bengali Rasgulla
Hi Manali,
I tried this, My Rasagolas came fine, but it’s soft and in a defined shape. I felt it was not like we bought from the store, which is a bit chewy.
Is that to be soft and less chewy? which is the proper texture we should have?
this homemade version is definitely on the softer side but it should have a chew to it. A lot depends on which milk was used, and how the chena was prepared. Add to the cooking time a little next time if you want rasgulla to be chewy.
Thank you for your tips. Question – can we drop the rasagullas in ice cold water to avoid shrinking and overcooking ? Or is it best to leave the rasagulla in the same hot syrup, which has been used to cooking. Thanks in advance for your answers.
we drop to check if rasgullas are done or not, if they sink they are done.
Hi my rasgulla’s were soft till it is hot but after getting cold they become hard not spongy.can you tell me why?
most likely they were overcooked or too much moisture was squeezed from the chena
Rasgulla broke into paneer again..became flat:(
too much moisture in chena is the reason
Hi Manali, I tried your rasagulla recipe twice for diwali and it turned out very soft. I have a query regarding cornflour. As recommended in the recipe, I added the flour and then started kneading the chenna. while kneading the dough would stick to my palm and plate. I continued to knead and after 10 min made tiny balls and added to the boiling sugar syrup. Despite the stickiness, both the times my rasagullas turned out soft.
Checking what is your texture when you start kneading after adding cornflour?
maybe you should have drained the chena bit more, it should not stick that much
Should I cover the rasgulla’s while cooking or keep it open?
Open
Can I add baking powder in chhena while kneading.
no rasgulla doesn’t need baking powder
Hi Manali!
Your Rasgullas look perfect.
I tried them for the first time.
I used full fat milk.
Everything was fine till I started kneading.
The chena was super sticky and I had to add maida in it. But after cooking them for roughly 15-18 mins, they shrank and became semi hard.
Can you please help me?
How much should I knead and how should I know when to start kneading? What is the ideal level of moisture that needs to remain in chena to start kneading?
Could you please help?
My guess is that the water didn’t drain properly from the chena, did you use a muslin cloth? they shrink when balls don’t have enough space in the pan they are being cooked. Since it was your first time, I would suggest to try again, this takes some practice.
Why did my rasgulla become hard after cooking, when I followed all the steps please reply me.
you squeezed way too much moisture from the chena, that’s why they are hard. Rasgulla takes some practice, try again
Rasgullas get flat after cooling down every time. Tried with only 4 balls in pan so its not overcrowded. What could be the reason?
could be that you squeezed too much moisture from the chena, that can also cause it to shrink.
After cooking the balls and bringing it to room temperature ..I understand that it is not spongy enough..Can I cook it again…
you can’t cook again, it will be hard and rubbery
H Manali, corn flour (is it makki ka atta) or you mean corn starch. My concern is that corn flour is yellow whereas corn starch is white. Please advise
makki ka atta is maize flour. I mean cornstarch – the white one.
Tried this recipe 3 times but each time my rasgullas came hard. I mashed the Chena for 10 mins and the balls came out good but after cooking they got hard..!!! Please advise what I might be doing wrong
you are extracting a lot of moisture from the chena. You need to squeeze water from it but it should still be moist to touch. This comes with practice, so don’t worry if you are not getting a hang of it. Also try cooking them for less time next time, all stoves work differently. Maybe yours need less time.
Hi, Why do you add cornflour to the chenna and how much cornflour should be added?
Regards, Hans
to bind the mixture, I use 1 teaspoon (it’s mentioned in the recipe card).
Manali… Yr rosogulla looking very spongy. But when I tried all r good.. Cooked well but it’s not spongy. I tried 3 times but failed to become spongy. Please help me..
I used Amul full cream milk and after getting chhena I put it in refrigerator for 2 hours
not sure, maybe you are over cooking it. It comes with practice!
The dough is way too sticky and when I added maids to make it dry it became very hard and did not even taste like rasgulla. Even after hanging the Chenna for more than 1 hour it was still not dry enough to knead into a dough
Please help
if the dough is too sticky, it just means it has a lot of moisture in it. Squeeze it well, there’s no other reason why it will be moist. It is just curdled milk.
Let the chenna hang overnight for better result.
Yami it’s so testing ??
Thanks for sharing rasgulla recipe,, Now I also try to make it at home. But it will not be bad, will it?
Helpful rasgulla recipe .thankyou for sharing this information.
My rasgulla turned hard??
there can be several reasons, please read this post for all tips: https://www.cookwithmanali.com/make-soft-rasmalai-home/
the basic process of making balls in same for rasgulla and rasmalai. Most likely you squeezed way too much from the chena and hence the balls were hard.
i am a strict rather hard core vegetatian and would like to have some veg delights for parties.mainly snacks and starters.
please search the blog using search button
hi manali thanks for reply…
getting milk from farms is not possible…i wonder how the shops make them round? they too make from same milk…yes i take big patila.. to make rasgullas..
hmm hard to say then..when I make rasgullas they turn round so I am not sure why yours don’t.
hi
can we make rasgullas immediately after we have drained the water out of chena>? or we have to hang it for some time? and can we use force to remove water from chena ? thanks sunil khurma
hang 15-20 minutes ideally
hi manali
i tried making rasgullas many times ..but here where i live in toronto..we donot get full fat milk…my rasgullas are always flat ..like they do not fluff in to balls..when i boil them they become round but afterwards they become flat and smaller what could be the reason..i knead them well..and boil them around 15 minutes ..what could be the reason thanks
sunil kumar khurma
try whole milk from farm which is not pasteurized..and give rasgullas enough space when boiling, do not over crowd them
When you say whole milk, can it be either cows milk or buffalo? Usually cows milk packets say that it is toned milk. Will that work?
cow milk and you need full fat/cream..not toned for this recipe!
i think the mashing part is the key to a good rasgulla recipe..is there any way to do it with modern technology? such as hand blender, or dough maker, or mixer or anything else? Or is there any special spatula or spoon for this purpose? So that hands remain clean and relaxed?
some people use food processor, I prefer my hands. You can try! 🙂
Hi Manali
Meant can we FREEZE the rasugulla balls. Do we cook them in the syrup and freeze or freeze immediately after making balls. Thank you.
I think you can make the complete recipe and then freeze the rasmalai in freezer safe bags/container. Thaw it overnight in fridge.
Hi,my rasgola remen small…
1.can i fix them,?
2. Wot i dan rong ?
Thenk you.
I am not sure what you mean? the rasgulla smell? of what? if you curdled the milk with lemon or vinegar, maybe you did not rinse the chena well before making balls and hence the small. Unfortunately you can’t do anything now once the balls are boiled and dipped in syrup
Hi Manali can we free the rasugulla balls. I have extra milk and would like to make them to use at a later stage. It’s going to be my first attempt to make this recipe.
Hello
Your roshgollas are looking way too perfect. I have a problem. Why do I have cracks in my roshgollas though they are soft. I also test them in fresh water test. They passed successfully! But I want smooth surfaced roshgollas. Please suggest some tricks. People says we have to hang cheena. & I also want to know how can I check the correct moisture in cheena? Thanks.
You should knead them bit longer for a smoother rasgulla..and yes you can hang chena for 15-20 mins..well correct moisture comes with experience..but basically when you knead the chena it should not have any water but it should not feel dry..if it’s too dry then rasgullas will be hard..try again..hang chena for 15-20 minutes and then knead the chena for 10 minutes until you can get get smooth balls..
I tried rasgullas but it broke.. Why did this happen
you didn’t squeeze enough moisture from the chena
Hi. My rusgulla is soft but not spongy .
How can i make rusgulla with spongy texture
my guess is you kneaded the dough too much, did you use full fat milk?
Hi Manali
Your rasgulla’s look very soft and mouth watering. I want to try it at home this week.
I have two doubts:
1. After the rasgulla’s are cooked in sugar syrup, to check we should drop them in fresh water. When should we put it back in sugar syrup?
2. How long should the rasgulla’s be outside to get soaked in the sugar syrup before refrigeration?
Thanks in Advance
AS
you can put back immediately..it’s just to check if done or not. Let them sit in sugar syrup for 30 mins at room temperature and then refrigerate.
Thank you Manali for your quick reply. Will try this recipe this week.
nice
Hi recipe looks amazing. I hv few doubts. I tried it n did cold water testing as well n rosogullas did sank n settled at the bottom. But wen I tasted it they were tasting of chenna (wen it was hot) and I chilled it for an hour n feel the same and its not completely soaked. Any suggestions?
Hi if it tastes raw means it had to be cooked more. your balls are not cooked through and hence not soaking the syrup is my guess.
Pls tell why rasgulla flattens when it cools down
possibly because you didn’t give enough space to the rasgulla in the pan when they were boiling. Add fewer rasgulla in the pan and try again.
Thanks Savita, I made lots of rasgullas during my India trip this time..haha..this was shared then!