Rasgullas Indian Dessert Recipe
Make spongy, delicious, and popular Indian dessert following this Rasgulla Recipe. Rosogolla, as Bengali people pronounce it, is made of cooked cheese balls in simple scented sugar syrup. Making dessert from cheese (Chenna or Paneer in Hindi) is interesting. You take the cheese to the next level, changing its flavor and texture. You can make another dessert from Rasgullas, and it’s called Rasmalai. I have a video tutorial and step-by-step images to guide you.
I published this post years back but didn’t go into detail. However, I have updated it to answer any questions you may have. Making Rasgulla is easy, but there are a few things that you have to keep in mind for the recipe to be successful. If you think your question is not answered in this post, feel free to comment under the post. Rasgulla doesn’t take time, but it comes out perfect when you follow the simple steps below.
🥘 INGREDIENTS TO MAKE RASGULLA
5 ingredients are all you need to make this popular sweet delight, I sometimes add saffron just to add color and more flavor, but you don’t have to.
Whole milk – To make amazing rasgullas, you must use whole milk. Some add a little heavy cream to the milk, which makes the rasgullas rich. You can’t make this dessert using low-fat or skim milk. Plant-based milk won’t work.
Lemon or white vinegar – We need to use an acid, so choose the one you prefer. I have used both and found that white vinegar makes cheese form quicker than lemon juice.
We will use water to wash the cheese and make the syrup.
Sugar – It is essential to use since rasgulla is a dessert, but don’t go for brown sugar since it has more moisture.
Cardamom – This spice will perfume the syrup and add warmth to the flavor.
📋 HOW TO MAKE RASGULLA STEP-BY-STEP
You can see below that making this Indian sweet is just so easy. The result is spongy rasgulla. More detail in the recipe card below.
Making the Chenna, Paneer, or Cottage cheese
Step 1
In a large pot or a heavy bottom pan, add the milk and let it come to a boil. Stir occasionally to prevent the milk from burning at the bottom.
Step 2
In a bowl, mix the lemon juice or white vinegar with water. Turn off the heat under the milk and gradually pour the lemon and water mixture into the milk while stirring gently.
Step 3
The whey will separate and becomes clear, and the milk will curdle.
Step 4
Pour the curdled milk into a muslin cloth. Pour cold water into the curdled milk. Squeeze the muslin clothes taking out excess water.
Step 5
Hang the muslin clothes for 30 minutes or place a heavy plate or object on it for 30 minutes.
Step 6
Knead the cheese or chenna for 7 to 10 minutes until it becomes a smooth dough. Make equal-sized chenna balls between your palms and set them aside.
Making sugar syrup
Step 1
Add all the ingredients to a saucepan and boil for 3 minutes.
Making the Rasgulla
Step 1
Keep the heat under the syrup medium-high, and gently add the rasgulla balls. Cover the pan and cook for 10 to 11 minutes or until the balls double in size without removing the cover.
Step 2
When the rasgullas are double in size, turn off the heat without removing the cover or the lid. Wait until the rasgullas are at room temperature. Remove the lid and serve the rasgullas with the remaining syrup.
INDIAN DESSERT YOU SHOULD TRY
FAQ
I use whole milk/full cream milk. I have tried lactose-free milk, and it worked too.
You have to knead the chenna until it is smooth and has no grainy texture; it will prevent the rasgulla from breaking later when cooking in the syrup.
It should be watery when adding the rasgulla balls, making the syrup penetrate the rasgullas sweet, airy, and spongy. Don’t worry; the syrup will thicken a little when it cools.
Overcooking the rasgulla and not kneading the cheese until smooth turn them into dense and chewy balls.
The rasgulla will puff up and double in size. It’s best to use a large pot when cooking the rasgullas. It will give enough room for the balls to move in the pan and expand freely.
Other Desserts You’ll Like
- Egg free Cinnamon Rolls.
- Eggless Moist Chocolate Cake.
- Loukoumades Delicious Greek Donuts.
- Apple Crumble Dessert.
- Milk Pudding Mahalabia.
🌡️ HOW TO STORE THE RASGULLA
Cover and refrigerate the rasgullas and heat them a little before serving.
Rasgullas
Ingredients
For the paneer
- 4 cups whole cream milk or one litre
- 2 ½ tablespoons lemon juice or white vinegar
- 1 ½ tablespoon water
For the syrup
- 4 cups water
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 4 whole cardamoms
Instructions
Making the paneer or chenna
- In a medium saucepan, bring milk to a boil, stirring occasionally so the milk doesn’t burn or stick to the bottom of the saucepan.
- Mix the lemon juice with water.
- Turn off the heat under the milk and gradually add the lemon water or vinegar and water mixture and stir gently until the whey clears and the milk solids curdle.
- Pour the curdled milk into a muslin cloth that’s under a colander or a strainer. Pour cold water into the curdled milk to eliminate the lemons or vinegar smell and taste.
- Squeeze the muslin clothes taking out excess water. Either hang the muslin clothes for 30 minutes to get rid of extra water or place the muslin cloth on a plate and place a heavy plate or object on top of it for 30 minutes to an hour.
- The paneer is ready and should be crumbly in texture. Knead it until you get a texture of smooth dough. Knead for 7-10 minutes. The chenna shouldn’t have a grainy texture or the rasgulla will break while cooking and become dense and chew.
- Make equal-sized balls, the balls shouldn’t have cracks in them, or they will break later. Remember that the rasgullas will double in size when cooked, so don’t form big balls.
Making the syrup:
- In a medium saucepan, add all the ingredients and let it boil for 3 minutes.
- Reduce heat to medium and add the rasgullas carefully. Don’t crowd the pan.
- Cover and let cook for 10 to 11 minutes or until the balls double in size.
- Turn off the heat and keep the pan covered until it reaches room temperature.
- The rasgullas are ready now, but be careful when taking them out since they’ll be very fluffy and soft and will scar easily.
- Place the rasgullas in a serving bowl and pour enough syrup just to cover the rasgullas. Sprinkle some saffron strands if you wish.
- Refrigerate them for at least an hour before serving. This will help the rasgullas not only firm but absorb more syrup and flavor from the cardamom.
Video
Notes
- If you want the rasgulla to be softer than a spongy texture, pour a cup of cold water into the pot after the milk curdles. This will prevent the milk from cooking further.
- Do not over-knead the paneer, or it will turn soggy. Stop kneading when it turns smooth with no grains.
- Keep the syrup boiling while cooking the balls; it’s best not to tamper with the heat at this step.
- Do not crowd the pan with balls, or they won’t cook evenly.
- Cooking time will vary depending on the size of the balls.
- The rasgulla might get firmer when refrigerated. After all, it is a cheese ball. Warm it a little before serving.
- Some recipes make this sweet in a pressure cooker, but I don’t think it needs it.
- In India, people sometimes add all-purpose flour or semolina to prevent the balls from cracking, but there is no need in this recipe.
These look so unbelievably beautiful! Gorgeous clicks, Muna.
Thanks Angie, it is an addictive dessert, at least to me 🙂
Hi,
very nice click.
want to ask 1thng.
How to make white sugar syrup.
When i make it become yellow type.
And wht is compulsary ingrediant to be add while making balls.
Hi Divya,
I guess it depends on the sugar you use and how much you let it boil, if the syrup boils for long it changes color to pale yellow.
Being an Asian, my first reaction was mochi made of sweet rice. LOL. I’ve never had rasgullas but I sort of remember I saw it on someone’s blog before (and yes I made the same mistake thinking it’s mochi!). I love the cardamom infused syrup here. Must be delicious! I love your styling and photo that is white and dreamy… 🙂
LOL! I have to searched for mochi made with sweet rice and you are right, they look the same. Thanks for your kind words 🙂
These are beautiful! They look like a fancy “ladies” dessert! Thanks for getting the recipe just right for us!
You’re most welcome dear!
well…sounds like gulab jamun…in terms of its texture and problems you come across. i could never get them that pillowy soft texture that i had at indian restaurants…i just dont know ….
i might give this a try thought!
Gulab Jamun is deep fried, but in texture they’re almost the same, except Rasgullas are more spongy. Hope it comes out right for you!
One of my husbands favorite sweets.. but I never tried making them. I am sure it would take me too many attempts to make them so good! 🙂
I failed too my dear, no problem it happens 🙂 … But if you followed the tips I wrote I hope it comes out good from the first attempt.
Awesome clicks, Muna! Haven’t heard of rasgullas before…but it sure looks like a very delicious dessert! Hope I can try it someday!
Hi Muna,
I have know or taste any Rasgullas before and I reckon yours looks really good. It looks smooth, silky and beautiful.
Zoe
I have never tasted Rasgullas before, and these little white snowy balls looks fluffy, almost like a marshmallow, looks so smooth, silky and creamy in texture. I have always LOVE moichi, and this is something I would love to make for my family to try.
Let me know how they liked it 🙂
Thanks girl, It is a festive dessert too 🙂
It’s a awesome delicious recipe
I would like to try this….
I have a store bought ricotta chesse from Walmart
Can I use this for this recipe
I always make my own since fresh paneer/ricotta tastes better. I guess you can use the store bought, the key here is to be able to knead the cheese until it feels like smooth dough. Also when forming the balls make sure they are smooth and have no cracks. So if you can do this with the store bought ricotta cheese, You’ll be able to make these Rasgullas.
One more thing, make sure the ricotta is not salty, and if it was soggy, put it in a cheese cloth and squeeze it.
Hope this helped 🙂
Thank a lot for ur tips and ideas
I wil try it of my own….and reply u
You’re most welcome!
Thank you so much for this delicious recipe and tips. This was my first try and Rasgullas came out perfect and everyone liked it and praised too.
Wow! You did a good job. I’m glad that everyone enjoyed them 🙂
Thank you for taking the trouble to perfect this recipe and blog about it so that the rest of us are inspired to try it out. I had tried to make it before but my rasgullas didn’t puff up much. The taste was fine but the texture… Anyway, I didn’t try again because I thought , why bother? It won’t turn out well, and it’l never match the store bought ones. But you know what inspired me? The gorgeous, mouth-watering picture at the top! I thought what the heck, I’l try again. I did and guess what? They came out beautifully!! Even my picky dad liked it, he said they were better than store bought!! Thanks so much.
For anybody else who’s tempted to try this, two things. First, don’t skimp on the kneading. I think I kneaded it about 20 min. (I was watching Masterchef at the time and my hands kept moving while my head was otherwise busy!!)
Second, it needs a high flame, and DO NOT PEEK while its cooking. The pot I used to cook it in had a steam release valve in the handle of the lid (the knob- like thing on top), so it didn’t boil over. I saw another lady’s blog where she said that the high heat is needed to cook the top part at the same time. She said that professional sweet makers added something to make the syrup boil up when they added the balls, so I added the balls when the syrup was boiling, covered the pot, and kept it on high flame. I hope that helps anyone who wants to try this out.
I’m so happy that you liked it and thanks a lot for the tips, I’m sure my readers will find it useful 🙂
perfect rasgulla I have ever seen. looks wonderful madam …. really they must be very delicious rite
aww am craving to eat it….
prepared rasgullas some days ago..but I was bite hard at the time of serving 🙁 taste of awesome can u pls help me
p.s I didn’t refrigerate them even though it turned bit hard..cooked for 20 mins on slow flame I used wide bottom pan ….syrup was not thick….. it was soft and spongy wen hot later turned bit hard :(((((((
Hi Priyanka,
Thanks for writing, and I’m glad you liked the rasgullas. Sorry they turned hard afterwards, but there are few things that might have contributed to that.
1 – You shouldn’t cook the rasgullas on slow flame but on medium.
2 – You should knead the rasgullas for at least 7 minutes, this will keep it soft.
3 – Since it is winter now, skip the part of refrigerating the rasgullas and keep them out at room temperature. Remember they are made of cheese and cheese gets hard in cold weather.
4 – The syrup in this recipe is not suppose to be thick, so don’t worry you didn’t do anything wrong. In the market they prepare thick syrup on the side and place the rasgullas in it to make it extra sweet.
Please also read a comment from SAMEEHA you’ll find her comment above, it has few tips that will help you make these rasgullas perfect.
Best of luck 🙂
Hi, my rasgullas did not expand. Where did I go wrong?
Thanks!
Hi, I have noticed that when using store bought paneer this happens, so the paneer used should be homemade for best results. The other reason is not kneading enough. The more you knead the softer the texture will be and this allows the heat to distribute evenly within the balls when are boiled. Also if the water wasn’t hot enough the rasgullas won’t expand. Last reason is crowding the pan with rasgullas when boiling and not covering the pan.
I hope this helped!
What is the best temperature for storage rasgula.
Means
What is the temperature of coldstore when we take rasgula in it.
It’s best to store the Rasgullas in an air tight container and Keep it in the least cold area in the fridge. Keep in mind that Rasgullas are actually cheese, so when you serve them, make sure to take them out of the fridge a while before.
Hi,
I make ragullas all the time but they don’t expand enough. can u please tell me why?
Hi Meeta, and thanks for stopping by! Please read the comments below the post, I’m sure you’ll find an answer to your question and more tips, since I have discussed/answered a few questions there regarding perfecting the rasgullas. One more thing, I noticed in some recipes they use baking powder, I have never used it when making rasgullas, but I suggest you go by the tips in the comment box, if your rasgullas still don’t expand try using 1/2 teaspoon baking powder in the paneer while kneading. Hope this helps 🙂