Sweet n Spongy Rasgullas

Rasgullas... mmmm I cant even say it - my mouth is watering for these sponge balls but I dont have to worry for the time being as I have some resting in the fridge right now. Juicy, spongy, sweet, soft and yummy balls floating in simple sugar syrup is as heavenly as its sounding now. Me n my hubby both love them. Oh!!!! we just cant stop eating. Everytime we open the fridge we are sure to pop atleast one into our mouth.  Now think how many would I be eating as I am the one in the house who uses the fridge the most he he :) your  guess is almost right but I wont let you know the count ;) its a secret. This is also my father-in-laws favorite so I make one big batch when he is home.

Whenever at a sweet shop, we would always have rasgullas or rasmalais and there have also been times when I have stocked Haldirams tins when in the US. I had always thought that it would be the toughest recipe in the dessert section but guess what - you can name this one to be the easiest. Yes it is. No sweating here.. I promise. It is so easy to make that I just dont sit down to make it but instead I do it as and when I pass by my kitchen. Yes I do. Say, it is this easy - I keep the milk for boiling while I go and clean up the living room   then when I am back I make the paneer and rest it. Then later when I am done with my work I kick-off the sugar-syrup process while I make the balls and pop them in. Finally the pressure cookers job comes in which doesnt need my lending helping hand :)

Easy to make and heavenly delicious to eat is what I shud say. They are just mmmmmm hmmm yummmmm

Serves... makes 16-20 pieces

Serve option... Cold

This is what u'll need....

Milk - 1 litre
Sugar - 1 1/2 cup + 1 tbspn
Vinegar / Lemon juice - 1 tbspn
Water - 4 cups

Here is the stir....

• Heat 1 litre of milk in a vessel and bring it to a boil

• When the milk is boiling, add a tbspn of vinegar. Immediately you will see some small solid milk lumps forming. This is the paneer you will need. Turn off the flame and keep stirring for a while till all the paneer is separated from the whey

• Use a strainer to drain out the liquid and separate the paneer 

• Wash this paneer under running water to get away from the vinegar smell and flavor. Probably you could try couple of rinses. That should do the magic

• Let it sit in the strainer for a while then transfer it to a thin-type cloth and hang it tied or let it sit it under a heavy vessel for about an hour. This will help drain away any excess liquid that might be stuck inside. Instead  of this you can also try putting the paneer in a clean cloth then make it like a bundle and then twist and turn to squeeze out the liquid

• Once the liquid is drained, transfer the paneer to a working plate

• Meanwhile add sugar and water to a big pressure cooker. The rasgullas will almost double in size when cooked in the syrup so you might need a larger vessel than what you would need initially. Keep the flame on low while you go to work on the rest

• Now sit down to knead the paneer so that it becomes nice and soft. Add a tbspn of sugar to this. Once kneaded it will have the texture and look of chapathi dough. Pick a small amount of paneer and roll in in your palms. Start by applying a little pressure initially and let it go loose and smooth as you are about to get the ball shape. Make balls  with the remaining dough and keep it ready. The size of the balls is your choice. I like them little smaller than the store bought ones so that I can treat myself more number of times ;)

• By this time the syrup should have heated up. Turn up the flame to high and wait it starts to begin a rolling boil. Start dropping in the bubbles one by one into the cooker in the places where you see the bubbles rolling up. They will float away to the sides giving way to the new that we will add

• Close the pressure cooker and put it on medium flame. Wait for a whistle and then turn down the flame. Let it cook on low flame for 8-10 mins

• Turn off the flame and after a minute run some water on  the pressure to get the pressure down. Open it to check on your rasgullas. They should be nice and spongy and sugary to taste

• Transfer it to a serving bowl and let it cool. Once cool enough put the bowl in the fridge and let it rest for a few hours. Serve chilled as and when needed 

Note:

• Make sure you rinse the paneer clear to get off the smell of vinegar
• Adding sugar to the paneer balls is optional. Skip it if you dont want to
• The sugar syrup should be very watery so dont let it boil for a long time