Saffron Flavored Rasgulla.

“Saffron Flavored Rasgulla" ... preparing these for the first time from scratch as in Mumbai these are available in every sweet shop, so never thought of trying them out ... as today KD completes 3 Yrs wanted to thank all by preparing and sharing something I had never tried before ... so happy to note that they turned out perfect spongy juicy balls, this is the inspiration I get here ... thanking each one of you for making this culinary journey beautiful and full of learning experiences ... I have learnt a lot and pray that this group built with integrity and love becomes useful for coming generations ... Please do keep sharing with recipes, you never know whom you will be helping out ... Stay Blessed, Stay Safe, Stay at Home and above all Spread Happiness … 

** I have already mentioned the reason for preparing these rasgullas above, yes, for me it was a very special event, completion of 3 years of my food group Konkani Delicacies which means the world to me. I have burnt a lot of midnight oil the first 2 years to make it an accepted food group universally and it was only in the 3 year that it got a very strong recognition. I have often seen posts on Rasgullas but it has never tempted me to prepare the same as they are available in every nook and corner of Mumbai and also the main reason being that hubby is not relish much of a must sweet dish, I do not like trying out laborious dishes. Well, I did really feel that it should occupy a space in my Blog too and as the occasion to demanded thought why not? But somewhere in my heart the real reason was maybe that during this lock down the only things that were available without a hitch was milk and medicines, at least as of now, so it was the safest dish to be prepared as I could rely on purchasing of milk. Well I went through many recipes and finally learnt the basic etc. and put them all in one go and prepared the same, funnily found it to be very easy and yes it did turn out fantastic. So, if like me you are hesitant, do not be, just go for it. 

** Here is my simple method of preparing “Saffron Flavored Rasgulla" … My Style … Please check out the step by step picture collage added for better knowledge on preparing of the Rasgullas … 

** In a clean stainless steel vessel add in one litre of full fat cow’s milk and bring it to boil. When it reaches boiling point, lower the heat and mix the milk well with a spatulla to avoid formation of any cream on top. 

** Now add in the juice of one large sized freshly squeezed lemon little by little, while you keep mixing the milk. The milk begins to break up and curdle, add in all the juice and stir well till you see that the milk has curdled well. 

** Leave the milk aside for about 10 minutes stirring once or twice in between. Now place a stainless steel sieve on top of a large vessel, place a cotton/ muslin cloth over it and then pour over all the curdled milk through it and keep it aside for a few minutes. 

** The liquid collected in the vessel below is called whey and is very nutritious, so do not discard it, but keep it aside. It can be used in preparing dishes like roti etc. I will be posting a few dishes later which you can check out on giving search option. 

** Now once again place the sieve on the vessel and add in a few cups of clean water over the paneer to wash the paneer gently so as to remove any lemon bitterness or taste in the paneer if any. This step is necessary, so please do not skip it.

** Now form a tightly squeezing fold out of the cloth and place a heavy weight on top so that all excess water gets drained away. Keep this aside for an hour or so and it is ready to be used. The paneer obtained can be used in preparation of any dishes of your choice. today we will be preparing rasgullas out of them. 

** Add the obtained paneer in a wide bowl and knead well with your hands, using light pressure. However do not overdo it, knead to a smooth dough for a few minutes till it forms into a smooth ball consistency, this may take about maximum 5-8 minutes. 

** Take a large tablespoon of the paneer and roll into a smooth ball on your palm, there should not be any cracks on surface. Prepare all the paneer balls in equal sizes with the paneer dough and keep it aside ready by covering it with wet cloth so that it does not dry up while you go ahead with sugar water preparation. 

** Note : Here I must mention that we just need to just prepare sugar water for cooking the paneer balls and not prepare it into syrup consistency or thickness. So please do not boil the water too much, it should come to rolling boil and sugar melted, that’s it. 

** In a wide vessel add in 2 cups of sugar along with about 6-7 cups of water and bring to a rolling boil, mixing well till the sugar gets dissolved. Do not lower the heat, we need a constant temperature of boiling consistency till done, say about maximum 8 to 12 minutes.

** Add in a few balls at a time into the boiling sugar water gently one at a time. Do not add all in one go as then the temperature will fall done drastically in one go, instead add in 4 to 5 balls and wait till the boiling starts again and then add in few more wait for boil and continue this way till done. 

** Now, let it all come to a full boil, then cover with a flat lid and keep a weight on top if required and let cook on boiling sugar water for about 8 to 12 minutes.In between do check out the water level, but do not stir the balls, if you find the water has lessened then add in some boiling water and continue. 

** After about 12 maximum minutes the Rasgullas will have been done. For checking out you can put one cooked rasgulla into a bowl of water, if it sinks down it means it done. Now remove from kadai from fire and keep it down. add in a large pinch of saffron strands and 1/4 tsp of cardamon powder and just give a mild stir. 

** Keep it aside tightly covered till it reaches room temperature. Now gently put it along with the cooked water which will have reduced, into an air tight container and keep it in fridge overnight to get chilled and absorbed in properly. You can prepare rasmalai and add in the balls into it too which I will post the next time I prepare.

** “Saffron Flavored Rasgulla" are done and ready to be served. Always serve them chilled in individual bowls a few rasgullas with the sugar syrup to be relished. Children love these spongy sweet balls very much and trust me you will be surprised that they are easy to be made at home. I too was a bit skeptical, but to my surprise they turned out perfect. 

** Note : Using of full fat milk is must for rasgullas as otherwise though they turn out spongy they will be slightly grainy textured and not tasty as you eat through the same. I suggest that you do not compromise here by using skimmed milk in preparing of rasgullas. 

** Rasgullas as you all know are the famous sweet dish originated from the state of Bengal and Bengali’s are famous in different preparations of paneer and I think now that I have got the grip and also the excitement of preparing of rasgullas, I am sure I will be preparing all those sandesh, cham cham, rasmalai, angoori basundi etc. soon enough, so keep a keen eye on my Blog for more delicious sweet dishes. Till then Stay Safe, Stay Blessed, Stay at Home.