Rasgulla

I feel so elated and accomplished today as I successfully(my perspective) made one of my favorite sweets.Yes,it is rasgulla or roshogolla as it is typically known in West bengal :)I am a great fan of all kinds of sugar dripping Bengali sweets and rasgulla stands first among them.I never missed a chance to gobble these little white soft clouds,but only after starting this blog it hit in me that I should be trying my hands at this :). My mom had the recipe in her collection but she never made at home.When it comes to home made sweets gulab jamun would overtake rasgulla.So I decided to try it using her recipe and I should say I was fairly successful considering this is my first attempt.I know there is room for lot of improvement and I will keep improving too.Here goes the step by step method with pictures.

Rasgulla- Bengali milk sweet
Star Ingredient- Milk solids
Difficulty level-Moderate
Time-1 hour
Yield-20
Ingredients:
1 liter full fat milk
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 1/2 cup sugar
3 cups water
4 cardamoms
Optional Ingredients:
Raisins,grated almonds
Method:
1.Boil milk in a wide bottomed vessel.When it is about to boil add lemon juice.Once the milk starts to curdle,start stirring it to separate the whey.

2.Once the whey is completely separated,filter the whey water thoroughly using a clean cloth. Wash the collected milk solids with cold water for few times,squeeze the excess water and keep the cloth undisturbed for 30 minutes to 45 minutes.

3.Once the paneer is completely dry,remove from the cloth,transfer to the bowl and start kneading.
4.Knead it very well until it is very smooth at least for 7 minutes.Divide the paneer dough into equal portions and start making small balls.The balls should be very smooth and thoroughly shaped without any cracks.

5.Take 3 cups of water in a large vessel,add sugar and boil in medium flame.Add cardamom and let it boil for few more minutes.
6.Add the paneer balls batch by batch. I added 10 small balls as one batch.Keep the flame in high,cover and cook for 15 minutes.Repeat the same with the next batch.Serve chilled.

Serving suggestions:
Drain the sugar syrup,add shaved almonds and raisins and serve.

Notes:
1. The paneer should be completely dry before you start making rasgullas.If you take a small pinch and squeeze between your fingers,it should retain its shape once released.
2.Next important step is kneading.Knead it very well on a clean surface atleast for 7-10 minutes to remove any cracks and bring the dough together.
3.While making balls,take a small portion,keep it in the middle of your palm and roll in one direction.This will ensure smooth perfect round.
4.There is no need to bring the sugar syrup to any string consistency.
5.If you over cook the rasgullas might break.