Bengali Rasgulla



  • 4 cups milk
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 4 1/2 cups water
  • Pressure cooker



To make paneer or fresh Indian homemade cheese, heat the milk in a heavy pan on medium-high heat until the milk comes to a boil. Make sure to frequently stir the milk as it burns easily in bottom of the pan.

As the milk comes to a boil, add the lemon juice slowly and stir the milk gently. When the milk starts to curdle, close the heat. Once the milk fat has separated from the whey, strain the milk into a cheesecloth or muslin cloth.

Pour some cold water over the paneer to take out the flavor of the lemon juice. Now strain the water out, squeezing the cloth. The water in the paneer needs to be squeezed just enough so that the paneer is not too dry. Taking the water out of the paneer is the most important part of this recipe. To check if enough water is out of the paneer, take a little piece of paneer on your palm and rub with your fingers. After rubbing the paneer for about 15-20 seconds, you should be able to make a firm but smooth ball. If the paneer is too dry, add a few drops of water, using the water squeezed from the paneer.

Once the paneer is drained, place on a dry, clean surface and rub with your palm until the paneer becomes a smooth dough and your hands turn a little greasy.

To make the balls in your palms, you should apply some pressure at first and then release when forming the balls.

Mix the sugar and water in a pressure cooker on medium high heat and bring to a boil. Add the paneer balls and close the pressure cooker. After the pressure cooker starts steaming, turn the heat to medium and cook for about seven minutes. Make sure the pressure cooker is large enough to accommodate the finished Rasgullas as they will expand to about double their size while cooking in the syrup! Close the heat and wait a few minutes before you open the pressure cooker. Before opening the pressure cooker, put cold water over the pressure cooker. After all the steam has escaped, open the pressure cooker. The Rasgullas should be little spongy. Serve the Rasgulla chilled.


If the Rasgullas don’t turn out exactly the way you want or are not the right shape, do not worry. There many ways to create new dishes out the imperfect Rasgullas! For example, if the Rasgullas are too hard or broken, try cutting them into small pieces and top with vanilla ice cream or cover with melted chocolate. You can use the Rasgulla pieces to make kheer, replacing rice with the Rasgulla pieces. The bottom line is to enjoy your creation!