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Showing posts with label Bengali Recipes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bengali Recipes. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Rasgulla Recipe - How to Make Bengali Rasgulla Step by Step

Rasgulla. Say that word a few times and you will actually get a feel of how the spongy Bengali sweet rasgulla can taste like. You can buy pretty decent rasgullas in cans but nothing beats the taste of making rasgulla at home, especially during Diwali. TH is not a fan of sweets in general but give him rasgulla or rasmalai and that'll make his day. So this Diwali, I chose to make a fresh batch of homemade rasgulla and here's the step by step recipe for you.

rasgulla bengali rasgulla easy diwali sweets

The first step in making rasgulla is to making chenna. The process is similar to how paneer is made - curdling milk and separating the cheese from the whey. I am outlining the steps after you have made the fresh chenna so please check out this post on how to make chenna.

The chenna is made into balls and cooked in sugar syrup. I liked how Manjula's Kitchen had recipe of rasgulla made in a pressure cooker, eliminating a lot of guesswork and standing over the stove so I followed the same method. I made very minor changes in the quantities and such and also made much smaller balls than is usually done.

rasgulla bengali rasgulla easy diwali sweets

Check out some easy and delicious milk-based recipes I have shared in the past. They are really our favourite kind. You can make rasmalai using rasgulla in ten minutes, a super quick paneer payasam, delicious sandesh, a popular Bengali sweet, and many more. Check out full list of Diwali sweet recipes for more inspiration too.

BENGALI RASGULLA RECIPE

Preparation time: 40 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Makes 20 small rasgulla
Recipe source: Manjula's Kitchen

INGREDIENTS:
1 litre of full fat milk
2-3 tbsp of fresh lime juice or vinegar
1 cup of sugar
3 cups of water
1 tbsp of crushed pistachios (for garnish)

INSTRUCTIONS:

First, make chenna. After it has drained for about 30 minutes, give it a whizz in a blender or mixer to make it smooth and let out more water.
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Remove and knead well for 3 minutes. At the end of it, you should be able to make smooth balls out of the chenna easily. If not, knead for a bit longer. The size of the rasgulla will double on cooking in sugar syrup so remember to make smaller sizes than you would like the rasgullas to end up as.
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Add the sugar and water to your pressure cooker and bring to boil. Mix well for the sugar to dissolve, lower heat to very low and add the rasgulla balls gently into the syrup.
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Cover the pressure cooker and cook without whistle for about 7-8 minutes on medium-low flame.
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Turn off heat and wait 5 minutes before opening the cooker lid. You'll find spongy rasgulla that's doubled in size!
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Cool completely, add crushed pistachios on top and refrigerate rasgulla in syrup until ready to serve. It will be delicious, I promise!

NOTES:

- The only step that could go wrong is the kneading and rolling of chenna. It's best to get the chenna as dry as possible (no need to press like making paneer though) and then knead for a good 3-4 minutes to get it as smooth as possible.
- I used lesser amount of sugar and these were perfect. The amount of sugar can be increased if you want the very sweet kind you get to buy
Rasgulla can stay fresh refrigerated for up to 4 days, in the sugar syrup so make some rasgulla for your loved ones and share a picture with me :)


Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Bengali Fish Fry | Mach Bhaja Recipe

It's no secret that Malayalis and Bengalis love fish! There are several varieties of fish recipes from both Kerala and Bengal so it's always best to get cracking from the basics.

The basic Kerala fish fry recipe uses ginger and garlic (we also add shallots and curry leaves at home) in addition to the basics like chilly powder and turmeric.

The basic Bengali fish fry, however, is even simpler. It's essentially a 5-ingredient recipe.

Bengali Fish Fry Recipe | Macch Bhaja Recipe

This was made my a friend when we visited their place for dinner. She had marinated the fish in advance but it all came together in less than 10 minutes.

Easy Bengali Fish Fry Recipe
Serves 3-4

Ingredients:
6 (steak) pieces of king fish or hilsa, cleaned
2 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp salt (adjust to taste)
2 tbsp lime juice
Oil

How-to:

1. Mix the cleaned fish pieces with the rest of the ingredients and let marinate for 4 hours.

2. Heat a pan and add about 1/2 cup oil. Shallow fry the fish in medium-low heat until both sides are charred but not completely fried up. Be gentle when turning the fish over.

Bengali Fish Fry Recipe | Macch Bhaja Recipe

Notes:

- This fish fry recipe can be used as a base for you to add on to. You can add more masala powders, pepper powder, ginger garlic paste, etc.

- Serve with dal and steamed rice for a simple meal. It won't be too spicy or heavy.

- Serve with freshly sliced onions and lemon. Yum!