Rasgullas

Rasgullas were always sweets bought from the sweetmeat shop and consumed at home. I never even thought they could be made at home, till I saw a bunch of posts on IFF, and decided to give it a try. The trick, they all seemed to say was in kneading till the wrists hurt, and that's not too difficult for me to do, is it?

While it was on my To Attempt list, I wasn't really planning to make rasgullas today. My mother always stuck to tried and tested recipes on New Years because she didn't want to take a risk with the year turning out disastrous. But I reasoned it out the other way- I would like this to be the year when I take risks. Some pay off, some not, but unless you take risks, how will you ever know. And the results were much better than expected!

Milk - 1 litre
Vinegar- 3 tbsp (I made it in two lots, and used some of the whey to start the process off the second time round)
Water - 3 1/2 cups
Icecubes - 4 to 5
Sugar - 1 1/2 cup (I used slightly less)
Cardamom 


Method:
Heat milk, and once it comes to a boil add the vinegar to the boiling milk and stir properly. Stir continuosly till the whey water clears and the milk curdles completely. Now switch off the stove, add ice cubes and allow it to melt completely.
Pour the curdled milk into a muslin cloth. Wash it well with running water to remove the vinegar. Squeeze the excess water and hang it aside for 30 mins without disturbing it.  
After 30 mins, the paneer would be crumbly in texture. Knead it well for 10mins. Once everything comes together to a smooth pilable dough, form them into smooth mini balls and keep aside. I made 24 mini balls.
Heat water in a wide bottomed vessel, then add sugar, cardamom and keep stirring till sugar dissolves completely. Ensure that the vessel is large enough to give the balls enough place to dance around. When the sugar syrup boils and starts bubbling, add the balls slowly one by one and simmer it for 3 mins. Keep in medium flame, cover, and let it cook for 10 minutes, opening the lid every 3-4 mins to ensure the syrup doesn't ooze out. After 10 mins, the balls would have roughly doubled in size. 
Take it off the fire. Cool and serve. Or make into rasmalais.