Rajbhog Recipe - Kesar Rasgulla

Rajbhog is a popular and traditional Bengali Sweet. Here, crushed dry fruit stuffed paneer cheese balls are cooked in a saffron cardamom flavored sugar syrup.

Recipe Source Link:https://www.mygingergarlickitchen.com/rajbhog-recipe/

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RECIPE INGREDIENTS

» For Chena/fresh Paneer (Cottage Cheese):

• 1 liter full cream milk
• 1-2 tablespoons vinegar/lemon juice or ½ teaspoon citric/tartaric acid

» For Sugar Syrup:

• 2 cups sugar (shakkar)
• 6 cups water
• 1/4 teaspoon saffron threads (kesar)
• 1/4 green cardamom powder (elaichi powder)

» For Stuffing:

• 2-3 tablespoons blanched and chopped or coarsely ponded mixed dry fruit (almond, cashew and pistachios)
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed green cardamom seeds, optional
• Few saffron strands (kesar), optional

» Other Ingredients For Paneer Dough:

• 1 tablespoon arrowroot powder or fine semolina
• 1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder (elaichi powder)
• 1/4 teaspoon yellow food color

RECIPE INSTRUCTIONS

» How To Make Chena/paneer:

1. For making chena, add 1-liter full cream milk to the pan, and let it come to a boil.
2. Once the milk starts boiling, turn the heat to low and start adding the acidic agent (lemon juice, vinegar, citric acid) little by little.
3. Keep stirring until the milk is curdled and the whey (light green water) is separated from the milk completely. Turn off the heat.
4. Now place a muslin cloth or a cotton cloth over a colander.
5. To drain, pour the coagulated milk over the cloth and rinse well with the ice-cold water to discard the whey.
6. Gather up the cloth from all the sides.
7. Squeeze it well to take out the excess water. Hang it on tap for about 30 minutes.
8. After 30 minutes, remvoe chena from the cloth. Chena is now ready for use. Keep it aside.

» How To Make Stuffing For Rajbhog:

1. Add blanched and chopped/crushed dry fruits to a mixing bowl. Now add cardamom powder and saffron strands to it, and mix everything well. Stuffing is ready.

» How To Make Paneer Dough For Rajbhog:

1. Take out chena on a big plate and start kneading it until smooth. This would take about 5 minutes.
2. The best way to knead the chenna dough is by rubbing it with the end of your palm.
3. Now, add arrowroot/semolina to chena along with food color, cardamom powder, and mix well to combine.
4. Keep kneading until the dough is ready.
5. The dough is ready when chenna holds a dough shape and it doesn?t fall apart when you break it. If you have reached this stage then chena dough for making rajbhog is ready. You can now shape it into rajbhog balls.

» How To Make Chena Balls For Rajbhog:

1. Divide paneer/chena dough into 12-14 small equal pieces. Take one chena portion and roll it.
2. Flatten it into a circle using your fingers.
3. Add 1 teaspoon of dry fruit stuffing to the center.
4. Pull up the chena circle from all sides and seal the edges to hide the stuffing entirely.
5. Roll it again into a smooth crack-free ball.
6. Place it on a plate and similarly assemble all chena balls for rajbhog.

» How To Make Sugar Syrup:

1. Add 2 cups of sugar and 6 cups of water to a broad and deep saucepan.
2. Stir well and let the sugar melt completely.
3. Add saffron strands and cardamom powder to it.
4. Stir well again and let it boil on high heat for 7-8 minutes. The syrup is ready.

» How To Cook Rajbhog:

1. Drop rajbhog paneer balls one by one into the boiling sugar syrup.
2. Cover and cook rajbhog for 15 minutes on high heat. Balls would turn double in size. Turn the heat to medium and keep boiling for 3-5 minutes. (At this stage, you can add 3-4 tbsp of water, if the syrup is thickened too much).
3. Turn off the heat and let them cool completely at room temperature.

» How To Serve Rajbhog:

1. After cooling, refrigerate rajbhog along with sugar syrup for 3-4 hours. Rajbhog is ready. Serve it chilled as an after-meal dessert.

RECIPE NOTES

1. Rajbhog stays fresh for up to 1 week when kept covered in the refrigerator.
2. I have added arrowroot to give slight stiffness to Rajbhog, but if you don?t find arrowroot you can simply replace it with semolina or corn starch. Arrowroot and semolina work as a binding agent and it is easier to shape them into balls after stuffing.