Rasgulla / Cheese Balls In Sugar Syrup

Rasgulla is one of my  most favorite and most nostalgic sweet since childhood. The first time I ever tasted it was when my father's friend  bought us some in clay pots from calcutta. It contained some pink, yellow and white colored rasgulla's  in various shapes which fascinated me as a child. Since then I have found this Bengali sweet irresistible. When I asked my daughter what she would like to have for Deepavali, she told me that she would like milk sweet. I gave her a few options and she choose Rasgulla. I must say I kind of pushed for it more than the other sweets because I had panned on making it for some time. In the past I have made rasgulla's but I always ended up with a chewy textured ones. This one tastes very fresh and perfect. It is such a simple sweet to make anytime once you have the fresh paneer. The portion below made about 30 rasgulla's. My entry to   Sharmi's CFK event hosted by Suma of Veggie Platter.

Gadgets:

Pressure Cooker
Milk Cooker or Heavy Bottom Pan
Bowl
Colander
Cotton Towel
Measuring Cups and Spoons
Food Processor

Ingredients:

Organic Whole Milk - 4 cups
Vinegar - 1/4 cup
Water - 1/4 cup
Sugar - 1 1/2cups
Water for Syrup - 2 cups
Cardamon - 2 pods
Rose Water - 1 tsp
All Purpose Flour - 2 tsp
Rava/ Cream of Wheat - 1 tsp
Ricotta Cheese (slightly wet) - 1/2 cup ( if you cannot find ricotta cheese use paneer)

Preparation:

1. Boil the milk in a milk cooker. Mix 1/2 cup water and Vinegar and pour into the boiled milk and allow to curdle and become paneer.

2. Drain the liquid and wash the paneer in cold water well.

3. Place a cotton cloth inside the colander and drain the paneer well. Make a bundle with the cloth and squeeze out the extra water. Place it on the colander and keep something heavy on this bundle to get the excess water.

4. Add water and sugar to the pressure cooker and allow the sugar to melt.

5. Once the paneer is removed, place the ricotta cheese on the cotton cloth and make a bundle with it. Remove excess water from it and add it to the paneer mixture. This is a very important step to pay attention to.

6. Blend the food processor with paneer, ricotta cheese, rava and all purpose flour. The end product could be a  semi creamy mixture. Remove and transfer into a bowl.

7. Make balls and start adding to the the sugar syrup. The cheese balls will expand so do not over pack them. Cover and pressure cook on medium to a whistle.

8. Once the pressure releases open the pressure cooker and add rose water and cardamon powder. Allow to cool, refrigerate and serve them cold.