Nolen Gur Rasgulla (Cheese Balls cooked in Jaggery Syrup)

Instructions

1. Layer muslin/cheesecloth in a colander and keep it aside to be used later.
2. In a deep saucepan, pour the whole milk and bring it to a boil. Once done, switch off the heat and pour 1 cup water into the pan. It will cool down the milk to some extent. It’s important to cool down the milk a little bit before pouring lemon juice or else, the cheese will not turn soft. Pour the lemon juice into the milk and stir. The will cause the milk to curdle.
3. Allow the milk to cool for a couple of minutes and then, strain the milk through the cheesecloth.
4. Rinse the cheese under running water, as the sour taste needs to go away. This also ensures that the rasgulla turns out soft.
5. Tie the ends of the cheesecloth and squeeze off all the excess water. Hang it for just 30 minutes.
6. After that, take the cheese out of the cloth in a clean plate and start kneading. It would take about 10 minutes of kneading to turn it into soft cheese dough. You will realize that your hand also feels oily, which is a good sign.
7. Once the dough is ready, make tiny dumplings from the dough. As you roll the dumplings to a perfect circular shape, try to avoid cracks in the dumpling. Keep in mind that these balls do grow in size as they cook in the syrup.
8. Next, make the jaggery syrup by mixing water with jaggery and bring it to a boil. The syrup should be runny.
9. Once the syrup is ready, drop the cheese balls into it and do not over crowd as the cheese balls needs space to grow in size. Cover the pan with a tight lid and let it cook for about 15 minutes at medium heat. In the mean time, keep checking the consistency of the syrup. If it gets too thick, add some water and continue cooking the rasgullas by turning it around every few minutes. Once they are almost double in size, they’re ready.
10. Switch off the heat, and leave the rasgulla in the syrup. Once it's cooled serve with the syrup.