Method

1. In a non-stick or a heavy-bottomed pan, add the milk and cook on medium heat till it’s reduced to half, while stirring in between to avoid sticking or burning at the bottom.
2. When the milk is reduced to half, add sugar, and let it simmer for 5 minutes.
3. Soak Bayara saffron in a tablespoon of warm milk and set aside and slice the cashews and pistachios.
4. Switch off the flame and add Bayara saffron and cardamom powder and mix.
5. Set aside about ¾ cup of the milk to use it to soak the Rasgullas.
6. Let the milk cool down completely and then chill in the refrigerator.
7. In a pot over medium heat, bring milk to a boil in a pot.
8. If using non-homogenized milk (milk from milkman), keep the pot aside and wait for 5 minutes.
9. If using homogenized milk from packets or cartons, reduce the heat to low.
10. Add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and stir until the milk curdles.
11. If it doesn't curdle, add more lemon juice, and stir.
12. When you see the milk curdled completely, switch off the stove and rest for 2 minutes.
13. Pour cold water in the pot to stop the Chenna from cooking further and to keep it soft.
14. Place a strainer over a large bowl, line it with a thin cloth, and drain the curdled milk.
15. Rinse the Chenna under running water to remove the acidic flavor.
16. Tie the cloth and squeeze it well to remove the excess whey as much as possible.
17. Hang it for 1 to 1 ½ hours. Chenna should not have any excess whey and must be crumbly.
18. In a pot over medium heat, add sugar, cardamom, and water. Make sure you use a wide pot good enough to hold all the Rasgullas. The balls will cook and almost double in size only if there is enough space in the pot.
19. Stir to dissolve the sugar, bring it to a boil, and then turn off the heat.
20. Knead the Chenna well for 3 to 5 minutes to make a smooth dough. Do not over knead to the extent that the Chenna turns greasy or soggy.
21. When you see the mixture turns uniformly smooth and is not grainy anymore, stop kneading.
22. Take small portions of the dough and roll to tiny balls. They should be tiny and not big as they expand in size after boiling. The recipe was enough for 26 balls.
23. Add rose water to the sugar syrup (optional).
24. Bring the sugar syrup to a rolling boil on a medium flame.
25. Remove the cardamom pods and then add the balls one after the other gently and then cover the pot immediately with a lid.
26. The syrup must be boiling steadily at a constant heat.
27. Cook on a medium flame for 9 to 10 minutes. The syrup must be bubbling and boiling steadily throughout this time. Adjust the heat as needed depending on the kind of pot and stove used.
28. After 5 minutes, gently stir the sugar syrup once with a skewer without touching the Rasgullas and cover immediately. This ensures even cooking and puffing. During the cooking time, if you feel the heat is too much, reduce the heat slightly, but ensure it is still bubbling and boiling.
29. After 10 minutes, remove the pot immediately from the stove to prevent Rasgullas from cooking further.
30. Keep the lid closed always; otherwise, they will shrink or fall flat. Do not open at least for 20 minutes.
31. They will double in size and sink in the syrup when cooked completely.
32. Squeeze out the sugar syrup from the Rasgullas and add them in the ¾ cup of milk we set aside earlier.
33. Keep the Rasgullas in the fridge to chill.
34. When you want to serve, add about 4-5 tablespoons of Rabdi in a shallow clay pot or in a small, wide, and shallow plate.
35. Arrange 5 Angoori Rasgullas over the Rabdi (white Rasgullas give a nice contrast to Kesariya Rabdi).
36. Garnish with sliced pistachios, cashews, dried rose petals, or silver foil and serve.