Angoor Rabdi – Grape Sized Paneer balls dunked in creamy thick milk! This melt-in-your-mouth homemade Bengali sweet is perfectly pillowy-soft, fluffy, delicious, and indulgent!
If you are browsing for an enticing Indian sweet recipe, then you’ve come to the right place! This Angoori rabdi is your go-to dessert recipe for any special or festive occasion.
Here is an easy step-by-step recipe with a video to make an exotic Indian sweet with all the possible tips and tricks to get it right! Once you crack the steps to make this dessert soft at home, there is no looking back!
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What is Angoori Rabdi?
Soft, spongy, and tiny round cottage cheese dumplings dunked in saffron flavored milk and garnished with dry fruit slivers and rose petals, this Angoori Rabdi, a Bengali delicacy is everything you need for your upcoming get-together or festivals.
This dessert is a combination of 2 words with a different meanings.
Angoor – This dessert gets its name because of its size. Since they are small, just like “Angoor” (grapes), they are called Angoori (‘angoor’ means ‘grapes’ in Hindi).
Rabdi – Rabdi or rabri is made by boiling milk on low heat until it becomes thick and creamy. Sugar and nuts are added to make it rich. This is a bit time-consuming dessert, as it requires frequent stirring and some time to get the right consistency, but the result is very delicious. It is worth the effort you put into this.
There are some shortcuts to make the rabdi if you don’t have time and don’t want to make it from scratch. I will share them in the FAQs sections so don’t forget to check them out.
Together, it creates a luscious treat with an incredible melt-in-your-mouth texture that will only leave you craving for more!!
This dessert is so yummy that anyone who tries one will come back for seconds and maybe thirds or fourths. They’re so addicting.
Though this dessert sound similar to Rasmalai, it is a little bit different. Rasmalai is usually served with slightly thickened milk, while angoor rabdi contains significantly thicker and creamier milk.
I will walk you through foolproof, step-by-step instructions and photos on how to make this recipe a surprise for your family in no time.
Make it for your forthcoming get-together, and just like my other crowd-pleasing party desserts, like Thandai tres leches, Rose falooda cake, Gulab Jamun Cheesecake, and Butterscotch burfi, these angoori Rabdi will also be a huge hit!
Just freeze it for 3 to 4 hours before you relish a delicious bowl of this dessert because it tastes lip-smacking good when eaten chilled.
Ingredients required
- Milk – You will need milk for making balls as well as for making rabdi. Make sure you use full-fat milk.
- Nuts – Pistachio and almond are used. You can use any nuts of your choice.
- Sugar – to sweeten the rabdi and for making the syrup.
- Saffron and cardamom powder – for the flavors.
- Vinegar – To curdle the milk for angoor. You can use lemon juice or citric acid instead of vinegar.
Step by step process
Step 1 – Rabdi
- Boil milk into the heavy bottom pan for about 1 hour and 10 minutes or until the milk reduces to half over medium heat. The time will depend upon the type of pan used, the flame in which you are cooking, etc. (image 1)
- Make sure to frequently stir the milk as the milk burns easily at the bottom of the pan.
- While the milk is reducing, take saffron in a bowl add 1 tablespoon of hot milk, mix and set it aside
- Once the milk is reduced, add the sugar, cardamom powder, almonds, pistachios, and saffron mix. (image 2 to 4)
- Mix them well and let it cook for another 5 minutes. (image 5) Switch off the flame.
- Note – By now milk should be half and thick yet pourable. Keep it aside. (check the video for a better consistency idea)
- Keep in mind that the rabri will thicken more as it cools at room temperature and even in the refrigerator. So keep the consistency slightly thin if you want to refrigerate it and serve cold or chilled.
Step 2 – Angoor (paneer balls)
- Take the milk into a heavy bottom pot, bring the milk to a boil. Switch off the flame; keep the pot aside for about 5 minutes. (image 6)
- Now add vinegar or lemon juice a tablespoon at a time and stir continuously. Once you see the green color whey separate COMPLETELY, stop adding vinegar/lemon juice. (image 7 and 8)
- Line a strainer with a muslin cloth or cheesecloth over a big bowl, drain the curdled milk and collect the whey. (image 9)
- Gather all the edges of the cloth, squeeze out the water as much as possible.
- Make a knot and hang it over the kitchen sink for about 10 minutes. DO NOT let the chenna dry completely. Make sure chenna is crumbly and slightly dry and yet a little moist.
- Transfer the chenna to a plate. Crumble it a bit. (image 10)
- Now, using the heel of your palm, knead the dough for about 7 to 8 minutes or until you feel the chenna starting to ooze out some fat and it turns into a smooth, soft, and not sticky dough. (image 11)
- Now divide the dough into 55 parts. Gently, roll out each part in a smooth crack-free ball between your palms. Prepare all the angoor (balls) the same way. Cover it and keep it aside.
- Take a big wide pot. Add sugar and water. (image 12 and 13)
- Boil water very well.
- Drop the angoor in boiling sugar syrup. Cover with the lid and let it cook over high flame for about 10 minutes. (image 14)
- After 10 minutes, reduce the flame to medium to low and cook them for 5 more minutes. By now the balls are doubled in size. (image 15 and 16)
- Set the pot aside for 30 minutes and let it cool down completely. Do not open the pot during the period.
Step – 3 Assemble
- Gently squeeze out the syrup from the angoors with your clean hands.
- Transfer the rasgulla into prepared warm rabdi. (image 17)
- Refrigerate the angoor rabdi for about 5 to 6 hours or until you are ready to serve.
- Garnish it with rose petals, silver varq, and some more slivered nuts.
Tips for Kesar Rabdi
- Use full-fat milk ONLY to make the rabdi, low fat milk will not give good results.
- Never use a thin pan while preparing rabdi, as there are high chances for milk to burn. Always use a heavy bottom pan.
- Make sure to frequently stir the milk as the milk burns easily in the bottom of the pan.
- Don’t use readymade cardamom powder. Use freshly made cardamom powder.
- Use your choice of nuts.
- I have made Kesar (Saffron) rabdi. To make a plain version, skip the saffron.
- Adjust sugar in rabdi according to your liking.
Tips for Angoor (Rasgulla)
- DONT add vinegar or lemon juice to boiling milk. Else it will result in chewier and hard rasgullas.
- DONT let the curdled milk sit in whey for a long time. Drain it as soon as possible.
- Use the whey for kneading the dough for Roti, to make soup, dal, or curries.
- Be careful while squeezing the water. The water will be very hot.
- Chenna shouldn’t be pasty. if it’s pasty, it needs to be drained for some more time. Please refer video for better texture ideas.
- Kneading the dough is THE MOST critical step. You have to knead it until you get a soft, smooth, non-sticky dough.
- Sign of perfectly kneaded dough – “You will notice some fat begins to ooze out”.
- Knead the paneer or chenna properly till it forms the dough and no granules are seen. At the same time, do not over-knead as chenna will start releasing oil, resulting in hard angur.
- To make the kneading process a little easy, transfer the chenna to the blender and pulse it for 15 to 20 seconds, 4 to 5 times, or until it forms a dough ball.
- While making paneer balls, make sure you do not have any cracks in them, otherwise, the paneer balls would dissolve in sugar syrup while boiling.
- While making balls, if you notice cracks, knead the chenna for a few more minutes. If you find the chenna dough is very dry, sprinkle a few drops of milk and knead it some more time.
- Make sure to have enough room in your pan for paneer balls to swell while boiling.
- The water MUST be rolling boil when you add rasgullas (angoor).
- Don’t overcrowd the angoor. Or else It will lose its shape. You can cook the balls in batches.
- Don’t open the lid in between. Cook them undisturbed.
- The basic rule is DONT give temperature attacks when rasgullas are cooking. The sudden temperature change will result in flattened and hard rasgullas.
- I make rasgullas in my pressure cooker too. To make it in a pressure cooker, boil the water and sugar in a pressure cooker. Add paneer balls to it. Boil them for 2 whistles over medium to high heat, it will take about 5 to 6 minutes. Slow down the flame to low to medium heat and let it cook for another 5 minutes (This is a very important step). Switch off the flame and let the pressure cooker cools down completely. Open it after 30 minutes.
- To make rasgulla in the instant pot, boil water and sugar on saute mode. Add paneer balls, cover the instant pot, vent valve on sealing position, press the manual button, and set the timer for 5 minutes. Once 5 minutes are over, let the pressure release naturally. and rasgulla is done. Pro-tip – Fill IP pot halfway only, not more than that.
- To check if the rasgullas are done or not, take cold water in a glass or bowl, drop the one rasgulla in that water. If sinks, it is ready. And if it floats that means it is undercooked and it needs to be cooked further.
- The rabdi should be warm when you add the angoor balls to it. So the balls should cool down to room temperature but the milk should be warm.
- Squeeze the sugar syrup from paneer balls well else it will not absorb rabdi.
Quick FAQs
It’s hard to describe the rich, thick, creamy, and sweet taste on the palate when eating a spoonful of angoor rabdi.
Light, spongy, spiced with cardamon and aromatic saffron; this dessert is so irresistible, that I am sure you won’t be able to stop soon.
This dessert tastes best when served fridge cold and so it is a perfect accompaniment with puri.
Sweets in which milk as such is used like kheer, Ras malai, doodhpak, rabri, etc. have milk in them, can be kept in the fridge for up to 5 days. After that, the sweet starts smelling and tasting bad.
You can freeze them too for about a month in an air-tight container. Thaw it overnight in the refrigerator or let it come to room temperature on its own and serve it the next day without reheating, as this dessert tastes delicious when cold. Just mix it properly using a spoon, before serving.
Yes, you can eat this Indian sweet during vrat like Navratri. I have not added maida or corn starch to make this recipe so this can be eaten fast.
Rasmalai and Angoor rabdi look similar and the process is also quite similar. But the taste and texture are different.
The first difference is its shape. In rasmalai, the rasgullas are made in flat disc shape while in Angoor rabdi, the angoors are round small balls like marble.
In Rasmalai, the ras is thinner than the rabdi. And rasmalai is spiced with fennel seeds. Angoor rabdi doesn’t contain rose water while in rasmalai we add rose water.
Depending on the time you have on hand, you can choose any method.
I prefer it being made the authentic way, the taste is just amazing. But if you do not have much time on hand, then these easy methods help.
From rasgulla –
You can make your work easier by using store-bought small rasgullas.
Just squeeze out all the sugar syrup from the rasgulla and dunk them all in the ras (Flavored milk) for an hour or so. And it’s ready!
Rabdi from milk powder.
If you don’t have time or don’t feel like cooking the rabdi from scratch, you can use this rabdi mix too. It’s a really easy way of making this recipe plus it gets done in just 10 minutes.
Another way to make the process easy is – You can also make the rasgulla (angoor) a day or two before and then later make the rabdi and then dunk the rasgulla.
Dividing work this way makes it easy.
NO!
I do not recommend making this from a readymade paneer. You need freshly made soft chenna(Paneer) to make angoor rabdi.
The store-bought paneer is hard and it will not work.
Making chenna at home is easy. Believe me; it hardly requires effort and time. You just need to keep some points in mind while making chenna. I am sharing those in the notes sections.
There could be a few reasons –
Hard Chenna
over kneading of the dough
boiling/cooking it for a longer time.
So make sure you do everything in the right manner and at the right time.
If there is too much whey(green water) in your chena, it tends to break during boiling.
Therefore make sure that you drain the whey properly before making the chena balls. If your chena is sticky, hang it for a little longer. You need non-sticky and grainy chena for the perfect angoor balls.
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Angoor Rabdi
Ingredients
For Angoor (Paneer balls)
- 1.5 liter Whole milk 6 cups
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 liter water
- 3 tablespoon vinegar
For Rabdi
- 2 liter whole milk
- ¾ cup sugar
- ¼ cup slivered almonds
- ¼ cup chopped pistachios
- ⅛ teaspoon Saffron Kesar
- ¼ teaspoon Cardamom powder
Rose petal, and silver varq for garnishing
Instructions
Step 1 – Rabdi
- Boil milk into the heavy bottom pan for about 1 hour and 10 minutes or until the milk reduces to half over medium heat. The time will depend upon the type of pan used, the flame in which you are cooking, etc.
- Make sure to frequently stir the milk as the milk burns easily at the bottom of the pan.
- While the milk is reducing, take saffron in a bowl add 1 tablespoon of hot milk, mix and set it aside
- Once the milk is reduced, add the sugar, cardamom powder, almonds, pistachios, and saffron mix.
- Mix them well and let it cook for another 5 minutes.Note – By now milk should be half (around 1 liter) and thick yet pourable. Keep it aside. (check the video for a better consistency idea)
- Keep in mind that the rabri will thicken more as it cools at room temperature and even in the refrigerator. So keep the consistency slightly thin if you want to refrigerate it and serve cold or chilled.
Step 2 – Angoor (paneer balls)
- Take the milk into a heavy bottom pot, bring the milk to a boil. Switch off the flame; keep the pot aside for about 5 minutes.
- Now add vinegar or lemon juice a tablespoon at a time and stir continuously. Once you see the green color whey separate COMPLETELY, stop adding vinegar/lemon juice.
- Line a strainer with a muslin cloth or cheesecloth over a big bowl, drain the curdled milk and collect the whey.
- Gather all the edges of the cloth, squeeze out the water as much as possible.
- Make a knot and hang it over the kitchen sink for about 10 minutes. DO NOT let the chenna dry completely. Make sure chenna is crumbly and slightly dry and yet a little moist.
- Transfer the chenna to a plate. Crumble it a bit.
- Now, using the heel of your palm, knead the dough for about 7 to 8 minutes or until you feel the chenna starting to ooze out some fat and it turns into a smooth, soft, and not sticky dough.
- Now divide the dough into 55 parts. Gently, roll out each part in a smooth crack-free ball between your palms. Prepare all the angoor (balls) the same way. Cover it and keep it aside.
- Take a big wide pot. Add sugar and water.
- Boil water very well.
- Drop the angoor in boiling sugar syrup. Cover with the lid and let it cook over high flame for about 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, reduce the flame to medium to low and cook them for 5 more minutes. By now the balls are doubled in size.
- Set the pot aside for 30 minutes and let it cool down completely. Do not open the pot during the period.
Step – 3 Assemble
- Gently squeeze out the syrup from the angoors with your clean hands.
- Transfer the rasgulla into prepared warm rabdi.
- Refrigerate the angoor rabdi for about 5 to 6 hours or until you are ready to serve.
- Garnish it with rose petals, silver varq, and some more slivered nuts.
Video
Notes
- Use full-fat milk ONLY to make the rabdi, low fat milk will not give good results.
- Never use a thin pan while preparing rabdi, as there are high chances for milk to burn. Always use a heavy bottom pan.
- Make sure to frequently stir the milk as the milk burns easily in the bottom of the pan.
- Don’t use readymade cardamom powder. Use freshly made cardamom powder.
- Use your choice of nuts.
- I have made Kesar (Saffron) rabdi. To make a plain version, skip the saffron.
- Adjust sugar in rabdi according to your liking.
- DONT add vinegar or lemon juice to boiling milk. Else it will result in chewier and hard rasgullas.
- DONT let the curdled milk sit in whey for a long time. Drain it as soon as possible.
- Use the whey for kneading the dough for Roti, to make soup, dal, or curries.
- Be careful while squeezing the water. The water will be very hot.
- Chenna shouldn’t be pasty. if it’s pasty, it needs to be drained for some more time. Please refer video for better texture ideas.
- Kneading the dough is THE MOST critical step. You have to knead it until you get a soft, smooth, non-sticky dough.
- Sign of perfectly kneaded dough – “You will notice some fat begins to ooze out”.
- Knead the paneer or chenna properly till it forms the dough and no granules are seen. At the same time, do not over-knead as chenna will start releasing oil, resulting in hard angur.
- To make the kneading process a little easy, transfer the chenna to the blender and pulse it for 15 to 20 seconds, 4 to 5 times, or until it forms a dough ball.
- While making paneer balls, make sure you do not have any cracks in them, otherwise, the paneer balls would dissolve in sugar syrup while boiling.
- While making balls, if you notice cracks, knead the chenna for a few more minutes. If you find the chenna dough is very dry, sprinkle a few drops of milk and knead it some more time.
- Make sure to have enough room in your pan for paneer balls to swell while boiling.
- The water MUST be rolling boil when you add rasgullas (angoor).
- Don’t overcrowd the angoor. Or else It will lose its shape. You can cook the balls in batches.
- Don’t open the lid in between. Cook them undisturbed.
- The basic rule is DONT give temperature attacks when rasgullas are cooking. The sudden temperature change will result in flattened and hard rasgullas.
- I make rasgullas in my pressure cooker too. To make it in a pressure cooker, boil the water and sugar in a pressure cooker. Add paneer balls to it. Boil them for 2 whistles over medium to high heat, it will take about 5 to 6 minutes. Slow down the flame to low to medium heat and let it cook for another 5 minutes (This is a very important step). Switch off the flame and let the pressure cooker cools down completely. Open it after 30 minutes.
- To make rasgulla in the instant pot, boil water and sugar on saute mode. Add paneer balls, cover the instant pot, vent valve on sealing position, press the manual button, and set the timer for 5 minutes. Once 5 minutes are over, let the pressure release naturally. and rasgulla is done. Pro-tip – Fill IP pot halfway only, not more than that.
- To check if the rasgullas are done or not, take cold water in a glass or bowl, drop the one rasgulla in that water. If sinks, it is ready. And if it floats that means it is undercooked and it needs to be cooked further.
- The rabdi should be warm when you add the angoor balls to it. So the balls should cool down to room temperature but the milk should be warm.
- Squeeze the sugar syrup from paneer balls well else it will not absorb rabdi.
Nutrition
Warm regards,
Dhwani.
I made it this weekend, and was soo yummy. We all loved it!
Thanks
Dharmishtha
So glad to know. Thanks.