To please Goddess Saraswati, devotees offer various yellow-colored dishes. This time, instead of store-bought sweets, why not offer pure and delicious 'Rajbhog' made at home with your own hands?

Rajbhog is a traditional Bengali sweet that is beautiful to look at, delicious to eat, and golden in color, just like spring. Made with saffron and paneer (cottage cheese), this sweet is very dear to Goddess Saraswati. Let's learn the easy method to make soft and spongy Rajbhog like a professional confectioner.

Ingredients for Rajbhog
To make market-style Rajbhog at home, you will need the following ingredients:

Milk: 1.5 to 2 liters (full cream)

Lemon juice or vinegar: 2-3 tablespoons (for curdling the milk)

Sugar: 2 cups (for the sugar syrup)

Water: 3-4 cups

All-purpose flour or cornstarch: 1 teaspoon (for binding)

Saffron strands: 10-12 (soaked in water)

Saffron: a few strands

Cardamom powder: half a teaspoon

Chopped nuts: almonds and pistachios (for stuffing)

Method for making Rajbhog
Step 1: Prepare the Paneer (Cottage Cheese)
First, boil the milk in a heavy-bottomed pan. Once the milk boils, turn off the heat and let it cool for 2 minutes. Now, gradually add the lemon juice until the milk curdles and the paneer separates from the whey. Strain it through a muslin cloth and pour cold water over it to remove the sourness of the lemon.

Step 2: Knead the Paneer and Add Saffron
Squeeze the cloth to remove all the water from the paneer. Now, transfer the paneer to a large plate and knead it with your palm until it becomes completely smooth. Add the all-purpose flour for binding, cardamom powder, and the soaked saffron. Knead it again thoroughly so that the yellow color is evenly distributed.

 Step 3: Make the Rajbhog Balls
Divide the prepared paneer mixture into equal portions. Take one portion, flatten it slightly, and place a small amount of chopped pistachios and almonds in the center. Close it from all sides and shape it into a ball. Make sure there are no cracks in the balls, they may break while boiling.

Step 4: Prepare the Sugar Syrup and Cook
In a wide pan or kadhai, combine the sugar and water and place it on the stove. Once the water starts boiling and the sugar dissolves, add the saffron water. Now, carefully add the prepared Rajbhog balls one by one to the boiling syrup.

Step 5: Cook Covered
Cover the pan with a lid and let it cook on high heat for about 10-15 minutes. You will notice that the Rajbhog balls have doubled in size. If the syrup starts to thicken in between, you can add a spoonful of hot water at a time.

Step 6: Cool and Serve
Turn off the heat and let the Rajbhog cool in the syrup for 4-5 hours so that they absorb all the sweetness and saffron flavor.

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