Rasgulla ~ Spongy Cottage Cheese Dumplings In Sugar Syrup

by Shaheen Ali
Rasgulla

Rasgulla

While reading across on Wikipedia i came to know something very interesting about Rasgulla …

Rasgulla is a syrupy dessert popular in the Indian subcontinent and regions with South Asian diaspora. It is made from ball shaped dumplings of chhena (an Indian cottage cheese) and semolina dough, cooked in light syrup made of sugar. This is done until the syrup permeates the dumplings. The dish originated in East India; in the past the present-day states of Odisha and West Bengal have variously claimed to be the birthplace of the dish. In 2016, the committee formed to settle the issue of rasgulla’s origin confirmed that the sweet has its roots in Bengal.

According to the researchers of Puri Sri Jagannath Temple, it had an existence in Odisha even around 1500 A.D and the claim is in reference to the and Madala Panji, a very old chronicle of Sri Jagannath temple of puri. Also the researchers have given evidence of use of word Rasgulla in the old Odia text Dandi Ramayan, an Odia adaption of Valmiki’s Ramayan.Officials of the West Bengal government stated that they only wished for a Geographical Indications (GI) tag only for the local variety of Rasgulla known as ‘Banglar Rasogolla’ (Bengal’s Rasagolla), stating that “There is no conflict with Odisha. What we want is to protect the identity of our Rasogolla. Their product is different from ours both in colour, texture, taste, juice content and method of manufacturing.”


Isn’t this amazing! I was amused after knowing about this dessert. Bengali Rasgulla has it’s own significance is is now a popular sweet recognized all over the world. Made in almost every part of the country, Rasgulla happens to be one of the most loved Bengali sweet in India. To prepare rasgulla, the cheese (chhena) mixture is formed into small balls. These balls are then simmered in a sugar syrup. It can also be prepared using a pressure cooker or an oven. While serving add a drop of rose water (only organic and edible type of rose water, not rose perfume or synthetic flavors) to enhance the flavor and taste.

Though this humble dessert now comes in a variety of flavor and color, but the basic remains the same. The traditional Odisha rasgullas are softer and cream in color than Bengali rasgullas. The Bengali rasgullas are whitish and rubbery. The Pahal Rasagola from the Pahala area (located between the cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack) is also popular in India . Today i tried making the most amazing and spongy Bengali Rasgulla that simply dissolves and vanishes inside the mouth in no time.
Rasgulla

Rasgulla

Rasgulla

Print Recipe
Rasgulla ~ Bengali Cottage Cheese Dumplings In Sugar Syrup
Rasgulla
Course dessert
Cuisine bengali
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Servings
piece
Ingredients
Rasgulla Balls :
For Syrup :
Course dessert
Cuisine bengali
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Servings
piece
Ingredients
Rasgulla Balls :
For Syrup :
Rasgulla
Instructions
  1. Boil milk in a thick deep vessel. As soon as the milk comes to boil, add one lemon's juice to split the milk. You can use two lemons also depending on the speed of the milk splitting.
  2. Once the chenna is separated from the water take it out and strain it into a muslin cloth and tie it for 10-15 mins so that the excess water gets drained out.
  3. After 15 min open the cloth and take out the chenna/paneer in a flat base tray. Start mashing it evenly with the bottom part of your palm to make it smooth. Be gentle while mashing it. Make sure no chenna granules should be left.
  4. Now pinch a lemon sized ball and roll it carefully to make a smooth ball. There should not be any cracks in them, else they will open up while boiling.
  5. In a deep and wide vessel/pan add in 8 cups of water and bring it to a boil. Drop the balls in the boiling water and cover for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, take the lid off and cook for another 15 minutes. Keep the water boiling, hence adjust the flame accordingly.
  6. Meanwhile make the sugar syrup, for this take a pan with 4 cups of water and 2 cups of sugar.
  7. Add cardamom and few strands of saffron and boil till sugar dissolves.
  8. Cook for 2 more mins and turn off the gas.
  9. Once the Rasgullas has cooked for 20 minutes in total, take them out from water and drop in the syrup and allow it to cool and refrigerate it till chilled.
  10. Serve the spongy Bengali Rasgullas chilled.
Recipe Notes

Rasgulla

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