Rasgulla is an Indian dessert made of Chhena ( Cottage Cheese- Fresh Paneer), Semolina, and cooked in light Sugar Syrup. It is also known as Rosogulla, Rasgola & Rosogola.
Rasgulla - Amazing History
The earliest evidence of Rosogola sweet found in Dandi Ramayana (Epic poem) composed in the 15th century by Odia poet Balarama Dasa. He mentioned Rasagola is offered to Maa Laxmi by Lord Jagannath in a ritual called Niladri Bije (Ceremony of Lord Jagannath’s returns with his sibling from Rath to the main temple. One of the interesting rituals of Jagannath Rath Yatra).
Rosogola - Interesting facts
This dish is from East India. State Odisha and West Bengal both claimed to be their birth Place. Odisha Government formed a committee in the year 2015 that asserted the sweet is originated in Odisha and offered as prasad at the Puri – Jagannath Temple. While the Geographical Indication tag for a Variant called “Banglar Rasgulla”, applied by the Bengal government in the year 2016 to clarify that the Bengal & Odisha variants were different in Colour, Texture, Taste, Juice content, and method of making.
The sweet battle on the origin of this delicious delight will never end. Now, this sweet is reaching every corner of the globe. So, enjoy the delicious sweets & it is easy to make in your kitchen too.
Rasgulla Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 litre Milk (Cow Milk)
- 2 tbsp Fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp Semolina (Rava/Sooji)
- 1 cup Sugar
- 5 cups Water
- 3-4 pod Cardamoms
- 1 tsp Rose water (Optional)
Instructions
- Take a liter of cow milk in a pan & bring it to boil.
- Keep stirring the milk to avoid froth forming on the top.
- Once milk reaches the boiling point, reduce the flame to the lowest.
- Add fresh lemon juice & stir it well.
- Once the milk curdles, switch off the flame & stir it well. The milk should curdle completely.
- Drain the curdle milk over muslin cloth. Use the whey to need the dough. Left over water (Whey) is very healthy & nutritious.
- Rinse the curdle milk with fresh water to remove lemon sourness.
- Hang the fresh paneer (Chenna) for 30-40 minutes to remove the water completely. Don’t over squeeze the fresh paneer otherwise the moisture will be lost.
- Make sure the paneer is drained thoroughly & should not have much of moisture nor too dry.
Make Rasgulla Ball
- Mix Semolina & Fresh cottage cheese (Paneer/Chenna) & rub gently to smooth texture & remove the grains of paneer.
- Now prepare small balls of mixture & cover it with wet muslin cloth. It prevents it from drying. Make sure no cracks should be there on ball.
Making of Rasgulla
- In a large pan, take 1 cup of sugar, 5 cups of water & 3-4 cardamom pod. Stir & dissolve the sugar completely.
- Boil it for 5 minutes. Make sure the sugar has to be light & no string. If syrup is getting thick – add dash of water to maintain the consistency.
- Add paneer balls one by one in boiling sugar water. Keep the flame on high.
- Cover & boil it for 10 minutes or until the paneer ball double in size.
- Now remove the ball from syrup & dip it into ice cold water. It prevents from shrinking in ball size.
- Once cooled completely, remove the ball from ice water & put it back in same sugar syrup.
- Keep it in freeze for sometime& enjoy this lovely, spongy Indian dessert with friends & family.
Notes
Is Rasgulla a healthy option?
The answer to this question is ‘No’ because of the high sugar content. Not recommended to diabetic & weight loss patients. As this dessert is made of milk, it is a good source of protein & carbohydrates. Best desserts for kids as it helps to strengthen the bones & teeth & also it is light & easily digestible.Belief related to Pahala - Rasgulla village
Belief relating to Pahala – a village situated on the outskirts of Bhubaneshwar had a large number of cows. The village would produce excess milk & the villager would throw the milk when it became spoilt. The priest of Jagannath temple once saw that & taught them the art of making rasagulla. Pahala thus became the largest producer of Chenna-based sweets.
Every region & place in India had one or more food stories. We at Indian Food Therapy trying to bring all the regional food stories & food history. So, we should know the food history & how our culture influenced the food we eat today.
