Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Rosogolla...



Does Rosogolla or Rasgulla need any introduction? I don't think so. It is a signature Bengali confectionery. Whenever you talk about Bengali sweets, Rosogolla is the first thing that comes to your mind.

Rosogolla are homemade cheese balls cooked and soaked in sugar syrup. Rosogolla originated in Orissa,  a state/province of  the erstwhile Bengal and was called Khira Mohona. It was introduced to Bengal by a sweet seller. Eventually a confectioner from Kolkata named Nabinchandra Das adapted and modified it to the  modern rosogolla recipe as we know it. Rosogolla  gradually gained its popularity through out India. K.C. Das, son of Nabinchandra Das made it available world wide by first  making them available in cans.

Several other famous sweets of Bengal have  been derived from rosogolla, like rosomalai (cheese balls in fragrant milk), komolabhog (orange flavored rosogolla), baked rosogolla etc.

Today being the first day of Bengali new year, I made some Rosogolla at home.  Though you need very few ingredients to make rosogolla, one need to be very precise while making them. The steps involved are simple but you need to practice few times before you  can achieve that perfect texture and taste.


Things needed to make rosogolla:

  • Whole milk: 1/2 gallon(1.89 ltr)
  • Lime juice: of a whole large lime
  • Semolina/sooji: 1 tbsp
  • Sugar: 2 cups + 2 tsp
  • Nakuldana: 20 (optional) (see pic for reference)
  • Water: 6 cups
  • Green cardamom(lightly crushed): 7-8

Steps of making rosogolla:


1. Boil the milk in a large pan, keep stirring so the milk does not scorch to bottom.


2. As the milk rolls to boil, remove from heat and gradually add the lime juice and keep stirring. The milk will start to curdle, the whey will separate.


3. Strain the curdled milk with the help of cheese cloth.


4. Collect the cheese in the cheese cloth and run under clod water. This will ensure to wash out any smell of lime juice in the cheese as well as cooling down the cheese and making it softer.


5. Tie up the cheese cloth and squeeze out excess water, hang the cheese cloth bag to drain out excess water. 

6. Take the cheese in a flat plate, add sooji (semolina), 2 teaspoon sugar and mix well for 2 min or till smooth.



7. Knead the dough with your back of your hand for 4-5 min or till no lumps.


8. Divide the dough into four balls.


9. From each ball make 5 balls. Put one nakuldada (sugar ball) in each ball. Make a perfect round ball. Nokuldanas(Sweet makhana) are small sugar candies commonly used as an offering during Pujas. You can get them easily in any Indian store.


Nokuldana



10. Repeat the step for other cheese balls, so at the end you will finish with 20 cheese balls.


11. In a wide mouthed and dip pan (with cover) add 6 cups of water and 2 cups of sugar, boil the syrup. Add crushed green cardamom.



12. Add the cheese balls, cover the pan. Keep an eye so the syrup does not spill. Cook for 40-45 min.


13. In between add little warm water to the syrup, because as the syrup is boiling for long it may thicken and make the rosogolla hard, to keep the consistency of the syrup same, add little hot water. I did add hot water twice (a ladle full) while cooking the rosogolla.


14. As the cheese balls are cooking  turn the cheese balls very gently. The cheese balls will puff and will be double the size, make sure you are using a large enough pan to accommodate all the cheese balls. After 40-45 min switch off the heat, remove pan from heat and let it cool down to room temperature. As the rosogollas will cool down they will shrink in size. Rosogolla will taste best the next day. You can cool it inside a refrigerator and serve cold or at room temperature.





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11 comments:

  1. After misti doi here comes rosogollas ahhhhaaaa...can't blame me for drooling...:)

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  2. rasogolla from any streetside shop in Pahal, near Bhubaneshwar will give 10 goals to any rasogolla prepared in Kolkata .... the shops in Salepur, a little far, will give 12 goals !!! :-)

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    Replies
    1. Swapan da, Next time when you will visit Orissa, can you please take some pics of those, I have never tasted them, do they look like same as rosogolla?

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  3. Love the detailed recipe and that bit of adding sugar ball in the middle..must try soon

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Amrita. As the rosogollas are cooked in sugar syrup the sugar ball will dissolve , leaving a hollow space at the center, making the rosogolla softer.

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  4. so perfectly done ...can't stop drooling

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  5. This is one of my favorite dessert and have never tried making at home.
    Thanks for the detailed explanation. Will try sometime soon.

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  6. This looks wonderful! This would be a great way to use my extra semolina.

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