Rasagulla

Rasgulla is a syrupy dessert popular in the Indian subcontinent and regions with South Asian diaspora. It is made from ball shaped dumplings of chena (an Indian cottage cheese) and semolina dough, cooked in light syrup made of sugar. This is done until the syrup permeates the dumplings. 

According to historians of Odisha, the rasgulla originated in Puri, as khira mohana, which later evolved into the Pahala rasgulla. It has been traditionally offered as bhog to goddess Lakshmi at Jagannath Temple, Puri. According to the local legend, Laxmi gets upset because her husband Lord Jagannath goes on a 9-day sojourn  without her consent.To appease her, Jagannath offers her rasgullas. 

According to folklore, Pahala a village in Orissa had a large number of cows. The village would produce excess milk, and the villagers would throw it away when it became spoilt. When a priest from the Jagannath Temple saw this, he taught them the art of curdling, including the recipe for rasagulla. 

The spongy white rasgulla is believed to have been introduced in present-day West Bengal in 1868 by a Kolkata-based confectioner named Nobin Chandra Das. 

                                                         Rasagulla recipe

Recipe Cuisine: Indian  |  Recipe Category: Sweet
Prep Time:30 mins    |  Cook time: 20 mins     |  Serves:2

Ingredients

Milk (Full Cream) - 1 lt

Lemon Juice - 3 tbsp

Ice Cubes - 5 nos

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                                                For the Syrup:

Sugar - 2 cups

Water - 3.5cups

Cardamon powder - 1/4 tsp

Rose Essence / Kewra essence - 1 tsp

Nuts - garnish

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 Method:

• First heat the boil and allow it to boil, when it starts to boil simmer the flame.
  
• Now add the lemon juice to the milk and stir well slowly. The milk will start to curdle. Once all the milk has curdled and the whey water gets separated add 5 ice cubes to this. Ice cubes will stop the curdling process and also yield soft chenna.

• Now use a stainer, take a clean cotton cloth and put it on the stainer. Now add the contents of the milk and filter . Chenna will get strained. Now give it a wash in tap water to remove the lemon smell.

• Now tie the cloth as a money bag and hang it high up overnite. The water will drop of the chenna completely. Give it maximum 6 to 7 hours wait.

• Now transfer the chenna to a plate and knead it well. Do it softly.

• The kneading process should continue for maximum 10mins , only then the Rasagullas will be soft. Knead it with ur hands by pressing ur palms against the dough and form a dough. Now take gooseberry sized pieces and roll them between ur palms into small balls. There should not be any cracks in ur balls. I made 20 balls in 1 lt milk.

• Now meantime prepare the sugar syrup, add the sugar and water and allow it boil. Use a wide mouth vessel to fit in all balls. The sugar should dissolve completely and allow it to boil for 3mins after dissolvance. Now add the cardamon powder, Rose essence or Kewra essence to the syrup . String consistency is not required. Add the balls slowly.

• Close the lid of the vessel and allow it boil. First when u add the balls, it will sink later when its cooked it will float. Also it will double in size. Check with a fork if ur not sure whether its cooked or not. Cook until then. If using  a pressure cooker, prepare the syrup in it and add the balls to the cooker. Close the lid and keep in medium flame until 1 whistle. Now simmer the flame for 2 mins and then switch of the stove.

• Serve it in a cup.!!! Garnish with nuts.