Rasgulla/Rosogolla

Rasgulla or Rosogolla.....Do I need to tell you what it is? Rosogolla and Bengalis are synonyms. You cannot imagine one without the other. It doesn't need any introduction in the Indian subcontinent. But for those who don't know what it is then let me introduce them with this signature Bengali sweet. Rosogollas are homemade cheese balls cooked and soaked in sugar syrup.

Bengali's love for Rosogolla is endless. They can eat it at breakfast, at lunch and can even finish their dinner with it. My love for Rosogolla has a short story behind it. As a child I was not a big fan of sweets and needless to say I had never tasted Rosogolla. My parents used to tell me you are missing such a big thing in your life. But one day my Mesho (Maternal Uncle) insisted me much to have a bite of it but I was not ready and then he took one Rosogolla and put it in my mouth and I realized how delicious it is and what I was missing all that while. From that day onward I can eat Rosogolla at any time of the day.

This time I made Rosogolla on Diwali. I posted its picture even on my Facebook page:

 https://www.facebook.com/pages/Flavors-Of-My-Plate/737185573034586?ref=hl 

 Since I was busy with Diwali chores I was unable to post its recipe before. So now here I am with its recipe. Hope you all will like it.

Ingredients:

For Making Cottage Cheese (Chena):

1. Milk : 1 liter 

2. Lime Juice : 4 tbsp (mix with 1 tbsp of water)

For Making Sugar Syrup:

1. Sugar : 4 cups

2. Water: 2 cups

3. Crushed Cardamoms: 4-5

Method:

For Making Homemade Cottage Cheese (Chena):

1. Boil the milk in a heavy bottomed pan on medium heat. Stir it continuously as it tends to stick to the bottom.

2. As milk starts boiling reduce the heat to low. Take small amount of milk in a ladle and add lime juice to it until milk (in the ladle) starts curdling. Then add this curdled milk into the pan and stir slowly until milk solids and whey (green color water) gets separated (you can add more lime juice if required but don't add too much because it will leave a sour taste and the chena will get firm). I like to curdle milk like this because this makes the process of curdling easier. 

3. Strain the curdled milk with a muslin cloth or a strainer lined with cotton cloth. Once all the water gets drained wash the chena under cold running water. This helps the chena to cool down and will remove its sourness.

4. Squeeze the excess water from the chena (don't overdo it otherwise the chena will become too dry) and hang it on the kitchen tap for around an hour to remove any excess water. Now your chena is ready for making Rosogolla.

For Making Sugar Syrup: 

1. Take a heavy bottomed pan add sugar and water and place it on medium heat. Stir in between and remove the scums (if any).

2. Once sugar is dissolved completely reduce the heat and add crushed cardamoms. 

For Making Rosogolla:

1. Mash the chena with your palms until its smooth. You need to do it for good 10-15 mins. As you do so your palms will become greasy which is due to the fat present in the chena. 

2. Once your chena is ready divide it into equal portions.

3. Take each portion put one cardamom seed in it and roll it into a smooth ball with the help of your palms. Roll it until you get a perfect ball. By perfect I mean you should not be able to see any cracks. If you see any cracks then again mash it and make a smooth ball out of it.

3. Once your chena balls are ready put them in the sugar syrup, cover the lid and boil them for 20-25 mins on medium heat. (Remember to take a wide mouthed and deep pan because these chena balls will get double in size so there should be enough room for them to accommodate).

4. Check the Rosogollas after 20-25 mins by this time they will be double in size and will get spongy too. Remove the pan from heat and let it cool down to room temperature. 

5. Enjoy your home made Rosogolla with some extra syrup as we Bengali's do.