Rasgulla
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rasgulla (Bangla: রসগোল্লা Rôshogolla [ˈrɔʃoˌgolːa]; Hindi: Rasgulla; Oriya: Rasagolla) is a dessert from Orissa and Bengal consisting of balls of unripened cheese or cottage cheese (chenna) soaked in a sugary syrup.
Also seen as Ras Gulla [1] or Rassgula [2].
Contents |
[edit] History
Rasagolla was created in the temple town of Puri in the eastern state of Orissa, where it has been eaten since medieval times. The best rasagollas in Orissa are made by Bikalananda Kar from the town of Salepur, near Cuttack. Another variety made at Pahala near Bhubaneswar is also much sought after.
The fine art of making rasagollas made its way from Orissa to neighbouring Kolkata, West Bengal. The Bengali version, rôshogolla was first made by Haradhan Maira, a confectioner of Phulia district, during the time of Bengal renaissance.[citation needed] Nobin Chandra Das of Bagbazar, Kolkata, was the first person to make 'sponge' rôshogolla in 1868,[citation needed] and is immortalised in the local limerick "Bagbazar's Nobin Das / Rossogolla's Columbus". K.C.Das of Kolkata and son of legendary Nobin Chandra Das, was the first to invent the canned version of this highly perishable sweet, which led to much wider availability. K.C. Das popularized another perennial favourite, Rasmalai.
Eventually, the popularity of rasgulla spread to all other parts of India and is now called the national sweet of India. Today, Rasgulla connoisseurs unanimously claim that the best rasgulla can be found in the city of Mumbai in western India. This is attributed to the large number of bengalis migrating to Mumbai in the last few decades for trade and employment purposes.
[edit] Preparation
Sweetened chenna is lightened with a small amount of semolina and then formed into small balls, which are then boiled in a light sugar syrup until the syrup permeates the ball.
[edit] Variations
Rôshomalai replaces the syrup with sweetened milk.
Kômola bhog mixes orange extract with the cottage cheese.
Embedding a single cardamom seed into the cottage cheese ball gives a fragrant variant.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ Ras Gulla recipe. contactpakistan.com. Retrieved on March 28, 2007.
- ^ Rassgula on desert menu. alfaisal.co.uk. Retrieved on March 28, 2007.
