Rasagola known for its creamy and soft texture with the sweetness of sugar syrup is an authentic and traditional odia milk-based dessert recipe made with chenna . Chenna is prepared by curdling the milk and making balls out of it. These chenna balls are then cooked in sugar syrup until juicy and soft . You can find variety of Rasagola in Odisha in places like Salepur and Pahala.
What is Odisha Rasagola?
Rasagola s believed to have originated back in 11th century and associated with a ritual during Niladri Vijay or last day of Rathayatra of Lord Jagannath ,pacifying an angry Goddess Laxmi with the sweet. Dandi Ramayana, an odia literary work written by Balaram Das in the 15th century also has mention of the sweet in it. The text mentions also mentions that Rasagola, along with other sweets like Chena puri, chena ladu and Rasabali.
Besides Rasagola founds it’s name mentioned in a Book published by Bijay Chandra Majumdar in 1921 called “Typical Selections from Odia Literature” contains numerous excerpts from Dandee Ramayan. Apart from Dandee Ramayan, the temple chronicle called Madala Panji also mentions about Rasogolla back into 11th century. Source: https://twitter.com/defence_360/status/1279290394346270720.
For making Rasagola, you need to use full cream milk or thick milk the chena need to be knead thoroughly but gently without applying much pressure it as it must hold together. The chena balls prepared must not have any cracks in it or it may burst out while boiling in hot water.
Ingredients for making Odisha Rasagola :
- 1 ltr full fat Milk to make chhena
- 1 tbsp lemon juice or Vinegar
- 1 tbsp semolina
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 cups of water
- 1 tsp cardamoms powder
Instructions for making pahala Rasagola
- For making Chenna, boil milk in a pan over high heat. Then switch off the gas and add lemon juice little by little till it starts curdling, keep stirring until the whey water (green color) completely separates from the milk solids (chhena).
- Transfer the chena to a strainer with muslin cloth and wash under cold water. Keep it for 30 to 35 mins to drain off all the water. To remove all water, squeeze the muslin cloth with chena and keep it tied for sometime.
- After which transfer the chenna into a wide plate or onto a clean kitchen counter. Start kneading the chhena with the edges of your palm for 8-10 minutes after which you will notice the crumbliness turns to a smooth texture of dough.
- Now add 1 tbsp semolina and again start kneading till the semolina mix properly. Cover the chena with a damp cloth and start preparing the sugar syrup.
- In a heavy bottomed and wide pan, heat 2 tbsp sugar and 1 tbsp water and once the sugar starts to caramelize, immediately lower the heat. First, pour 1 cup of water carefully into the pan, start stirring soon. When the caramelized sugar melted completely, pour the rest 3 cups of water along with the sugar, cardamom powder. Start boiling over high heat.
- Now with the chena, make equal size balls and keep it aside. Make sure there is no crack in the chena balls. Now to the sugar syrup add 2 to 3 chena balls at a time , or else it will lower the temperature of the sugar syrup. Make sure to keep the temperature of the sugar syrup high all the time. Gradually add other chena balls and cover and let it boil for 10 to 15 minutes over high heat.
- By this time, the Rasagola would have been doubled in size . Gently stir them and allow them to cook for another 5 minutes with the cover.
- Turn off the heat and let the Rasagola sit there for some time, and then transfer to a serving Tray.
- It taste best when served warm. Enjoy .
- The Rasagolas can be stored in Refrigerator after cooling down upto 3 to 4 days.
NOTES
- Always use full-fat milk prepare the chena for Rasagola.
- The Chena Balls should not have any crack in it, if it is there , it will open up while boiling.
- The temperature of sugar syrup should be constant throughout the boiling period .
- Hence , donot add all chena balls at a time which will lower the temperature of the syrup.