Pahala Rasgulla

Rasgulla is the famous desert of Bengal & Odisha in India. But origin of Pahala Rasgulla is from Odisha. The preparation process, texture, taste & colour is different from the normal one. Reddish colour which we get from caramel sugar make Odisha rasgulla unique and authentic. Its nothing but cottage cheese (Chenna) dumpling cooked & soaked in caramelised sugar syrup.The best thing about this dessert is its simplicity.

Lock down has made me try trending recipes from Instagram. When you scroll down your Instagram feed you will see similar food posts everyday and that makes me try new recipes. Someway its good I learn new & interesting things about food. As I came know to the history (small village in Pahala District first prepared this dessert), tradition (its offered in famous Jagannath Temple, Puri ) & unique process (Caramelised sugar syrup) of this dessert.

If you ever visit Odisha and want to try the original pahala rasgulla, you can visit the village which is in between Bhubaneswar & Cuttack (there are no. of shops) or place an order in bulk prior to your requirement. Till then one can try these delicious sugar soaked dumpling at home and enjoy with family. You will find number of YouTube videos when you search for Pahala Rasgulla or you can follow below recipe for reference.

Ingredients

• Whole Milk - 1 Litre

• Semolina - 1 tsp

• Sugar to Caramelise- 1/2 Cup

• Sugar for syrup - 1 Cup

• Water - 5 Cup

• Cardamom -2 to 3 cloves

• Lemon / Vinegar -2 tbsp

Direction

For Cottage Cheese (Chenna):

Step 1: Add Lemon / vinegar to 1 Cup water, mix well and keep aside

Step 2: Boil milk, when its about to spill switch off the flame and add above mix and stir

Step 3: Continue to stir till cheese (chenna ) and water gets separated

Step 4: Strain it using muslin cloth / strainer and allow it to cool

For Dough:

Step 1: Prepare Chenna (cottage cheese) using full creamed milk Step 2: Kneed the Chenna & semolina to a smooth dough (for 10 Minutes) Step 3: Make equal sized small balls from the dough and keep aside

For syrup sugar and Rasgullas: Step 1: Add sugar to caramelise in large pan Step 2: Once it turns brown and starts melting add 1 cup water Step 3: Stir till the caramel sugar dissolves Step 4: Add the 3 Cups os water & 1 Cup sugar to it and water till syrup comes to boil Step 5: Add the Chenna balls gently into the sugar solution Step 6: Cook for 25-30 mins with lid covered on high flame Step 7: Once rasgullas are swollen and size is doubled, switch off the flame and serve once they are cool

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#rasgulla