Rasgulla
Spongy cheese balls, kneaded from fresh chhena and boiled in sugar syrup until they double in size — genuinely claimed by both West Bengal and Odisha, whose rival histories were both formally recognized with separate GI tags in 2017 and 2019.
Vegetarian
⚠ Contains: Dairy, Gluten. Always check your own ingredients — this isn't a guarantee for severe allergies.
Ingredients
- 8 cups whole milk
- 3 tbsp lemon juice or vinegar
- 1 tbsp all-purpose flour or semolina
- 3 cups sugar
- 6 cups water
- 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
Steps
- Bring the milk to a boil, then slowly add the lemon juice, stirring gently, until the milk fully curdles into chhena and clear whey separates.
- Strain the chhena through cheesecloth and rinse under cold water to remove the sour taste, then hang to drain for 30 minutes.
- Knead the drained chhena on a clean surface with the flour for 8-10 minutes until smooth and lump-free.
- Roll the chhena into small, smooth balls with no cracks.
- Bring the sugar, water, and cardamom to a boil in a wide pot to make the syrup.
- Gently drop the chhena balls into the boiling syrup, cover, and cook on high heat for 12-15 minutes, until they have roughly doubled in size and turned spongy.
- Let cool in the syrup before serving, chilled or at room temperature.