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Rasogollar Payesh

23 August 2009 2,409 views 17 Comments

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“Bengalis are too much fond of sweets, it’s their national weakness”

- Anonymous

Bangalir Khawadawa

After coming back to Kolkata, I bought this book on Bengali cuisine by Shankar; the book is in Bengali and titled “Bangalir Khawadawa” (aka, Food and Feasting of Bengalis). The book has a great deal of information of various dishes, sweets, chops, and restaurants in Kolkata. The book discusses culinary skills in Bengalis of yore in great detail. But the only thing that I missed in the book was a special section on rasgulla. Which is kind of disappointing since rasgulla (or rasogolla, rashogolla) is the most widely consumed sweet among Bengalis. Well, this post isn’t a book review (it would be a later post). Let’s talk about Rasogollar Payesh.

Rasogollar Payesh

Rasogolla in Bengal

Rasgulla was invented by the sweet makers (or moira in Bengali) of Puri, the famous temple town in Orissa. In the mid 19th century Oriya cooks were hired at the rich Bengali households and with them arrived the coveted recipe of rasogolla. In 1868, a Bong sweet maker, Nabin Chandra Das refined the sweet delicacy to have a better shelf life. That was the birth of sponge rasgulla.

All I am saying this is because I got very excited with the book, and also a couple of days back I prepared a derivate of this ecstatic rasogolla and named it rasgollar payesh or rasgulla pudding or you can even call it ras malai with a slight twist. This is such a simple recipe that you can even prepare when your guests are knocking at the door. I had bought a can of rasgulla and just thought of experimenting with those sweet cheesy balls. The preparation was an instant hit and those who had the dish couldn’t stop licking their fingers (well not literally. They used spoons you see. But you get the drift. (Bhavnaon ko Samjho).

Cooking time: 30mins

Makes 16 rasgulla

Ingredients:

Rasgulla (Rasogolla): 1kg can contains 16 (How to make Rasogolla – video)

Whole cream milk (Dudh): 1 ½ ltr

Rasgulla syrup (Rash / Raus): 1 cup, pour in more if you want it very sweet

Custard powder: 2 tablespoon

Raisin (Kismis / Kishmish): 20-25

Preparation:

  • Keep aside half cup of milk and pour in the rest of milk in a thick bottom pan and simmer till the volume reduces to three-fourth
  • Take the custard powder in a small bowl and gradually add the milk that was kept aside to make a smooth batter
  • Pour the custard mix into the simmering milk with constant stirring to avoid lump formation
  • Add one cup of the syrup from the can, I used little less than that as we don’t like too much sweet in desserts
  • Simmer again for about 5 min with constant stirring
  • Now, drop in the rasgullas one after another and take out of flame
  • Garnish with raisins
  • You can keep it in the freezer for sometime or serve it just like that

Rasogollar Payesh

Hot Tips – You can leave out the custard powder. In that case it’s better to simmer the milk for sometime more so that the volume reduces to half the original, and add ½ teaspoon of cardamon powder or one teaspoon of vanilla essence.

Further Readings – Wiki link Rasgulla, How to make Rasogolla – video

Sending this recipe to FIL: Milk hosted by Sanghi of Sanghi’s Food Delights and also to Barbara for supporting a nobel cuase with her event “LiveSTRONG With A Taste Of Yellow 2009“.

FIL Milk small

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17 Comments »

  • Parita said:

    Wow never used custard powder with rasgullas before, that sounds too good, will def try sometime soon :)
    Parita´s last blog ..Sun Dried Tomato, Basil and Cashewnut Pesto with Pasta My ComLuv Profile

    [Reply]

    Sudeshna Banerjee Reply:
    August 23rd, 2009 at 11:26 AM

    It really tastes awesome, and the yellowish color of the custard makes it look damn tempting.

    [Reply]

    # 23 August 2009 at 3:47 AM
  • Vijitha Shyam said:

    Hey sudeshna
    How have u been? So sorry I havent been visiting ur blog (not others too) for quite sometime. Now I am back. I am married and have moved to US. Been taking time to settle with new life n new person he he :-)

    Yummy rosagolla. THe additiond of custard powder is kinda new to me. Gotta try it sometime soon.

    Do stay in touch.

    Cheers!
    Vij
    Vijitha Shyam´s last blog ..INDIAN PRAWN CURRY My ComLuv Profile

    [Reply]

    Sudeshna Banerjee Reply:
    August 24th, 2009 at 12:39 AM

    Vij,
    That’s a great news. Congrats. Hope to get some great recipes from you now as your are back :)

    [Reply]

    # 24 August 2009 at 12:03 AM
  • shama said:

    hai dear…rasagolla’s are my favourite…love to taste it any time…nice tempting dessert
    shama´s last blog ..VINAYAKAR CHATHURTHI –2009 My ComLuv Profile

    [Reply]

    Sudeshna Banerjee Reply:
    August 24th, 2009 at 10:27 PM

    Thanks Shama. Even I love rasgulla. Will try posting the rasgulla recipe soon :) .

    [Reply]

    # 24 August 2009 at 10:21 PM
  • Nithya said:

    This looks tempting. A new variation of using custard powder. Yummmm it looks. I am such a crazy fan of rasamalai.. I have tried it before using the MTR ready mix. But sure to try this one soon.
    Nithya´s last blog ..Vinayagar Chathurthi Celebration and Sweets :) My ComLuv Profile

    [Reply]

    Sudeshna Banerjee Reply:
    August 24th, 2009 at 10:52 PM

    Yeh, I get fed up of the same old fruit custard for dessert so this is a relief variation. :)

    [Reply]

    # 24 August 2009 at 10:32 PM
  • Hobosic said:

    Amazing! Not clear for me, how offen you updating your bengalicuisine.net.
    Thank you

    [Reply]

    Sudeshna Banerjee Reply:
    August 25th, 2009 at 10:10 PM

    We do often update our site. You can subscribe to our feed to get the posts delivered to your mail box. :)

    [Reply]

    # 25 August 2009 at 7:47 AM
  • Lubna Karim said:

    Oh wow…that’s an yum idea to combine rasgulla with custard….
    Lubna Karim´s last blog ..Egg Pudding My ComLuv Profile

    [Reply]

    Sudeshna Banerjee Reply:
    August 25th, 2009 at 10:11 PM

    Lubna,
    Thanks for dropping by. I find this recipe good as the sweetness of the rasgulla gets reduced and also there is a break from all time fruit custards. Its a win win situation here :) .

    [Reply]

    # 25 August 2009 at 4:54 PM
  • Divya Vikram said:

    Lovely dessert.looks divine!
    Divya Vikram´s last blog ..Basil RIce My ComLuv Profile

    [Reply]

    Sudeshna Banerjee Reply:
    August 27th, 2009 at 7:48 AM

    Thanks Divya :) .

    [Reply]

    # 26 August 2009 at 11:22 PM
  • barbara said:

    I’ve not heard of this dish before. It looks wonderful.
    barbara´s last blog ..Tzatziki – Thursdays With Thermomix My ComLuv Profile

    [Reply]

    Sudeshna Banerjee Reply:
    September 8th, 2009 at 8:07 PM

    Thanks,
    Barbara. I hope you try it once at home.

    [Reply]

    # 8 September 2009 at 6:52 AM
  • vinayakar said:

    [...] … centres will also function at Malai Mandir and the Sarojini Nagar Vinayakar Temple. …How to prepare ras malai or rasgulla pudding | Cook like a BongThere was a time when Bengalis had reigned the economic, political, social, educational and even the [...]

    # 5 March 2010 at 12:38 PM

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