Rosogolla

Arguably one of the most-celebrated Indian sweetmeats, Rosogolla is not only a global phenomenon but is enjoyed by all age groups. The sweet, syrupy cottage cheese ball has its origin from the East Indian state of West Bengal. Following a long, controversial debate between the neighbouring states of Odisha and Bengal over the dish’s authentic genesis, the latter was finally awarded the official Geographical Identification (GI) tag for the dish. Thus, the Bengalis were amply vindicated while the Odiyas, armed with an eclectic cuisine, promptly shifted their focus to highlight their Chhena Poda.

In the North Calcutta streets of Jorasanko (also famed as the birthplace of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore) in 1864, Nabin Chandra Das opened a sweet shop. After a lucrative spell of two years, which involved heavy touring on Das’s part, the Bengali businessman returned to the city and opened yet another branch in Baghbazar. However, he was not satisfied with his wares and wanted his shop to stand distinctively apart from the hordes selling sweet treats. Das was focused on making a completely new variant of dessert that would woo his customers. He began boiling chhena (sweet cheese) dumplings in sugar syrup, but soon found that the balls were unable to maintain their round structure and were breaking apart. The problem was eventually solved by using reetha in the preparation and creating bubbles of sorts, a reason that the chhena balls were spongy and pillowy soft.

On such incredible results, many thronged his shops and sales bolstered. Numerous well wishers advised Das to patent the recipe but he was sure he wanted it to be available to the general public. Das believed that his invention could only reach astronomical heights if it was available across counters of every single shop. With renewed vigour, he began teaching multiple apprentices under him and soon the dessert became synonymous with Bengal’s pride.

Another story credits the renowned sweet-maker Haradhan Moira for the invention of Rosogolla. It is believed that he accidentally chanced upon this saccharine delight when some leftover chhena was mistakenly thrown into a pot of bubbling sugar syrup. The original recipe was reformed and fine-tuned by two major sweet shops in Kolkata—the Mullicks of Bhawanipore (which later came to be known as Balaram Mullick and Radharam Mullick Mishtanna Bhandar) and the Chittaranjan Mishtanna Bhandar, located in Sova Bazar.

Today, the Rosogolla is not only being devoured by residents of Bengal but is gradually gaining traction in different parts of India as well as the world.