AAM KHEEREY CHOCOLATE BHORA ROSHOGOLLA

Just two days left for our New Year and I had to plan for something that suits the occasion.... I was unwilling to go pure Bengali as other states of India are also celebrating their New Year and it is Easter too. My first teacher was a Keralite Christian who I think was the best example of how a teacher should be. I have some paneer loving Punjabi friends whom I love. I am myself not that much of a chocolate lover but my family is, then I have made some beautiful friends from the western world who really mean to me. I have learnt to show integrated love to all from my sister like guide [one of my mentors] Piyali Muttha, though I cannot put up a post as beautifully as she does. My Punjabi sister like Jolly Makkar of jollyhomemaderecipes.com fame gave birth to a baby boy a month back, sweet is the natural choice for me today. Jolly had been the technical head for my blog. If Maria Nasir helped me give birth to this blog, one Azlin Bloor taught to set the standard, Cook With Sally's entire home is an element for blogging! Mango is much loved in South Asia and South East Asia, Rasgulla or Roshogolla, the entire of India or may be few places in South Asia love..... and Chocolate is universal. I remember the Cadbury advertisement 'kuch khas hai zindegi mai... much loving advertisement. Though I am not a chocolate lover, may be a caramel lover!

Coming to love, I decide who I do, who I do not and I do not wait for anyone's approval! Actually it all depends on my current mood! In spite of a number of differences, I do love my virtual friends without whom the blog would not have survived. I love my real life friends who have contributed to my life in one way or the other, yet I do not allow any of my friends or family members to decide who I mingle with, who I do not. I am not in the habit of taking dictates from anyone. My indulgent senior gives me full freedom.... you know why? My not much of a friend mother-in-law is arriving tomorrow... I did travel all the way to the Indian market to get what the diabetic old lady loves, the best saris in her wardrobe are my gifts, the two years I have worked in this island, it was me who gifted her and my mother gold neckpieces with my first month's salary... however meagre amount it was. Off course, the son thing sacrificed his academics to get comfort for the family. When it comes to duty, my man does not have to bother. Though my brother's wife gifted our mom refrigerator too and still talks to me knowing I have stolen my mom's marriage day jewelry. I may not be in the same wavelength with my mom-in-law but she loves my son a lot. I am very much in touch with few old people whose wavelength matches mine and I do not hide it from the world.... do not ever make the mistake of caging a free spirited bird like me.

I will not go pure Bengali today for another reason. Since yesterday, I see an array of posts showing off undaunted love for Bengal, I know well at the first given chance they will choose a lucrative job offer in a developed country for their kids. I do not find any wrong there because it is a way to earn foreign currency for the country, earning to get a better quality bread for the self and the family. I can be a silly wild untamed horse but I am unable to lend my shoulders to such 'Bengal Lovers' who cannot send their kids to a Bengali Medium School, they prefer Convents therein. I am actually that typical Bengali mother who did all possible mental torture on her four year old son to get him admitted to Don Bosco... Park Circus.... one of the high nose, top notch missionary schools of Kolkata in spite of divorce threat coming from the ship stationed at various seashores. Off course my son did not get the admission for a number of reasons.... we did not stay within 5 km of the school, there was lottery system where 2500 applicants fought for 200 sits and finally my son's father did not have an IIT / IIM tag. My son's mother got bedridden and the father partied. Yet the trio are living together in an island where the mother goes out for her evening walk during her son's examination. You may well call me an 'anti- national' who do not qualify to be a Kolkata kind of Bengali mother anymore.

This vegetarian dessert, a tweaked version of Bengali sweet Aam Kheerey Chocolate Roshogolla should go well with your tastebuds I hope....... a vegetarian dessert that will surely be loved by my vegetarian friends. Rest it is a fasting day for many of us, we offer prayers to Lord Shiva. I will pray for my kids and break fast in the evening. What is my dinner tonight?.... Tapioca pearls soaked in water for hours, drained, mashed with mango, banana, milk, sugar and sweets... I prepare my grandmother's way yet it does not taste as her's.... her love is missing. She got sores in her legs keeping this little self on her lap... our mom was in college then. I did a lot of talking, come let us prepare the super cool, yummy sweet in few easy steps. There definitely will be an Easter recipe soon.

INGREDIENTS : [for the instant mango kheer / pudding]

Ripe Mango : 2-3 big
Condensed Milk : 1/2 small cup
Plain Yogurt : 2tbsp
Sugar : 2tsp
Green Cardamom Powder : 1/4tsp

INGREDIENTS : [for the paneer / cottage cheese]

Fresh Milk : 2lt [I find Meiji the best]
Lemon Juice : 1/2small cup
Ice Cubes : 1small cup

INGREDIENTS : [for the sugar syrup]

Sugar : 1coffee mug
Water : 4-5 coffee mugs
Green Cardamom : 3-4

INGREDIENTS : [for the roshogolla / rasgulla]

The Paneer we get

The Sugar Syrup Made
Chocolate Shaving : 1/2small cup

METHOD :

Let us prepare the instant mango kheer / pudding first. Get the pulp from the mangoes by washing them, peeling and discarding the seed. Take the pulp, condensed milk, plain yogurt, sugar and green cardamom powder in a blender.

Blend them to a paste and pour into a serving bowl. Refrigerate it. Better if we could simmer the mango pulp for sometime!

Take the milk in a vessel and bring to boil. As it boils, add the lemon juice. Switch off the gas stove and add the ice cubes. It will curdle.

Pass the paneer through a strainer. You can use the whey water later for making paneer again later or in curries.

Place the paneer in a piece of cloth, tie it on your kitchen counter tap.

Take down after 45 minutes and transfer to a plate.

Mash and knead for 10-12 minutes.

Get your chocolate shavings ready.

Tear out small portions, Make smooth balls with help of your palms.

Flatten them and fill with chocolate shavings. Close and smoothen to form balls.

Take the sugar and water in a vessel and bring to boil. Boil for about 5 minutes, gently drop the chocolate filled cottage cheese balls in the boiling syrup.

Once done, they look like this.

Switch off the gas stove. Once cold, take out the roshogollas from the syrup. Take out the mango kheer / aam pudding and arrange the rasgullas atop. Chill the entire thing before serving!