ROSHOGOLLA [COTTAGE CHEESE BALLS IN SUGAR SYRUP]

I keep wondering that I have a PAN FLAVOURED RASMALAI, GOLAP BHOG, NOTUN GURER ROSHOGOLLA, BAKED ROSHOGOLLA WITH MANGO .... all these recipes shared in this blog but not the basic ROSHOGOLLA [COTTAGE CHEESE BALLS IN SUGAR SYRUP] share till date! How come? Roshogolla or cottage cheese balls in sugary syrup does not happen on a regular basis at this home. As a kid I was not a fan of ROSHOGOLLA [COTTAGE CHEESE BALLS IN SUGAR SYRUP], I always love fried sweets ... prefer a pantua to langcha or a chitrakut.... Roshogolla was force fed as the parents considered it a healthier dessert option! The son however tasted an ice-cream and roshogolla when he was three months old.... there after Roshogolla was his evening food for a couple of years.... till date he loves it, we are a dessert loving family which includes ice-cream! Once away from home, he has to eat those tinned ones unless he gets an Indian girl friend who loves to cook way too much and makes our son her guinea pig..... Yes, mothers are like that.... they want their son-in-law to carry their daughter on his lap and the daughter-in-law to cook at least 3-4 dishes every day for her son and serve the biggest piece of fish or meat to him..... forgetting that the girl also may wish to have the best once in a while.

I am not in my best spirit, yesterday we were at a party and I had some 41/2-5 glasses of red wine which I should not have given the amount of food intake.... one should not eat too much and too fast while boozing.... back home what happened was inevitable.... the toilet had to be cleaned, a shower had to be taken.... yet the hangover persists. Daughter like Cristine is serving lemon water and I told her that we need to disinfect the toilet together once I am done with the post. Do not worry lah, I will be fine by the afternoon.... ask me why? I got "aar maach and mrigel pona" fresh at the Bangladeshi mart yesterday and young "peyazkoli" too... I am very fond of "aar maacher matha" that is not smelly and I am going to prepare a family recipe with it which requires egg plant and fresh coriander. Now that I got to be free of the burden of counting the number of blog visits, you will get to see all the family recipes in the coming days. However, I did enjoy the Halal Oriental food spread yesterday, abalone, prawn, scallop, braised fish, fish maw and the sago-mango-pomelo dessert! I forgot to click the chicken soup and noodles....

However, end of the day I am a girl from the ROSHOGOLLA [COTTAGE CHEESE BALLS IN SUGAR SYRUP] land who got big roshogollas in academics and basks in the husband's glory. I am not someone to follow but the Bengali dessert retains its glory at this home. I do not follow too much of do's and don'ts in my kitchen.... if you are like me, you will try my recipe without any hesitation! This time I did not use semolina or baking powder as it was done to prepare a pan flavoured rasmalai.... which does not require the sweet to double in size. Only chena / paneer / cottage cheese made at home does work. I am not a roshogolla expert but they are just right, healthy, edible.

INGREDIENTS FOR THE COTTAGE CHEESE / CHENA / PANEER BALLS :

FRESH MILK : 1LITRE
LEMON JUICE : 3-4TBSP
ICE CUBE : 4-5

INGREDIENTS FOR THE SUGAR SYRUP :

SUGAR : 1/2 COFFEE MUG
WATER : 3-4 COFFEE MUGS
GREEN CARDAMOM : 3-4
THIS HOME GOT USED TO LESS SUGARY SWEETS, SO ADJUST THE AMOUNT

FINAL ASSORTMENT:

THE COTTAGE CHEESE / CHENA / PANEER BALLS
THE LIGHT SUGAR SYRUP

PROCEDURE :

I never can manage a roshogolla with tetra packed milk, so I will always recommend fresh milk for it. There is no "dudh kakur khatal" as in DumDum here, neither a "jhumri mashir khatal" as in Barrackpore.... so I buy fresh milk bottles coming from New Zealand or Australia. I actually use Meiji Milk for my sweets & even a good quality powdered milk!

Take the milk in a heavy bottomed vessel and put for boil. Once it comes to boil, add the lemon juice mixed with some water. Add 1tbsp at a time and keep stirring with another hand constantly.

As you see the milk getting curdled, switch off the gas oven and add the ice-cubes.

Pour the entire amount on a clean, white cloth placed over a bowl. the whey water can be used in curries and dough. Till date, I do not possess a Dhakai Muslin Saree, unlikely to buy a muslin cloth for the kitchen. Dadur Dhuti Chera works the best!

Tie the cloth on to your kitchen tap and let the excess water drain. This may take an hour or so.

Once the water has drained, take down and transfer the content to a plate. We need to knead it for about 10-12 minutes to get a smooth texture. If it feels sticky... go for a sandesh because roshogolla will not happen with a sticky dough.

Now, make table tennis sized balls out of the dough. I have heard about some very good TT Players, however, I did not have decent clothes or looks to be in the venue.... I have full trust in the hear say though!

Cristine makes better shapes always!

While kneading the dough, we will simultaneously prepare the sugar syrup which can never be allowed to get sticky.

Take the sugar and the water in a deep bottomed vessel and bring to boil.

When it has boiled for 3-4 minutes, add the paneer / chena / cottage cheese balls & the green cardamom.

Cover cook at medium heat for 20 minutes.... they should be done and ready to eat.

Transfer them to a serving bowl and enjoy! They can be refrigerated too but take out at least an hour before  you consume!