Blog Post 13 — Rasgullas
Rasgulla. Sweet dumplings that taste like sugar — this dessert goes by many names, such as rasagulla, rasagolla, roshgulla, and many more. However, we all know it by the amazingly sweet flavor that fills our mouth every time we eat it. However, this dish has a surprisingly controversial history, with its origin being widely disputed across states. In this article, I will mainly be discussing the origin stories of rasgulla, and the history behind it, with some discussion about its role and types in India today.
The name rasgulla originated from the Hindi words ras, meaning juice, and gola, meaning ball. There are two main conflicting points of view for the origin of rasgulla — some claim that it was formed in Puri, a city in Odisha, while others claim that West Bengal was the place where it was created. In this post, I will be explaining both arguments and the history behind them.
Firstly, the Puri origin story. According to some historians, the tradition was started at the Jagannath Temple in Puri, where the dish started as khira mohana offered to the goddess Lakshmi. The legend states that her husband, Lord Jagannath, goes on a 9 day trip without her, so she locks him out and doesn’t let him enter the temple, so he gives her rasgullas for forgiveness. This ritual is known as Bachanika, and scholars say that this tradition dates back to the 12th century, with scriptures from the 18th century saying that rasgulla was being offered as a ritual in Puri.
Folklore states that there were a lot of cows in Pahala, a village near the capital of Odisha, whose milk would be thrown when it was spoilt. However, a priest from the temple taught them the art of curdling, making that village a center for chhena-based (the specific type of milk curds used in rasgulla) sweets in the area.
This story is disputed by Bengali historians citing the fact that no references to chhena are made in India until the 17th century — dishes were made of khoa, another cheese product, and chhena was introduced by the Portuguese when they inhabited Goa, meaning that it’s presence before that is extremely unlikely. Also, other historians state that serving spoiled milk to a goddess would have been considered unholy and isn’t mentioned as one of the chappan bhog, or offerings. However, Odia scholars claim that there is evidence in books such as Jagamohana Ramayana and Prema Panchamruta that reference dishes similar to Rasgulla or chhena. As a result, they claim that this process was known to those in Odisha before the Portuguese came.
The case for it coming from West Bengal is that Nobin Chandra Das, a Bengali confectioner. History states that the process of making chhena was introduced by the Dutch, and Dutch and Portuguese colonists introduced lactic and acetic acid to India, to make a much better chhena. Many villagers attempted to use this chhena in desserts, but when it was put in hot oil, it would crumble or create burnt clumps. Through experiments with reverse osmosis, he made the chhena that was best for making rasgulla. This was popularized in Kolkata by a wealthy businessman named Raibahadur Bhagwandas Bagla, whose son loved the rasgulla, and his father bought a large amount, with word of mouth publicizing it. As a result, Nobin Chandra Das has been called the “Columbus of Rasgulla”.
Another theory is that people created the rasgulla before Das, but he was the one that popularized it. Many books and newspapers cite different people as those who potentially created an earlier version of the dish, such as a man named Braja Moira, who was thought to start selling rasgulla two years before Das near Calcutta High Court. The official company run by Das’ descendants state that they can’t tell whether any predecessors to Das’ rasgullas exist, but “they did not match the quality of Nobin Chandra, and having failed to excite the Bengali palate, they slipped into oblivion.”
This rivalry is extremely long-standing, so much so that in 2015, Odisha started the process to get a Geographical Indication, or a GI, certifying that the origin of rasgulla is there. They also celebrated July 30th as Rasagola Dibasa, or Rasgulla Day. West Bengal contested Odisha’s claim, and also filed for a GI for Bengali rasgulla, claiming that it is distinct from that of Odisha. In November 2017, West Bengal got its GI status, and Odisha was able to get one in July 2019, after applying in 2018. Both of these states got credit for the type of rasgulla, and not the origin.
To make rasgulla, chhena — a special type of cottage cheese, and semolina dough are combined. They are then formed into ball-esque shapes and soaked in a sugar syrup until the whole dessert is filled with the syrup. Sometimes, to cook it, pressure cookers or ovens are used. Finally, saffron and/or rosewater are added to the dish.
In terms of varieties, they vary in color, size, texture, appearance, and taste. You can find them in white, yellow, or orange, with them generally being the size of a golf ball, although some will be bigger, They will often be served with sugar syrup so that they continue to soak when being served to you. Generally, they aren’t stuffed with anything but can be found stuffed with nuts, dried fruit, or khoa. In today’s culture, rasgullas are often found vacuum packed and are available to be bought canned in both Southeast Asia and Indian markets. In 2012, the ISRO, or Indian Space Research Organization, mentioned an interest in sending rasgullas with astronauts to space. Overall, rasgullas are sweets with an extremely divisive history, but one thing that people can agree on is that they taste perfectly sweet.
