A Dip into the Sugar-laced Saga of the Rasgulla

Rasgulla is one of the most beloved Indian sweetmeats, which is known for its simple yet energising sugar-coma-inducing varieties. Concocted with just milk and sugar, this sweet represents the simplicity of ethnic Indian culture, which finds peace and flavour in earthy elements of life. Its history is equally ambivalent as it is straightforward.

The simple beauty and flavour of Rasgulla have become a part of Indian aesthetics, Source: Pinterest, boxofspices.com

Simple, spherical, delicately spongy, and excessively sugary, the characteristics of a rasgulla are inversely identical to its history. Even centuries later, the history of rasgulla remains concealed behind a thin fog of unclarity. Though there are many stories of its origins and the legendary tales of the birth of its many variations, the original, syrupy root of this sweet Indian delicacy is traced back to two northern states — Orissa and West Bengal.

Both the states have been quarrelling for decades, a tug of war of possession and originality active between them while the rasgulla grew to a prosperous likeability globally, busting to rule the arena of ethnic Indian food identity. White in colour, these round balls of curdled milk, soaked in sugary syrup and served with mint leaves or stuffed with caramelised milk, the rasgulla has now evolved from its legendary simple identity and has extended to a wide variety in the heart of which still exists the modest ingredients and a native recipe of sacred culture.

Orissa is the state which vouches for the cultural history of Rasgulla's origins. This theory is always given preference concerning Bengal's protestations, as it features rasgulla as the solution to the problem of a divine quarrel. So Orissa mainly owns up to the invention of rasgulla, which dates back to the 11th century. It is said that when Lord Jagannath, the paramount deity of Orissa, refused to take his wife, Goddess Lakshmi with him on the traditional Rath Yatra, he created rasgulla, which is traditionally known as kheer mohona for its pristine white colour, to placate the goddess. Since then, kheer mohona has been considered the chief offering to Goddess Lakshmi at the end of the festival of the Rath Yatra.

The small village of Pahala, near Bhubaneshwar, is mainly associated with the mass production of kheer mohona, specifically for the Rath Yatra. This village is said to have a population of cows more than humans, so the quantity of milk and other dairy products is always in excess. Hence this village is entrusted with the mass production of the sweet, savoury sweet of kheer mohona, or rosogolla, as the sweet is known now in the state of Orissa. The rasgulla of Pahala and mainly Orissa are very easy to distinguish. They specialize in preparing hardboiled, bigger, and meatier brown chhena (processed after curdling milk) balls. As these rasgullas are prepared for holy offerings, there has to be a way to make them stand out.

Nabin Chandra Das, the creator of rasgulla from Bengal, Source: jiyobangla.com

Now, peering to the other side of the debate about sweet rasgulla's birth, the state of West Bengal considers rasgulla as a sort of modern product of an evolving country. In Bengal, Nabin Chandra Das, a halwai, is believed to be the creator of the roshogulla in 1864. Das underwent a struggling journey to create these fascinating balls of infuriating sweetness. His experiments to create the roshogulla, as India and the world know it today, cost Das many years and a business, which failed because of the failure of the sweet.

Das faced the dilemma of keeping the round shape of the chhena balls intact as one dipped them into the syrupy sweet water. The balls would bust and would not sustain their shape. Today, many kinds of preservatives or natural enzymes are used by halwais all over the country to allow the rasgulla to retain its round shape. Nabin Chandra Das has been made a legend for braving this struggle, creating something so heavenly in return.

Then apart from the cultural legend and the creator legend, there is Haradhan Moira, who is chiefly known for allowing the rasgulla to cross global borders by facilitating the exports of canned rasgullas to Europe. All in one, rasgulla has made literature of its own because of its wide varieties and legends. It is truly one of the most beloved sweets of India, and that's why two Indian states still quarrel to own its creation and its cause. But where the sweet originated is not the debate or the main concern. The way it binds the country together by enlisting simple values and bringing out the beauty of indigenous elements and flavours in life is truly a blessing, and it is this aspect the country focuses upon, highlighting a simple and distinct sense of Indianness.