Mamata’s Rosogolla

Hi Everyone! My name is Mamata Banerjee and I am a proud Lexingtonian, lifelong educator, a singer, fitness enthusiast, and a Bengali in heart and to some extent, food.

Every autumn, we celebrate Durga Pujo, a celebration of Mother Goddess Durga. Bengalis meet with friends, and families offer Rosogollas to each other and exchange pleasantries. My Baba (dad), who would never come near to the kitchen the rest of the year, would take charge of the dessert preparations during this time.

I will also be making these sweet treats this Thanksgiving, as part of our Bengali-American tradition.

Enjoy this lovely recipe!

Ingredients

4 cups full-fat whole milk

1/4 cup white vinegar

1/4 cup water (for vinegar mix)

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 1/2 cups water (for sugar syrup)

Instructions

1. Pour 4 cups of whole milk into a pot and bring it to a boil, then turn off the heat.
2. In a small bowl, mix 1/4 cup white vinegar with 1/4 cup water.
3. Pour the vinegar mixture into the boiled milk and stir constantly until the milk curdles and separates.
4. Strain the curdled milk through a strainer, ensuring all the water is strained out.
5. Rinse the curds with cold water to remove any vinegar smell.
6. Hang the strainer over a bowl for about 20 minutes to drain excess liquid.
7. Knead the curds by hand for about 12 minutes until smooth.
8. Form the curds into small balls, slightly larger than a marble.
9. Cover the balls with cheesecloth and set aside.
10. To make the sugar syrup, combine 1 1/2 cups sugar with 4 1/2 cups water in a pot and bring to a rolling boil.
11. Gently add the curdled milk balls to the boiling syrup.
12. Cook uncovered on high heat for 10 minutes without stirring.
13. Cover the pot and cook on medium heat for an additional 6 minutes.
14. Cook for another 2 minutes on medium-high heat, then turn off the heat.
15. Let the Rosogolla rest in the syrup for 2 hours before serving.

Enjoy the Rosogolla with a bit of sugar syrup drizzled on top!

P.S: Hi! This is Tam. First off, thank you to the wonderful Mamata for the Rosogolla recipe above. It was very delicious and I hope everybody tries it out due to how simple it is yet intricate the flavors are. Just to note, in the video I only film myself making 1/4 of the recipe. So, if you follow the recipe above, you will make 4 times as many spheres of Rosogolla as I did in the video.

Community Recipe Introduction:

This recipe is also the first contribution to LexKook’s community recipes. Mamata reached out to me to share her recipe and, more importantly, her culture. I hope this becomes a regular feature, as Lexington’s uniqueness comes from the diversity within our town. By sharing our different cultural traditions, we not only discover new ways to spice up our dinner routines, but also strengthen the unity of our community. If you have a recipe that holds special meaning to you, please reach out to either LexObserver or email me at bangtam.student@gmail.com.