Roshogollas / Rasgullas - The Evergreen Bengali Sweet

Maternal Grand Parents house is very special to all Kids. There was not a single holiday even a weekend that I had spent anywhere else other than my ‘Mamarbadi’ (Maternal Uncle / Grand Parents house) as a child. There is this Bengali Idiom; ‘Mamarbadir Abdar’ which simply means ‘Pampering at Maternal Uncle / Grand Parents house’. Truly what it means is, whatever you wish when you are at your ‘Mamarbadi’ is always fulfilled.

However, this post is not related to my Mamadbadi but my Maa’s. My Maternal Grand Mother’s Parents house. It is a very small settlement in the Nadia district of West Bengal named ‘Manikdihi’. A place that is very close to my heart and holds colossal memories for me. Acres and acres of Sugarcane plantation, thatched huts, winding muddy paths, chirping birds, green as far as your eyes can see, the Ganga-r ghat(a series of steps leading down to river Ganges), boats, fishermen, simple living, Thaka Kali (earthen Idols of the different avatars of Goddess Kali on Bamboo steps) & the only Paka-Bari (The only House built with bricks and cement) in the vicinity belonging to the Zamindar’s of that settlement, my Mothers Mamarbadi.

The Villagers respected my Grand Mother’s Father who was the last Zamindar & it still shows by the way they behave whenever any function is held at that house. They will get you anything you want, try to help you in every possible way just because you are an invitee of the Mukujjey Bari (Mukherjee House), that’s my Grand Mother’s maiden name.

Many of my Maternal Uncle’s got married from that house by tradition in spite of the hurdles like communication & lack of urban amenities. A function meant a lot of invitees, a lot of food, ‘Dhalao Bichana’ (arrangement made on the floor for sleeping by laying mattresses side by side) and loads of fun. ‘Catering Service’ has not reached there yet. Hence, the food is always cooked by ‘Thakur’ (A group of people would come home with huge utensils; cut, peel, marinate and cook in your campus under your supervision for your guests). Sweets, being an eternal part of our cuisine needs to be prepared as well & here comes the conventional concept of ‘Bhiyen’ (again, a group of Men, who come to make the exclusive sweets for your guests). My post today is about ‘Roshogollas’ (as we Bongs call it) or ‘Rasgullas’ (as the rest of India calls it). I have seen these Men making the Roshogollas & various other sweets and storing them in a room and locking it up so that the quantity remains the same when they are to be served :P I remember one incident when my Grand Father had opened the lock and let us (only the Kids) in to feast on the sweets, one thrilling night that was.

I prepared these Roshogollas yesterday with a little help from my Mother, the way the ‘Bhiyen’ Men do it, a lot less in quantity, a lot smaller utensils used.

This recipe will make approximately 12 medium sized Roshogollas.

Here is what we will need:

1.   1 litre Milk

2.   Juice of ½ a Lemon

3.   1/2 tsp All Purpose Flour (Maida)

4.   3 cups Water

5.   3 cups Sugar

6.   4 Green Cardamoms – crushed

7.   Rose essence – 4-5 drops

Preparation:

·         Bring Milk to boil and let it simmer.

·         Add the juice of half a Lemon, add more if you need. The Lemon I used was large; hence I used only half of it.

·         Keep stirring the Milk and see it curdling.

·         Once it is completely curdled, turn off the Stove.

·         Take a large bowl and place a Colander on it.

·         On top of the Colander, spread a fine cloth (if you have Muslin, it will work the best).

·         Pour the contents from the Curdled Milk on this.

·         Once it is sieved, pick up the colander (not along with the bowl) & place it under running water, wash the Cottage Cheese thoroughly to get rid of the Lemony whiff.

·         Once done, squeeze out the water as much as you can and place the Cottage Cheese in a bowl.

·         Add 1/2 tsp of All Purpose Flour to it and knead for 10 minutes.

·         Once kneaded smooth, make small balls out of it, cover and keep.

·         In a heavy bottomed pan, start boiling 3 cups of water.

·         Once water starts boiling, add 3 cups of Sugar to it.

·         Keep stirring so that it does not burn.

·         Add the Rose Essence and crushed Green Cardamom to this Syrup.

·         Once desired consistency is reached, boil the small Cottage Cheese balls in the Sugar Syrup for 10 minutes.

·         After 10 minutes, cover and keep for another hour.

·         Garnish them the way you want, I decorated them with cut Raisins and served.

Chicken Yakhni Pulao / Aromatic Chicken Pilaf

‘Yakhni’ is an aromatic broth which is simply water boiled with whole and dry spices in which the Pulao / Pilaf is cooked. It is mostly a part of Pakistani / Persian / Turkish cuisine and of course the Kashmir region of India. The broth is made with Meat or Vegetables at times too, more like Chicken / Mutton / Vegetable stock which is the base of many splendid preparations.

Hubby is very fond of a whole meal, which, in his philosophy is Meat and Rice cooked together. Be it Biryani or the various Meat Pulao’s that I make; he is fond of them all. This Pulao is low on the Oil content at least the version that I make. I add 2 tbps of Oil in the Meat and 2 more while making Rice & for the special touch, I add a teeny-weeny bit of Ghee (Clarified Butter), an aroma WE cannot live without.

I cook it in the Microwave for 20 minutes after preheating it to 180 degrees. As Hetal& Anuja say, “All Microwaves are different”, hence cook it as per you make your Pulao’s in the Microwave Oven. For those who are not sure, try it for 20 minutes, it should work.

There are a few steps to making this attractive dish. One will be making the ‘Yakhni’ or the Aromatic Water: Here is what we will need to make it:

This will serve 6 people

1.   Water : 4 cups

2.   Garlic – 3 medium slices – finely chopped.

3.   Onion – 1 medium – finely sliced.

4.   Green Cardamoms - 2 whole.

5.   Black Cardamoms – 2 whole.

6.   Cloves – 10 whole.

7.   Mace / Javitri – 4/5 twigs.

8.   Star Anise – 2 Whole.

9.   Cinnamon – like shown in the picture.

10.                 Whole Black Pepper - about 15.

11.                 Cumin Powder – 2 tsp (It looks less in the picture for the sake of the picture, but that is the quantity I used)

12.                 Coriander Powder – 2tsp (It looks less in the picture for the sake of the picture, but that is the quantity I used)

13.                 Garam Masala Powder – 1 tsp

14.                 Black Pepper Powder – 1 tsp (I forgot to take a picture of this, but I did add)

How to make the Yakhni: Bring 4 cups of water to boil and add all the above mentioned ingredients, let it boil for 10 minutes on slow flame (so that the quantity does not reduce much) and set aside.

Ingredients to make the Chicken:

1.   Chicken – 1 Kg – cut into medium pieces.

2.   Red Chilli Powder – 1 tsp

3.   Curd – 4 tsp

4.   Turmeric Powder – 1 tsp

5.   Cumin Powder – 1 tbsp

6.   Coriander Powder – 1 tbsp

7.   Salt to taste

8.   Oil to sauté – 2 tbsp

9.   Whole Black Peppers – 10

10.                 Bay Leaves - 2

            

How to prepare the Chicken:

·         Wash the Chicken pieces, pat dry on Paper Towels & marinate them with Red Chilli Powder and 4 tsps of Curd.

·         Heat 2 tbsps of Cooking Oil.

·         Add the Whole Black Pepper and Bay Leaves and let them sizzle.

·         After a minute, add the turmeric powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and salt and mix well.

·         Add the marinated Chicken pieces and cook for about 5 minutes.

·        Cook for another 10 minutes or till the water dries up and set aside. The reason I do not worry whether the meat is done or not is simple because I will put it in the Microwave for 20 minutes; that will make sure the Meat is done to perfection.

Ingredients to make the Rice:

1.   Rice – 2 cups, washed.

2.   Cooking Oil – 2 tbsp.

3.   Bay Leaves – 2.

4.   Ginger minced – 1tbsp.

5.   Garlic mined – 2 tbsp.

6.   Onion – 3 small – sliced.

7.   Green Chillies – 8 – slit.

8.   Cashews – about 15 – coarsely chopped + 10 whole.

9.   Raisins – about ¼ th Cup + a 10.

10.                 Clarified Butter / Ghee – ½ tsp.

11.                 Juice of half a Lemon.

How to make the Rice:

·         Soak the Rice for 30 minutes after washing.

·         Drain and keep.

·         Heat Oil in a heavy bottomed pan.

·         Add the Bay Leaves and the minced Ginger and Garlic & sauté.

·         Add the Onions and slit Green Chillies and fry till the Onions are translucent. 

·         Add the Raisins and the coarsely chopped Cashews and fry for about 5 more minutes.

·         Add the drained Rice and fry for some time till all the moisture evaporates.

·         Add the Clarified Butter and turn off the Stove.

The Layering Process

·         In a Microwave safe bowl, put a layer of Rice.

·         Then half of the Chicken.

·         Add some more Rice.

·         Then the rest of the Chicken.

·         & then the rest of the Rice.

·         Add the whole Cashews and Raisins.

·         Add the Yakhni. For cooking in the Microwave, I used exactly double the amount of liquid. Hence, 4 cups of Yakhni for 2 cups of Rice.

·         Add juice of half a Lemon (So that the Rice will come out perfectly puffed).

·         Seal with a Cling Film & prick the Film with a toothpick at some places.

·         Pre-heat the Oven to 180 degrees.

·         Put the bowl in and set the timer to 20 minutes.

·         After 20 minutes, take it out; let it rest for 5 minutes.

·         Take off the Cling Film and serve. :D