Pahala Rasagola

Name: Pahala Rasagola
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: Odia
Ingredients: 2 L Full fat milk; 40 ml lemon juice or vinegar; 500 g Sugar; 1.5 L Water; 10 g All-purpose flour; 3 pieces cardamom pods

Soft, spongy balls of fresh chhena cooked in light sugar syrup, made famous by the roadside sweet shops of Pahala on the Cuttack-Bhubaneswar highway.

🇮🇳India· Odisha

Prep: 30 min
Cook: 30 min
Total: 60 min
Servings: 8
Difficulty: Hard
Calories: 180 kcal

Ingredients

0 of 6 gathered

Servings

2 L Full fat milk — for making chhena
40 ml lemon juice or vinegar — for curdling
500 g Sugar — for syrup
1½ L Water — for syrup
10 g All-purpose flour — optional binder
3 pieces cardamom pods — crushed, optional

Equipment

•Wide pot
•Cheesecloth

Nutrition

Per serving, approximate

Calories: 180 kcal
fat: 5 g
carbs: 30 g
fibre: 0 g
protein: 6 g
calories: 180 kcal

Instructions

1
Bring milk to a boil. Slowly add lemon juice to curdle it completely, separating the chhena (fresh cheese curds) from the liquid whey.
2
Pour through a cheesecloth to strain. Rinse the chhena under cold water to remove any sour taste.
3
Hang the chhena to drain extra liquid for about thirty minutes.
4
Knead the chhena firmly on a flat surface until smooth and slightly oily. Add flour if it feels too soft.
5
Divide the chhena into equal small portions. Roll them into smooth balls without any cracks.
6
Boil sugar, water, and crushed cardamom together in a wide pot to make the syrup.
7
When the syrup boils rapidly, gently drop in the chhena balls.
8
Cover and boil rapidly for fifteen to twenty minutes. The balls will double in size and turn spongy.
9
Let the rasagola cool in the syrup for a few hours before serving so they soak up sweetness.

Chef's tips

Knead the chhena well until smooth and greasy to get light, spongy rasagola. Keep the syrup boiling rapidly throughout, as gentle simmering makes the sweets dense and hard.