Nalen Gurer Rashogolla

                            
Happy New Year!! We Bengalis always drool over delectable sweets exclusively made with Nalen gur or Khejur gur (Date palm jaggery) in winter months, be it Rashogolla(Cottage cheese dumpling), Sandesh(Cottage cheese fudge), Pithe(Crepe and Dumpling), Payesh(Rice Pudding) even Ice cream these days. Sweet shops in every corner of the city in my hometown serve scrumptious Bengali sweets with Nalengur without which winter is just incomplete.

Today, I will share very famous Bengali sweet Nalen Gurer Rashogolla prepared with freshly made chana(curdled milk) and  flavorful date palm jaggery. Rashogolla is normally made with white sugar but the smokey earthy fragrance of Nalen gur makes Rashogolla specialty that everybody awaits through out the year.    

The essential element for this delicacy is Date palm jaggery  prepared by boiling the sap from date palm syrup available in West Bengal and Bangladesh in the winter months only. During my last  travel to India I brought quite a few chunks of Nalen gur. All credits goes to my dear Jamaibabu(brother- in-law) who special ordered Nalen gur that has no additives and my big sister who saved them for me with great care. It gets bit soft though after a while but stays fresh in the refrigerator for a long time. 

Ingredients~ 
1/2 gallon of 2%milk
1/3 cup white distilled vinegar(US standard 8oz. cup)
1 1/2 tbsp all purpose flour
2 1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup date palm jaggery
8 cups water 

Special equipment:
Heavy bottom wide pan with the lid
Microwave safe glass bowl
Food processor
Medium spoon
Cheese cloth
Strainer

Cooking level:
Medium

Follow chana recipe here.

Method~
Add sugar, jaggery and 8 cups water in a deep wide heavy bottom pan. Let it boil in medium high heat. Taste the syrup and adjust sweetness level to your own preference. While sugar/jaggery syrup is boiling knead chhana with flour to a smooth texture. I use food processor for convenience. But you can knead chhana by hand for 5-6 minutes just like roti dough. Chhana must be very smooth and soft but it won't be sticky. Divide chana into 20 equal parts and roll them to smooth and round balls between your palms. The moment syrup comes to a full rolling boil, drop the balls one after another. Cover with a lid. Within 5-6 minutes rashogolla will expand. They become more than double of their size after boiling, then shrink back little bit when stops cooking. Take off the lid if syrup is over flowing. Let it boil on medium/high flame for 25 minutes. Remove from the heat and let it cool completely. Refrigerate them for 3-4 hours and serve chilled or room temperature as you like.