Rosogolla: The debate between Bengal and Odisha

Sweet syrup treat to our taste buds

Getting a GI (Geographical Indication) tag for a dish like Rosogolla started a never-ending battle of claims between West Bengal and Odisha, the states in India.

Rasgulla or Rosogolla (Bengali: Rosogolla, Odia: Rasgulla) is a South Asian syrupy dessert popular in the Indian subcontinent . The ball-shaped dumplings of chhena (an Indian cottage cheese) and semolina dough, cooked in light sweet syrup made of sugar. This is done until the soft dumplings are drenched completely in the sweet sugar syrup.

Source:Cakeindustry.in

The claim to this mouth-watering sweet started a cold war between the two neighboring states of India. Odisha claimed that the Jagannath temple in Puri existed since the 12th century and they had been offering the rasgulla as prasad to the Gods ever since. Historians of Orissa are of the belief that rasgulla was earlier called as khir mohana which had originated in Puri. Khir mohana later became the very famous sweet Pahala rasgulla. The old customs and prayers of Jaganaath mentions the sweet dish. The historians and scholars have developed a lot of stories, one of the most famous scholar Laxmidhar Pujapanda states that the Niladri Bije tradition is mentioned in Niladri Mahodaya, which is dated to the 18th century by Sarat Chandra Mahapatra, according to Mahapatra, several temple scriptures, which are over 300 years old, provide the evidence of rasgulla offering ritual in Puri. Even the local believe, Goddess Laxmi gets upset because her husband Lord Jagannath goes on a 9-day sojourn (the Ratha Yatra) without her consent. To appease her, Jagannath offers her rasgullas. This ritual, known as Bachanika, is part of the "Niladri Bije" (or "Arrival of the God") observance, which marks the return of the deities to the temple after the Ratha Yatra.

Looking at the other side of the coin, West Bengal claimed that rosogolla was invented by a Bengali confectioner Nobin Chandra Das. He prepared the dessert with chhena and semolina dough cooked in sweet syrup. Later, he sold the rosogollas in his own shop in Sutanuti (Bagh Bazar). His descendants claimed that the recipe used by him was original and thus it gained its popularity. According to another theory, it is assumed that the Bengali visitors to Puri might have carried the recipe for rasgulla back to Bengal in the nineteenth century.

The not so sweet battle on a sweet continued for a very long time. Although both got GI tags, from GI Registrar office at Chennai, which later specifically clarified that West Bengal was given GI status only for the Bengali version of Rasgulla ("Banglar Rasogolla"), not for the sweet's origin. On 29 July 2019 the GI Registry of India granted Odisha the GI status for Odisha Rasgulla. Banglar Rosogolla is very different in color, texture, taste, juice content and method of manufacturing from the variant produced in Odisha.

Lastly, I can say be it Banglar Rosogolla or Odisha Rasgulla, the sweet is winning hearts all over the country.