Hi folks!
When I was eleven, I entered into an extempore speech contest for the first time ever. My topic was Rasgulla or, as we Bengalis lovingly call it, Rasogolla (ball of juice). I earned a second-prize spot, a kilo of Rasgullas from a “fan”, and a nickname that stuck around in citywide elocution and extempore circuits for a few extremely annoying years. Oddly enough, it was one of the few sweets that I enjoyed at the time. My sweet tooth has lengthened over the years—proof that people CAN change—and I still love it. So, imagine my surprise when I discovered that one of my favourite sweets is also GI tagged. Banglar Rasogolla was given its GI tag in 2017. The use of “Banglar” in the name indicates that the GI tag doesn’t apply to other varieties of Rasgullas, but more on that later.
There are many stories about how the Rasogolla was invented. One of the most popular is that it was invented in 1868 by Nabin Chandra Das. His son, KC Das, carried on his father’s legacy, and his name is now a world-famous brand for Bengali sweets. Another theory claims that it was invented in the 19th century by Haradhan Mondal, a Phulia-based moira (sweetmaker). There are also legends of its popularity in Nabadwip and Phulia under the patronage of Sri Chaitanya, which is tied to the idea of its popularisation in other regions with the spread of the Bhakti Movement.
Another historian claims that the Rasogolla was invented by Braja Moira in 1866, two years before Nabin Chandra Das. There are many such theories of how this sweet came to be, and claimants to the throne of “first there” include the Jatingolla, Gopalgolla, Bhabanigolla, and Rasugolla. Whatever be the truth about the origin, there is no doubt that Nabin Chandra brought a certain refinement to the sweet that helped it reach its immense popularity.
The sweet itself—for those unfamiliar with it—is soft and spongy. It has a porous body and is pure white in colour. It’s closest sibling is the Nolen Gurer Rasogolla, which incorporates Nolen Gur (Date Palm Jaggery) and is reddish in colour in consequence. Three close cousins are Angoori (tiny, less spongy), Rajbhog (larger, yellowish, stuffed with nuts and cardamom), and Kamalabhog (orange variant). Apart from these traditional varieties, these days one can find many fusion and experimental options like Baked Rasogolla, Chocolate Rasogolla, Fruit-flavoured options, and many more.
It is important to mention here about the great Rasgulla controversy. This is essentially a war of claims between Bengal and Odisha about which region the Rasgulla was invented in, with both claiming to be the first to create this delicacy. The story according to historians of Odisha is that it first came into being as Khir Mohana at the Jagannath temple in Puri and later became the Pahala Rasagola. The version found in Odisha received its own GI tag in 2019 and is known as the Odisha Rasagola. This version too has a few variants like the reddish Rasagolas of Pahala and the coloured Rasagolas of Kalahandi.
When I was very young, Doordarshan used to run a Public Service Advertisement where kids from different cultures of India shared the contents of their lunch boxes. The “Bengali” kid would say, “Amar Rasogolla bhishon meetha, khao khao na!” (My Rasgulla is very sweet, please do eat). I used to grind my teeth whenever I heard this line, partly because of the implication that Bengalis speak poor Hindi, partly because of the cliché of the Rasgulla-loving Bengali, and partly because of the invariable association of Bengalihood with the Rasogolla, a sweet whose name lends itself so well to the fun poked at the Bengali language for its rounded vowel sounds. The line still bothers me for most of the same reasons, but I have given up being annoyed by the Bengali-Rasogolla association.
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This post is a part of Blogchatter A2Z Challenge 2026
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