Any visit to Kolkata, or Bengal, as a whole, is incomplete without the taste of this heavenly, syrup-dripping dessert. That is right, we are talking about Roshogolla. Although known as Rasgulla to the rest of the country, we prefer to call it by its original name, Roshogolla. It is a dessert made entirely with Chhana, or casein, a milk product made by putting lemon juice and other food acids in milk, Semolina dough, and sugar syrup. The chhana and the dough are mixed and made into small balls, and then cooked in the syrup until the syrup completely permeates the balls.

There is an ancient debate about the origin of Roshogolla: Some say that it is made first in Bengal, and some say in Orissa. However, after a long, long find over the registration of the Geographical Indication tag, Bengal won the long-standing fight in 2017, much to the joy of millions of Bengalis. Regardless of its birthplace, though, Roshogolla has always found a permanent residence in the sweetshops of Bengal, and in the hearts of hundreds of Bengalis. This dessert has made its way into everyday households during festivals, celebrations, welcoming of guests, or simply as a regular course of a meal.

Kolkata plays host to one of the oldest sweetshops, and the origin of Roshogolla: the Nobin Chandra Das and Sons sweetshop. You can get one of the softest, spongiest, and most delicious Roshogollas from here, and hey, you can claim to have had this legendary dessert from its originator! K. C. Das and Sons, named after Krishna Chandra Das, also share in on that legacy as the originator as he was the son of the aforementioned Nobin Chandra Das. You can visit one of their many branches to taste their flavorful Roshogollas, too.

Roshogolla has now become more than just a sweet; it is now a whole institution by itself. There are newer varieties of this age-old sweet coming up every day, with varying sizes and flavors. However, despite all the newer kinds of Roshogollas, the old and the authentic one remains a mass favorite, still.