KACHA GOLLA sweet: Festive time for Indians!
This time of the year is full of festivities for Indians! With the Navratras (festival of nine nights, worshipping Goddess Amba) and Durga puja (a Bengali grand festival of five days, in which the Goddess of power, called mother Durga, is worshipped) being just over, we are ready to welcome the biggest festival in India, the Diwali, which is the festival of lights!
We Indians like to associate and celebrate the auspiciousness of the festivals with a variety of strictly vegetarian dishes: the dominant one among them being sweets. If you happen to visit India during the Navaratras or Diwali, you will see a huge number of roadside stalls, along with the reputed sweet shops, dedicated to a huge variety of colourful sweets! These are made up of different constituents, such as gram flour, nuts, raisins, saffron, rose water, kewra essence, coconut, jaggery, sugar and of course, a very important ingredient: the milk. Milk is transformed into fine-quality chenna or paneer (cottage cheese) and these are then metamorphosed into a variety of sweets: the kinds differing markedly in their taste, smell and appearance.
This was my first Durga puja in Hong Kong and I was amazed by how the Bengali expats here preserve their culture even in a different country! As I said, an essential part of any Indian festivity is offering sweets to the Goddess and later, sharing this prasad (which means a gracious, edible gift having God’s blessings) among the devotees. But, one cannot find sweets in Hong Kong easily, except a few Indian superstores, keeping only a few varieties.
I was not ready to compromise on the quality of the sweets, so I made up my mind to make these myself. And there I was!
This authentic sweetmeat, originating in eastern India, is considered the purest form of sweet to be offered to the Goddess. Known as kaccha gola or kacha golla, the taste of this sweet is blissful. Each ball is so soft that it will melt in your mouth in a fraction of seconds! Made up of pure milk, it is a nutritious substitute for plain milk, which kids often refuse to drink.
Give this a try and go wild with its variations. I am sure you will like this heavenly dessert from India!
KACHA GOLLA sweet
Ingredients:
- Fresh, full-cream milk: 2 litres
- Lemon juice or vinegar: 4 tbsp
- Saffron strands: 8–10
- Green cardamom powder: ¼ tsp
- Granulated sugar (amount can be varied according to individual preference): 5 tbsp
- Fine muslin or cheesecloth
- Water: 5 tbsp
Method:
Let us first make the cottage cheese. For this, pour 1 tbsp water in a wok or a kadhai (so that the milk doesn’t stick to the bottom of the wok) and add the milk. Bring it to boil, adding the saffron strands and stirring from time to time. Slowly add 4 tbsp lemon juice mixed with equal amount of water, till the cheese and the whey just start to separate. Switch off the gas immediately to prevent hardening of the cheese.
After around 3 min, pour the chenna (the cottage cheese) and the whey into cheesecloth or a muslin cloth and run cold water on this to arrest further curdling and to wash away the lemony smell. Tie the cloth and squeeze the extra whey. Keep this cloth on a perforated plate or a flat colander. Put a heavy, flat object on this for 20 min, so that there is no extra whey left in the cottage cheese.
After 20 min, open the cloth and remove the saffron-infused cheese on another flat surface. Mash the cheese thoroughly for around 15 min with your palm. Finally, a stage would be reached when there are no lumps in the chenna and it can be turned into a smooth and creamy ball.
The secret behind making the kaccha gola is all in its kneading. The better you knead, the better the texture.
The cottage cheese can also be mashed thoroughly using a stone grinder (do not use a food processor for the same). To see how a stone grinder looks like, please refer to the second picture in my post on the Incredible Indian spices (click here to see).
Break the ball once again and add the cardamom powder and the sugar. Knead well once again. The process will take five to seven more minutes.
Divide the dough into equal-sized balls and smoothen the balls with your palms. This is best eaten fresh, since refrigeration makes these hard and dry.
October 19, 2011 @ 6:10 am
Yimmy yummy.Like how you explained about your holidays;)
October 19, 2011 @ 6:54 am
Hey Purabi! The Kaccha Gola looks delicious and so delicate!! I am a die-hard fan of Bengali sweets and my daughter is nuts about Kaccha Gola! Thanks for the post 🙂
October 19, 2011 @ 8:15 am
Looks like a great festival! And this recipe sounds tasty as well.
October 19, 2011 @ 11:17 am
When I was in the plantation used to have this during the Devali celebrations. Very nice indeed!
Have a happy Devali, even here in Malaysia one can feel it in the air already. It is public holidays for us here!
October 19, 2011 @ 2:23 pm
I was in Kolkata this time during puja and returned last weekend only. The Pujo hawa was still in the air…Though I am late but still would like to wish you Shubho Bijoya ! You have done a splendid job . Kaccha gola looks perfect.
Deepa
Hamaree Rasoi
October 19, 2011 @ 2:37 pm
thanks for these amazing step by step directions! this looks so hard to make, but you make it look so simple :). i love homemade goods 🙂
October 19, 2011 @ 2:55 pm
I never had these before so it really helps to have the step by step pictures. It’s great that you still preserve a part of your culture even when your abroad.
October 19, 2011 @ 6:31 pm
This is all new to me…but it looks like a delightful treat!
October 19, 2011 @ 6:48 pm
Beautiful! Happy holidays!! I just joined the Diwali festivities here in London.
October 19, 2011 @ 8:21 pm
Wow – they look so wonderful. I’ve heard of the milk-based sweets you have. I really want to try and make some myself sometime. I’m slowly building my courage from reading posts like yours 🙂
October 19, 2011 @ 8:54 pm
How fascinating. What a fun celebration. If you are in an area where sweets are in abundance what types would there be?
These cottage cheese balls sound delicious. I love how you detailed each step. I would like to make these just to see how wonderful they taste. Does your son like them?
What do you call the brass container with fire coming from it? Does it symbolize anything?
Very interesting post!
October 20, 2011 @ 12:40 am
These look really tasty!
October 20, 2011 @ 3:09 am
Purabi – these are beautiful! What a labor of love and you could tell by the pictures that the texture got better and better with the kneading. Enjoy the festivities!
October 20, 2011 @ 3:31 am
Thank you for all your motivating comments.
Vicki Bensinger: In India, we have atleast 20 kinds of sweets derived from milk. Then there are others, which are made up of gram flour fifs, cashewnuts, etc. But milk definitely dominates in these sweets! Aditya loves them and I bank on these since sometimes both my kids refuse to have milk. The brass container is called “diya” in Hindi and it is a must for any Hindu festival (function is the same as that of a candle) and symbolises auspiciousness. In older times, metals like copper, silver or even Gold (for the riches!) diyas were used to worship Indian Gods, since these metals were auspicious. Now, these have been replaced with brass.
Ann, I am glad that you liked the recipe. Yes, I wanted to show how kneading amazingly changes the texture of the cottage cheese, so I took these stepwise pictures! As usual, thank you so much for your kind comment!
October 20, 2011 @ 9:02 am
Happy Holidays to you and your family! Adtya is cute with the drum. 🙂 It’s interesting to see how simple ingredients turn into these cute and delicious balls! I love all the festivals and how exciting to spend time with friends and family. Enjoy the holiday!
October 20, 2011 @ 2:16 pm
Sounds like a yummy treat and I hope you and your family enjoy your holidays =)
October 20, 2011 @ 3:31 pm
Purabi, I just finished making khoya. I belong to an armed forces family so I know how we cook sweets in home and share with friends. Your sweet cottage balls looks wonderful. I will comeback again and see all of your recipes.
October 20, 2011 @ 10:37 pm
As I have never had this sweet before I can only imagine how good it must be, but cardamom and saffron it is not too hard to imagine at all. GREG
October 21, 2011 @ 2:41 am
What a great post about the festivities. These little treats look great, good instructions as well!
October 21, 2011 @ 3:43 am
Thank you for sharing about such a lovely tradition! These dessert balls certainly do look totally lush and heavenly – if I were a deity, I’d be very happy with them!
October 21, 2011 @ 10:48 am
What a wonderful sounding festivity Diwali is! And thank you for sharing this lovely recipe with us! 🙂
October 21, 2011 @ 12:51 pm
Very Interesting. Thanks for sharing the Fun & frolic of Durga Puja via your post & pictures. And the katccha Gola recipe is superb.Happy Diwali !
October 21, 2011 @ 12:52 pm
Purabi .. .These are gorgeous…. and wot a lovely write up……
October 21, 2011 @ 3:07 pm
Thanks for pass by at Talking Lens.. that one were still under construction really!!.. Err,one thing I Love about Diwali in Malaysia was,the FOOD!! ^_^.v.. Naan is the BEST!!
October 21, 2011 @ 4:57 pm
What beautiful pictures! Those dessert balls looks great, and I loved reading about your traditions.
October 21, 2011 @ 5:45 pm
Purabi-Thank you for sharing all the beautiful photos, and stories of your special Diwali festivities. In my former condo apartment, I was fortunate to share in the Diwali celebration by an Indian couple, that hosted the celebration, and I was so honored to be invited.
Love all the amazing vegetarian dishes, and your sweet treat that you made look so easy to make, but I would not dare try to make it!
Your little boy is so cute…the drums almost look bigger than he is!
xoxo
October 22, 2011 @ 5:14 am
Hey, thks for dropping by Luxury Haven & leaving me your lovely comments!
Interesting blog u’ve got here! What a colourful post! Let’s follow each other & share our love for food! I’m stalking u now 🙂
October 22, 2011 @ 11:50 am
Purabi, I couldn’t do without sweets, either! On my father’s side of the family, a “treat tradition” was to sprinkle brown sugar over cottage cheese. Maybe one of my ancestors brought the idea back from India?! 🙂 Thanks for sharing your history and culture!
October 22, 2011 @ 4:00 pm
Happy Diwali!! Kacha Gola looks YUM…we make a different version of milk sweet…like you said the main ingredient is milk! Cute pic of ur little one!!
October 23, 2011 @ 10:31 am
This looks very good. You have put together a great set of instructions.
I have a lot of Bengali stores beside me here in The Bronx. I do believe they are mostly Muslim. I know there are many culture on the sub continent is the food fairly interchangeable?
October 23, 2011 @ 11:19 am
Happy Diwali! My best friend and boyfriend in graduate school are Indian, so I’ve gone to MANY Diwali parties! So fun!!! And the sweets! YUM! 😀
October 23, 2011 @ 11:46 am
These look so delicious Purabi! Happy belated Durga Puja and Happy Diwali! I know it’s coming up! 🙂
Aditya looks soooo cute!!! <3
October 23, 2011 @ 1:15 pm
Thanks, friends, for your interesting comments!
The Culinary Lens: the food is interchangeable only to a certain extent. Each state in India has its own cuisine and sweets. This one is from the place I belong to (i.e., West Bengal/Kolkata) and these dishes/sweets are thus called Bengali sweets. I am sure during the Diwali time you will get quite a variety of sweets at Bronx. But, homemade is always better and pure!
Tiffany: oh, today I knew something more about you! So do let me know which Indian sweet is your favourite?
Manuela, thanks dear! Your comments are always so motivating! Happy Diwali to all of you!!
October 23, 2011 @ 1:32 pm
I have not made this before and its new to me, but sure looks yummy.
October 29, 2011 @ 8:58 am
Sounds like a great time to be in Hong Kong. Your photos are great and can’t wait to try your unusual sweet.
October 29, 2011 @ 10:45 pm
Happy Diwali to you, Purabi! It’s great to know that the Indian living in Hong Kong still celebrate the traditional festival. Great festival always come along with plenty of good sweets!
October 31, 2011 @ 8:20 am
Wow, these look amazing! What an idea! Is this traditional I’m guessing?
October 31, 2011 @ 8:57 am
Thanks, my readers, for your feedback! A happ belated Diwali to you all!
Tenina, yes, this is a traditional Indian sweet. I am sure, you’ll love it!
June 28, 2012 @ 4:42 am
i have never had this but i am sure they taste yumm.. can say from the pic.. i love that serving dish.. where did you get taht from??
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[…] throat dry and are moist and enjoyable to me. There is a kind of shondesh called Kacha Golla (click here for the recipe), which is a softer version of shondesh. Other popular kinds include the nalen gurer […]
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April 15, 2016 @ 10:38 am
Kachagolla, as the name itself suggests is a Bengali sweet and it tastes delicious.
P.S. I am the owner of a sweet shop in Kolkata and I am not a Bengali :P.
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January 15, 2019 @ 10:19 am
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October 22, 2021 @ 4:45 am
Thank You For Sharing ..really its amazing