Kacha Golla

Ingredients

Fresh cheese

• 3 litreswhole milk
• juice of 2 lemons
• or 4 tablespoons vinegar
• cold water, for rinsing

To sweeten

• 200 gsugar
• or 200 g jaggery, grated
• 1 teaspoonground cardamom

Sometimes added

• a pinch of saffron
• 2 tablespoonschopped pistachios
• 1 teaspoonrose water

To serve

• small bowls
• a spoon
• chilled or at room temperature

Directions

1. Pour the milk into a heavy pot. Bring it up slowly to a full boil. Stir it so it does not catch on the base. Take it off the heat once it boils.
2. Let it stand for two full minutes. Adding acid to furiously boiling milk is too harsh. Add the lemon juice a little at a time. Stir gently after each addition. Keep adding until the whey runs clear. Judging the split takes a look.
3. Add a little more acid to it if so. Do not add more than you need. Line a sieve with muslin or a clean cloth. Pour the curds and whey through it. Pour cold water over the curds. Rinse them thoroughly in the cloth. Draining it takes some judgement.
4. Hang it for about thirty minutes. Too wet and the sweet will not hold at all. Turn it out onto a clean surface. Knead it with the heel of your hand. Give it about five full minutes.
5. Put the chhana in a heavy pan. Add the sugar to the pan with it. Set the pan over a very low heat. Stir it constantly with a spoon. Judging when it is done is the whole skill. Take it off while it still looks loose. Stir in the ground cardamom now.
6. Add the saffron and rose water if using them. Take it off the heat entirely. Spread it out in a shallow dish.
7. Let it cool to room temperature. It should still be easily spoonable. Spoon it out into small bowls. Scatter chopped pistachios over it. It keeps three days refrigerated.

Technique

• Golla means ball and kacha means raw or unset, so the name means unset ball; it is not formed into balls at all, and the name records what it is not.
• Chhana is fresh milk curdled with acid, strained and drained, and is the base of most Bengali sweets; cooked further this same mixture becomes sandesh, firm enough to mould, while kacha golla stops well before that point.
• Rinse the curds thoroughly in cold water after straining, since skipping that leaves a sour lemony taste, and drain them so they are soft and damp but not dripping, because too wet will not hold and too dry goes grainy.

Substitutions

• Vinegar stands in for lemon juice to curdle the milk.
• Jaggery can replace the sugar and gives a deeper flavour.

Variations

• Some makers add saffron or rose water and others keep it plain.
• Cooked further, the same mixture becomes sandesh.
• Chopped pistachios are scattered over in most versions.

History

The signature sweet of Natore in northern Bangladesh, granted a national geographical indication for its origin.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kacha Golla?

Kacha Golla is a dessert from Bangladesh: loose, crumbly fresh-cheese sweet eaten with a spoon rather than shaped. The signature sweet of Natore in northern Bangladesh, granted a national geographical indication for its origin.

How long does Kacha Golla take to make?

Kacha Golla takes 30 minutes of preparation and 30 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Kacha Golla?

Yes, within limits. Vinegar stands in for lemon juice to curdle the milk. Jaggery can replace the sugar and gives a deeper flavour.

What is the most important thing to get right in Kacha Golla?

Add a little more acid to it if so. Do not add more than you need. Line a sieve with muslin or a clean cloth. Pour the curds and whey through it. Pour cold water over the curds. Rinse them thoroughly in the cloth. Draining it takes some judgement.