Kacha golla – A soft, melt in mouth cheese balls which does not require much expertise in cooking.
Sweet soft cheese balls – Kachagolla – a simple and perfect way to give a teary farewell to Ma Durga.
I was all set to prepare Coconut Rice Pudding and sweet coconut balls for Dussehra or Vijaya Dashami. Then, Ma prepared these soft cheese balls aka “Kacha Golla” a couple of days ago. She convinced me to prepare this recipe instead of coconut balls; so I prepared the coconut rice pudding and these soft cheese balls for Dashami.
As I mentioned before, preparing a large variety of sweets is a customary practice at our home for Vijaya Dashami. We have many relatives, friends, dad’s students, and neighbors stop by our home to exchange Vijaya greetings after the festival is over. No one (not even a phone repair guy) returns from our home without having a plate of sweets and water.
I am not that generous and we both love Bengali sweets from the bottom of our heart.
‘Kacha Gollas’ and Bengalis have an inseparable link. They are melt in the mouth soft cheese balls. At Kolkata, there are two types of ‘Kacha Gollas’ – one with jaggery and the other one with sugar. I don’t remember the ‘Kacha gollas’ with sugar, as Dad rarely brought that home. He used to bring jaggery ‘kacha gollas’ most of the time.
It’s semi or partially cooked and I can guarantee that they melt in the mouth as soon as you pour them in. However, I can’t guarantee that you won’t overeat – they are too delicious.
We used to eagerly wait for winter to come in order to try these soft kacha gollas. They are prepared with fresh date jaggery, which was only available in winter. But in Boston, date jaggery is pretty much available all year long in any Bangladeshi Store.
When I prepared these desserts, I asked my husband if he wants to share some of them with our co-workers. He gave me a rolling eye and said -“You kidding me? No way!” So I decided to prepare them once more in Diwali and share them.
The reason we loved kacha golla is because they are very low in sugar so we don’t feel bloated or too full after having this as dessert. If you’re looking for an easy lightweight dessert, you should definitely prepare this recipe.
Here are some other Bengali desserts to bring festivity to your home.
- Ras-malai – Cheese Balls in milk syrup
- Mishti Doi – Sweet yogurt
- Patisapta – Eggless sweet crepes
- Chocolate Sondesh – Chocolate fresh cheese balls
- Bhapa Sondesh – Steamed fresh cheese sweets
- Rosogolla – Cheese Balls in sugar syrup
- Sondesh – Jaggery fresh cheese sweets
- Carrot Halwa
- Pithe – Stuffed Coconut Dumplings
- Payesh – Jaggery Rice Pudding
Storyofcooks wishes everyone a very happy Dusshera and Vijaya Dashami.
Special Note: Sujatha asked me why we call it “Kacha Golla” even if they are partially cooked because Kacha means raw. My mom got this recipe from a sweet store close to her maternal home. The head chef told the secret and advised her to cook partially. It brings out the best flavor and my sweets EXACTLY taste like the store bought ones. Hope it clears out the confusion.
Recipe for Kacha Golla
If you’re using 1 litre (1/4 gallon) milk use 75 grams of jaggery. Do the math if you’re preparing more. I have used slightly less jaggery as we are not a big fan of super sweet.
If you’re making fresh paneer, use 1 lemon + 1 tablespoon vinegar + 1 tablespoon water per litre of milk.
Ingredients
Instructions
1. In a non-stick saucepan, over a medium-high heat, heat milk (do not use a substitute for full-fat). Keep stirring, otherwise the milk will stick to the bottom. When it starts to boil (make sure it is a rolling boil), set it aside.
2. Cut lemons in half and squeeze the juice into a bowl. Add one tablespoon of water and vinegar.
3. Add lemon-vinegar solution to the milk. It will start coagulating within 3 to 4 seconds.
4. Hold a strainer over a mixing bowl and line it with a cheesecloth. Carefully pour the milk curds into the strainer, letting the whey collect in the bowl. Set the whey aside. (You can save the milk whey for making paneer in the future)
5. Add 2 cups (or more) of water to the paneer and wash it well (washing it not only helps to get rid of the acidity, but also helps cool it down).
Gather the four corners of the cheesecloth in your hand and gently squeeze to remove the excess whey (you do not need to hang the paneer to it cool down as long as you squeeze it well enough).
6. Set it aside in a big mixing bowl. Add jaggery and with the palm of your hands, knead the paneer for 7 to 8 minutes. Now, it should have a fine consistency.
7. In a non-stick pan, over a low heat, heat the kneaded paneer dough. Stir continuously for 8 minutes (use a timer). Paneer and jaggery dough should not stick to the non-stick pan very much. Check my picture for consistency. Set it aside. Grease your hands with ghee; then, when they are cool enough to handle, shape them like balls with palm of your hand.
If you have molds, you can also shape them in molds. Take a piece of the mold, grease it well with ghee. Create several of them like a ball working in between your palms. Press the balls into the mold. Gently push the edge with your fingertips and carefully take it aside on a plate. You can serve it immediately or chilled.
You can save them in a pyrex container inside of a refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Gorgeous photos! Specially the first one!
What a wonderful post with lovely images and dessert ❤️❤️????
It is a wonderful and a divine post Dolphia. Finally found my couch to read in peace.. The first image of the goddess is just so beautiful.., the photographer has done a fab capture.
The Kacha Golla moulds and the making is just so inviting.. The second image after the mould image is making me visit a sweet store soon. It is well composed with the subtle diya lit at the back . The image with 2 lit diya’s is actually distracting because of the yellow illumination at the back.
Have a fab weekend !
Thank you so much dearie, that you spent time to go through my post. Much thanks for the suggestions.
Beautiful post Dolphia. Loved the props you have used in this. I am so tempted to give this a try… 🙂
Hi,
Lovely blog and i loved your recipes. I am from Calcutta too , but live in Perth. Yes, I miss calcutta so much specially when it comes to food.
I love making mishti at home ( am not bengali , but miss it heaps) Notice the moulds and was wondering if you can let me know where you purchased them from please. I make misthi all the time and always wish I could dish them out in nice shapes and stuff, but stuck with boring round or peda shapes…sigh!!
Thanks , well your blog has been added to my bookmarks….so have to try the dishes you posted!
Thanks for your love Serena! You can buy them only from Kolkata. Let me know if you want to know where in Kolkata
Stunning post. ♥♥♥