Orissa Famous Rassogolla

Bikalananda Kar’s Rassogollas, Salepur

9 December 2007

Puru, Maya, Mark and I set off from Cuttack, three people lighter, on our way to Bhitarkanika National Park on Day 6 of our “vacation” in Orissa. As we approached the State highway that would take us to Chandbali, our destination for the night, we asked the driver if there were any specialties (food, of course) anywhere along the way. BK Sahu’s face lit up and he said: “Sir, the rassogollas in Salepur are famous. It is a compulsory stop for anyone passing by.” Well, if it was a compulsory stop, then stop we must.

Contrary to popular opinion (that the Bengali’s have made sure to propagate), the rassogolla was invented in Orissa and the best rassogollas in Orissa are to be found at Bikalananda Kar’s Rassogollas in Salepur. Indeed, the rassogollas (or rasgullas, as they are otherwise pronounced and spelled in Hindi) at the Kar Brothers’ establishment are wonderful. They are slightly darker in color than the ones in West Bengal or elsewhere in India because these are cooked in syrup sweetened with gur (unrefined palm sugar). And they are absolutely fresh. They don’t have the slightly spongy, even squeeky, texture of other rasgullas I’ve had.

In addition to the rassogollas, we had deep fried snacks which they called “vadai“, sort of like pakoras, served with a sweet and slightly spicy chutney made with tamarind, mango, chili and the secret ingredient: left-over rassogolla syrup.

Off to Orissa

We have been in Pondicherry for 48 hours – just enough time to see the majority of our friends, clean our room to make it habitable, and top up our SIM cards – and we are off to Orissa. We are going on “vacation” (it is unclear what it means for us to be on “vacation”) with 5 friends. A month ago, I believed we had a set itinerary – a very logical south to north progression along the eastern coast of Orissa. 5 days before we departed for India, I learned that our itinerary had been turned pretty much upside down. Two hours before we depart, everything is still up in the air, except for our first destination.

At 11:30pm, after a possible tour of Dakshinachitra and Mahabalipuram and dinner with a couple of friends in Chennai, we will board the Howrah Mail from Chennai Central and arrive in Cuttack the night of the 4th. The next evening, we will attend the annual Konark Dance Festival, set in the natyamandir (dancing hall) of the sun temple of Konark, a world heritage site. We hope to visit Chilka Lake, the city of Puri, Gram Vikas (an NGO whose campus is located near Berhampur), Bhitarkanika National Park, and Simlipal Tiger Reserve or the Sundarbans, not necessarily in this order. We depart from Calcutta the evening of the 14th or the morning of the 16th.

Wish us luck tiger-spotting.