10 Popular Bengali Sweets That You Must Try At Least Once
Overview
Bengalis share a deep bond with sweets which, in turn, have also become popular throughout the country. In this post, I will share about 10 popular Bengali sweets that you must try at least once in your life!
Table of Contents
What comes to your mind when you think about ‘Bengali sweets’? I am sure you would be thinking about Roshogulla, Shondesh, Mishti Doi, or Chum Chum - after all, they are among the popular ones. In this post_,_ I will share about 10 popular Bengali sweets that you must try at least once in your life! If you follow my blog, you may know by now that I belong to those few lucky people who get to live two cultures in one life. Being a North Indian, marrying a Bengali man introduced me to the Bengali culture. And being a food buff, it took no time for me to adapt to their food habits. Although I relish almost all classic Bengali dishes, over time, it’s the desserts that took a special place in my heart.
Bengalis share a deep bond with sweets which, in turn, have also become popular throughout the country. Interestingly, Bengal has a great heritage of sweet makers like Bhim Chandra Nag, and Balaram Mullick. So whether you have a sweet tooth or not, you can not stop yourself to fall in love with Bengali sweets.
Now without further ado here is the list of 10 popular Bengali sweets:
1. Mishti Doi
Mishti Doi
In Bengali ‘mishti’ means sweet and ‘doi’ means curd (yogurt). Mishti Doi is the most loved Bengali dessert. It is prepared by boiling milk until it is slightly thickened, sweetening it with sugar, or gur (Jaggery) and then allowing it to set overnight. Mishti Doi tastes best when you allow it to set in a terracotta or clay pot.
2. Shondesh
Sandesh
Shondesh or Sandesh is probably one of the most well-known Bengali/Indian desserts. The basic ingredient for making Sandesh is chhanna or cottage cheese. This chhanna is mixed with sugar in different temperatures to make different variants of this sweet. There are many types of Sandesh like basic Makha Sandesh, Kanchagolla. There are also some sophisticated ones like Parijat, Dilkhush, Abar khabo, mango flavoured Aam Sandesh, chocolate flavoured Chocolate Sandesh. It is a melt-in-the-mouth dessert and also a gift from Bengal to India.
3. Roshogulla
Roshogulla
Roshogolla is a soft round sweet made out of chhanna and dipped into a sugar syrup. It is one of India’s most celebrated desserts.
Ami Bangali, Roshogulla Amader Adhikar. (I am a Bengali, Roshogulla is our Right ).
There was a battle between two states, Odisha and Bengal over the origin of the sugar syrup sweet Roshogulla. Although origin of this sweet is still controversial, I think both states have their own variety of rosogulla. Nevertheless, nowadays this the most popular dessert all over the country.
4. Chomchom
Chomchom
Chomchom or chumchum is a traditional Bengali sweet and popular all over the India. This soft and juicy sweet comes in a variety of colours - mainly light pink, light yellow, and white. It is coated with coconut or mawa flakes as a garnish. Nowadays you can easily find this sweet in any popular sweet shop in India.
5. Payesh
Payesh (Rice Pudding)
This Bengali delicacy is a rice-based pudding made on several occasions such as baby showers, birthdays, and Annaprashana. This dessert can easily be made at home and for Bengalis, no celebration is complete without payesh.
6. Puli Peethe
Puli peethe
Peethas are primarily made from a batter of rice flour or wheat flour, which is shaped and optionally filled with sweet or savoury ingredients. Puli peethe is a variation of the same.
This dessert is made with rice flour with coconut and jaggery filling. These dumplings can be dipped in milk to enhance their taste.
7. Narkel Naru
Coconut Laddo
In the Bengali language ‘narkel’ means coconut, ‘gurer’ means jaggery and ‘naru’ means ladoo. Narkel Naru can be made with sugar or jaggery. We usually make this sweet on the occasion of Lakshmi puja.
8. Labong Latika
Labong Latika
Labong Latika is usually made during the auspicious period of Durga Puja or Makara Sankranti. Labong or Lavang means cloves. This sweet is made of sweetened khoya, filled inside a crusty pastry covering and sealed with cloves. This is later dipped in sugar syrup to give it a rich flavour.
9. Patishapta
Patishapta
Patisapta is also one of the Bengali delicacies and especially made on the day of Poush Sankranti or Makar Sankranti. Authentic Bengali style Patishapta is made with rice flour, jaggery and coconut.
10. Pantua
Pantua
Pantua is also a very popular Bengali sweet. It is similar to North Indian gulab jamun and could be called a Bengali variant of that sweet. The only difference is that Gulab jamun uses khoya while pantua uses cottage cheese (chhanna) as well as khoya together in general. Pantua is more soft and juicy than gulab jamun.
Have you ever tried these Bengali sweets? Which one is your favourite? Let me know in the comment section.
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Popular Bengali Sweets
This blog post is part of the blog challenge ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’ hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla.
See Also
- Shorshe Bata Maach (Fish Fry in Mustard Paste) Recipe
- Spinach Recipe - Palang Shaager Chorchori
- 9 Traditional Dishes Of Uttar Pradesh, India
