Beyond The Rosogolla: A Mishti Trail In Bengal

Mishti바카라 웹사이트is the sweetest word in Bengali language. It means 'sweet' and it sounds sweet. Bengali girls are often named바카라 웹사이트Mishti—they look sweet, they sound sweet; all of it can by and large can be called a sweet affair.

I recall a famous Bengali movie that came out a few years back called바카라 웹사이트Maach Mishti & More—the name was such that one won't forget it for years.바카라 웹사이트I often wonder where would Bengal go if not for바카라 웹사이트mishti, and how would Bengalis survive life's trifles and troubles without this sweet lifelong affair. Bengal라이브 바카라 economy is highly, if not totally, dependent on Bengalis' love for바카라 웹사이트mishti.

Although it is an evergreen phenomenon in the life of a Bong, come December and the charm of the바카라 웹사이트mishti바카라 웹사이트heightens manifold. This happens with the support of바카라 웹사이트nolen gur바카라 웹사이트or date palm jaggery. But winter or no winter, the charm of Bengal라이브 바카라 sweet affair is far from fading.

So, here is a 'tiny' list of West Bengal라이브 바카라 sweetest delicacies in various shapes and forms. I came across these during my last visit to Kolkata, having seen some fifteen odd varieties of sweets in my own home in a stint of a little more than a couple of days.

Nolen Gur'er Soufflé바카라 웹사이트

A thick layer of creamy jaggery soufflé over a thick layer of soft sondesh, this will have you licking your lips. Let me first introduce the star ingredient:바카라 웹사이트nolen바카라 웹사이트(new)바카라 웹사이트gur. It is a word that makes every Bong skip a heartbeat and go weak in their knees. It is date palm jaggery, an extremely seasonal product that Bengalis buy during winter and store in a refrigerator forever. It is made from the first flush of juice from the date palm trees. Only the first flush makes a premium quality바카라 웹사이트nolen gur, rest goes to make other inferior variants of jaggery.

West Bengal라이브 바카라 villages are the actual creators of this jaggery, with Nadia, North and South 24 Parganas, Murshidabad and Malda districts being the key contributors. Every evening during winters, earthen containers are tied to date palm trees to catch the oozing sap. The date palm juice is then retrieved from the trees before sunrise and is then heated to convert it into jaggery.

Then they sell it in different varieties to different kinds of customers, after which it reaches every corner of West Bengal. No wonder the jaggery is perceived as premium and is quite highly priced.바카라 웹사이트The famous Amitabh Bachchan movie바카라 웹사이트Saudagar바카라 웹사이트(1973) revolved around the same theme, and was based on the Bengali short story바카라 웹사이트Ras바카라 웹사이트by Narendranath Mitra.

Going back to this heavenly dessert, it seems to be the original creation of one of the most popular sweet chains of Bengal, Balaram Mullick and Radharaman Mullick.바카라 웹사이트The bottom layer is made of a soft variant of sondesh made of바카라 웹사이트nolen gur, known as바카라 웹사이트makha sondesh. Above바카라 웹사이트makha sondesh바카라 웹사이트lies a thick layer of soufflé,바카라 웹사이트again made of바카라 웹사이트nolen gur. It is rich in taste and gorgeous to look at. This sweet may have different variants, like come summer and the jaggery soufflé gets replaced by mango soufflé.

Baked Sondesh바카라 웹사이트Roll바카라 웹사이트

This one has a slightly baked바카라 웹사이트rosogolla바카라 웹사이트(rasgulla) wrapped in a thick layer of baked바카라 웹사이트sondesh! That means it is a huge slice of thick바카라 웹사이트sondesh바카라 웹사이트rolled carefully after placing a바카라 웹사이트rosogolla바카라 웹사이트inside it. As one takes a bite of this, I found an interesting blend of flavours—the softly sweetened바카라 웹사이트sondesh바카라 웹사이트first, followed by a more sweeter, baked바카라 웹사이트rosogolla. Overall I found this sweet quite delicious.

Now,바카라 웹사이트sondesh바카라 웹사이트is a famous dessert said to have originated somewhere around the 16th century in the larger Bengal region.바카라 웹사이트It is mostly made of바카라 웹사이트kheer바카라 웹사이트or바카라 웹사이트chhena바카라 웹사이트(cottage cheese). Interestingly,바카라 웹사이트using curdled milk was a taboo in India in the earlier times, marking it inauspicious. But바카라 웹사이트chhena바카라 웹사이트became an important raw material for making sweets courtesy the first set of western influence in the form of Portuguese who reached Kolkata through its port and settled at Chittagong initially, which was then part of undivided India but now falls in Bangladesh and later spread to parts of Hooghly district.바카라 웹사이트

Sondesh바카라 웹사이트means news or message. Bengalis practiced this tradition of sending sweets or food as a gift to families and friends and hence the sweet got its name. In fact sweets remain the one important gift to be carried while visiting someone even now. In West Bengal, even now, any form or variant of sweet can be found in every household, almost every day.

Makha Sondesh

Sondesh바카라 웹사이트is commonly prepared by using바카라 웹사이트chhena바카라 웹사이트by tossing it with sugar over a low flame. Later this hot, sweetened바카라 웹사이트chhena바카라 웹사이트is shaped into small balls which are called ‘Kanchagolla’. This is the most simple version of바카라 웹사이트sondesh. This sweet is then put in a small use and throw bowl for serving to customers.

I learnt that many years ago when the extreme heat of Kolkata summers,바카라 웹사이트chhena바카라 웹사이트rotting바카라 웹사이트was a big wastage. To counter this daily wastage of a tasteless but useful by-product of milk, it was mixed with the molasses or sugar and a fine paste was made out of it.바카라 웹사이트One inquisitive person started mixing sugar,바카라 웹사이트khoya바카라 웹사이트(milk fudge) and cardamom powder with it and it finally resulted in beautiful and awesome tasting paste known as바카라 웹사이트makha sondesh. That was the first form of the바카라 웹사이트sondesh, known to Bengalis.

The same바카라 웹사이트sondesh바카라 웹사이트can be prepared in different complex ways and that gives rise to other variants where it is filled with syrup, blended with coconut or바카라 웹사이트kheer, and moulded into a variety of shapes.

Sondesh바카라 웹사이트is a symbol of fusion of the two cultures, Bengali and Portuguese, because Portuguese loved their cheese! First바카라 웹사이트sondesh바카라 웹사이트with바카라 웹사이트chhena바카라 웹사이트was made in Hooghly district in West Bengal. A small town called Bandel in Hooghly district was another important settlement of Portuguese in West Bengal. It is said that the local cooks (mostly Indian and Burmese) learnt the art of curdling milk to create바카라 웹사이트chhena바카라 웹사이트from their Portuguese masters and spread the word among their own people. That라이브 바카라 how the knowledge about it spread and hence our current-day바카라 웹사이트sondesh바카라 웹사이트and바카라 웹사이트rosogolla바카라 웹사이트were born.

Joynagar'er Moa

Joynagar'er Moa바카라 웹사이트is made with바카라 웹사이트nolen gur바카라 웹사이트(jaggery made from바카라 웹사이트date palm바카라 웹사이트tree extract), kanakchur khoi바카라 웹사이트(a form of popped rice made from a special variety of aromatic rice), ghee,바카라 웹사이트cardamom, raisins, cashew nuts, etc.바카라 웹사이트No wonder this one is a seasonal sweet, available only during winters because both the key ingredients, date palm jaggery and바카라 웹사이트kanakchur khoi바카라 웹사이트are available only during winters.

This sweet is a specialty sweet of a place called Joynagar in South 24 Parganas in West Bengal. All these years the sweet came to Kolkata from Joynagar itself. But recently many sweet makers in Kolkata have also started making it, sometimes by using artificial ingredients only for the sake of its popularity.바카라 웹사이트

This delicacy obtained the GI tag in 2014 and was exported for the first time this year after 117 years of its birth! GI tag signifies a product has a specific geographical origin and enjoys a reputation because of it. This gives the certificate of authenticity only to some 25 shops in Joynagar only. Nevertheless, I found this sweet바카라 웹사이트 from Balaram Mullick and Radharaman Mullick genuinely delectable and flavourful.

Shankha Sondesh (Conch-Shaped Sandesh)

There can be different types of sondesh, be it in shape or raw material. This one라이브 바카라 a date palm jaggery one, found during winters. The same sweet can be made with sugar during rest of the year. Even the shape of the conch may vary depending on the mould being used. This is a slightly hardened form of바카라 웹사이트makha sondesh,바카라 웹사이트a common variant made of jaggery. It can also be called winter special바카라 웹사이트sondesh.

The soft and moist바카라 웹사이트chhena바카라 웹사이트is cooked with the perfect ratio of sugar/jaggery, cardamom powder and put in different moulds to make바카라 웹사이트sondesh. The same바카라 웹사이트sondesh바카라 웹사이트can have rose water or vanilla as an ingredient for flavour, or become a mango바카라 웹사이트sondesh바카라 웹사이트during winters. It라이브 바카라 about tweaking it slightly based on the seasonal ingredients. The바카라 웹사이트sondesh바카라 웹사이트and its many variants, can make you swoon with delight. In fact, noted food historian Colleen Taylor Sen rightly calls바카라 웹사이트sondesh바카라 웹사이트the ‘Emblem of Bengaliness’.

I have a very fond childhood memory associated with바카라 웹사이트sondesh. As a child I would visit my maternal home in central Kolkata almost every year, where brothers of my maternal grandfather lived with their families. That one was an old and huge house, with multiple rooms and a big courtyard, each room inhabited by one family. So I had not one but many grandfathers to pamper me. I called one of them, ‘hansh dadu’ meaning ‘duck grandfather’ as he would take me for a walk in the evening and get me a duck-shaped바카라 웹사이트sondesh바카라 웹사이트from a small shop close to the children라이브 바카라 park, every day. The바카라 웹사이트sondesh바카라 웹사이트was not important to me, the duck was!

Chocolate Sondesh
This one is an interesting fusion of바카라 웹사이트sondesh바카라 웹사이트and chocolate. The proportion of chocolate may vary for different formats of this kind of sweet. Liquid chocolate can be used as an icing on a바카라 웹사이트sondesh바카라 웹사이트or it can be out an out a chocolate바카라 웹사이트sondesh바카라 웹사이트with cocoa powder well mixed with바카라 웹사이트chhena,바카라 웹사이트sugar, salt, chocolate chips etc. There is one more format where the바카라 웹사이트sondesh바카라 웹사이트may be filled with liquid chocolate inside or on the top. These are more modern formats of sweets, very popular in Kolkata.

We see how far the바카라 웹사이트sondesh바카라 웹사이트has travelled. Kolkata라이브 바카라 Balaram Mullick & Radharaman Mullick Sweets is leading from the front when it comes to variants of chocolate바카라 웹사이트sondesh, with options like Choco lava, Choco fudge, Choco bon-bon, Choco excess, Cadmish (Cadbury라이브 바카라 chocolate and바카라 웹사이트raisins) and more.

Jolbhora Sondesh
The name means, ‘sondesh filled with water’. It is not literally filled with water, instead it may be filled with coconut water, liquid jaggery, chocolate syrup, mango syrup etc. This one is the same바카라 웹사이트sondesh바카라 웹사이트made little hard outside with a filling inside! One has to eat this with care.

I found an interesting story behind the origin of바카라 웹사이트jolbhora sondesh. Sometime in 1818, Surya Kumar Modak, belonging to the Bengali confectionery-making community from Chandannagar in Hooghly district, received a request to make a special바카라 웹사이트sondesh바카라 웹사이트to surprise a customer라이브 바카라 son-in-law. Modak created a바카라 웹사이트sondesh바카라 웹사이트in the shape of a palm fruit kernel, with a filling of rose-flavoured water. As the바카라 웹사이트son-in-law took the first innocent bite, the liquid spurted out in all directions spoiling his new clothes, much to the amusement of the family members who wanted to play a prank on him.바카라 웹사이트

Surya Modak라이브 바카라 sweet shop still exists in Chandannagar with a wider variety of바카라 웹사이트jolbhora바카라 웹사이트options now like바카라 웹사이트aam jolbhora바카라 웹사이트(filled with mango) and바카라 웹사이트coca바카라 웹사이트jolbhora바카라 웹사이트(filled with chocolate). And this one is a must buy sweet available in Kolkata라이브 바카라 innumerable sweet shops, to be found one in every lane and by-lane of the city.

That라이브 바카라 just a few of the universe of sweets that West Bengal boasts. One may easily add to it바카라 웹사이트rosogolla,바카라 웹사이트gurer바카라 웹사이트(jaggery)바카라 웹사이트rosogolla,바카라 웹사이트mishti doi바카라 웹사이트(sweet curd, with an emphasis on 'mishti'바카라 웹사이트again),바카라 웹사이트chanar jilipi,바카라 웹사이트chomchom,바카라 웹사이트kheerkadam,바카라 웹사이트mihidana,바카라 웹사이트labanga latika,바카라 웹사이트rajbhog,바카라 웹사이트sitabhog바카라 웹사이트and many more interesting names and variants, unique to many shops.

Murshidabad, Burdwan, Bishnupur districts from India and Dhaka, Nator districts from Bangladesh were the pioneer of sweets in undivided Bengal.바카라 웹사이트But today the whole of West Bengal has achieved mastery over the art of making sweets.

The thing to note here is how innovation is driving this business in Bengal. If we have winter special바카라 웹사이트malaiyo바카라 웹사이트in Varanasi, West Bengal라이브 바카라바카라 웹사이트nolen gurer바카라 웹사이트soufflé is not far behind. The creativity used around one simple idea of a sweet dish is highly appreciable. West Bengal라이브 바카라바카라 웹사이트mishti바카라 웹사이트is class apart but the sad part is that we can find this quality, taste and variety only in West Bengal.

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