Durga Puja signifies goddess Durga’s victory over the demon Mahishasura. It symbolizes the triumph of good over evil. The festival typically takes place for five days. Decorated idols of Durga are placed in beautifully adorned pandals. Here are some special mithai for durga puja celebrations:
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1.Mishti Doi
In a pan, boil milk until it thickens. Next, add sugar and a little bit of jaggery. Take it off the heat and let it cool slightly. After it’s done, mix it with plain yogurt thereby introducing the necessary bacteria required for fermentation. Pour it into an earthen pot to absorb the excess moisture. Leave the pot in a warm place till the yogurt sets.
2.Rosogolla
Curdle milk by using lemon juice to form chenna. Then, drain it to remove the excess whey and knead it into a dough. Shape the dough into small, round balls and add it to a boiling sugar syrup. Cook till the balls double in size and turn spongy. Let it cool in the syrup so that it can absorb the sweetness fully.
3.Nolen Gurer Paayesh
Soak some rice till it softens. Boil full fat milk till it reduces to half its volume. Then, add the soaked rice and cook the rice until tender. Keep stirring to avoid sticking to the sides of the pan. Form a syrup by dissolving some date palm jaggery in a little bit of warm milk. Slowly add this syrup into the cooked mixture. Mix well and simmer for a few more minutes so that it thickens further. Garnish with ghee-roasted cashews.
4.Channar Jilipi
In a pan, boil milk and curdle it by using lemon juice to form the chenna. Next, drain and knead it to create the dough. Shape into oval rolls and deep-fry it in ghee till it turns brown. Then, soak the rolls in a syrup made using sugar and water. Once the syrup is fully absorbed, serve warm or at room temperature.
5.Pantua
Make a dough by mixing chenna with a little bit of semolina. Shape the dough into small balls and deep-fry it until brown. Prepare a syrup by boiling sugar, water, and cardamom pods. Once the Pantua is ready, soak it in the warm syrup for a few hours. Serve the Pantua along with the remaining syrup.
6.Kheer Kadam
It is a traditional Bengali sweet prepared by encasing small rasgullas in a layer of khoya. Begin by purchasing or making small rasgullas. Then, boil whole milk and stir frequently till it thickens into khoya. After it cools to normal room temperature, section it into portions. Flatten each portion, wrap it around a rasgulla, and roll it in powdered sugar and some more grated khoya.
7.Sandesh
It is a creamy Bengali sweet. Knead some freshly grated paneer along with sugar till it reaches a smooth consistency. Shape this mixture into any form you desire. The most preferred shapes are flattened circles or small cylinders. You can also decorate with nuts or edible silver foil on top.
8.Kacha Golla
Boil milk and curdle it with lemon juice to obtain chhena. Strain using a muslin cloth and rinse it with cold water thereby removing the acidic taste. Then, knead the chenna with powdered sugar and cardamom powder. Shape this mixture into bite-sized balls. Roll it fully in desiccated coconut before serving.
9.Rajbhog
It is similar to rasgulla but it is considerably larger in size and is filled with dry fruits. Knead chunks of paneer into a smooth dough. Shape it into large balls and stuff each ball with a filling made using finely chopped nuts. Prepare a simple syrup using sugar, cardamom, saffron, and water. Boil the balls in the syrup so that it absorbs the flavors and becomes spongy. Once cooked, let it cool and soak in the syrup.
10.Rice Kheer
It is also called as Rice Pudding, and is loved for its simple and comforting flavor. Rinse half a cup of basmati rice and soak it for thirty minutes. Boil four cups of milk. Drain the water from the rice and add it to the milk along with sugar, and crushed cardamom pods. Stir occasionally on low heat for about thirty minutes. After the rice is cooked, turn off the heat. Add a handful of chopped nuts like almonds, cashews, and pistachios. Cool it before serving.
11.Patishapta
The batter is made using rice flour, semolina, milk, and salt. Spread this batter on a hot greased griddle to create crepes. The filling comprises grated coconut, khoya, jaggery, and cardamom. It is placed in the center of each crepe. Roll the crepe around the filling and cook it until golden brown. Serve warm.
12.Imarti
The batter comprises vigna mungo flour and a little bit of saffron food coloring. Pipe this in a circular, flower-like pattern directly into hot oil and deep-fry until it is golden and crisp. Finally, soak it in a sugar syrup so that it absorbs all the flavors. After it soaks up all the syrup, the imartis are ready to be served.
13.Cham Cham
It is a popular Bengali sweet that is loved for its spongy texture. It is a versatile dish and includes many variations. Knead paneer along with flour and sugar to create the dough. Shape it into cylindrical or oval patties. Then, cook the patties in a sugar syrup for soaking up all the sweetness. After it gets cooked, garnish with chopped nuts.
14.Rabri
Rabri is a decadent dessert made only with milk. Heat some whole milk and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat, and stir frequently till it thickens and reduces by about half. Scrape the cream that has formed on the sides of the vessel and mix it back with the milk. After it has thickened really well, add sugar and keep stirring till it dissolves. Finally, flavor it with crushed cardamom seeds, saffron strands, and add chopped nuts like almonds and pistachios.
15.Narkel Naru
In a pan, roast grated fresh coconut. Once it becomes slightly golden, add jaggery and cardamom powder to it. Stir continuously till the jaggery melts and binds with the coconut. After the mixture turns sticky, turn the heat off. While still warm, shape this mixture into small balls. Let them cool completely before serving.
16.Kolar Bora
Mash ripe bananas so that a smooth paste is obtained. To it, add rice flour, all-purpose flour, cardamom powder, jaggery, and baking powder. Form a thick batter and drop spoonfuls of the batter into the hot oil. Deep-fry until crispy and brown. Drain the excess oil using a paper towel and serve warm.
17.Mihidana
To make the batter, mix powdered rice along with a little bit of water. Pour this batter into a pan through a fine sieve so that it forms tiny droplets. Deep fry the batter in hot oil until golden. Then, drain the excess oil and set it aside. In another pot, boil water and sugar till it reaches a sticky consistency. Add the cooked Mihidana to the syrup so that it absorbs all the flavors. Garnish with raisins and saffron strands.
18.Malpua
The batter is done with flour, milk powder, and milk. Pour the batter into small discs and deep-fry until crispy edges are formed. Dunk these fried discs in thick sugar syrup and drain the excess. Some variations also include the addition of mashed bananas, coconut, or nuts to the malpua batter. Serve warm and garnish with chopped nuts.
19.Sarbhaja
The batter is done using ground rice and urad dal which is soaked and then blended. In a pan, melt ghee and pour the batter. Cook it on low heat so that it develops a light brown color. Let it cool slightly before cutting into diamond or square shapes. For extra flavor, you could also infuse the batter with cardamom or incorporate chopped nuts.
20.Chandrapuli
The dough is made using all-purpose flour, salt and water. Then, roll out small portions of the dough into thin discs. For the filling, take a pan and add grated coconut, jaggery, and cardamom powder. Cook until the entire mixture thickens well. Place a spoonful of the filling on one half of each disc and fold it over to form a crescent shape. Seal the edges and deep-fry in hot oil until golden brown.
