One of the most awaited festivals of the year, Durga Puja is here. The five-day festival is a carnival of sorts for Bengalis all over the country. If you have a Bengali friend or a colleague, there's a good chance of them narrating their best/adventurous Puja tales to everyone around. Wearing new clothes, flitting from one pandal to another, participating in cultural programs, endless chatter and indulgence - Durga Puja is all of this and so much more. Like all Indian festivals, feasting is an essential component of Durga Puja. Puja pandals are often lined up with food stalls abound with delectable delicacies like fish cutlet, mutton chops, chow mien, and kathi rolls. Needless to say, traditional Bengali sweetmeats also form an intrinsic part of the festive indulgence. There are plenty of them out there; if you are feeling spoilt for choice at any point, perhaps you can come back to this list comprising some classic and some underrated sweets of Bengal.
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Here are 6 Bengali desserts you have to try during Durga Puja -
1. Kheer Kadam
Tiny rasgullas encased in a granular, milky and khoya covering; kheer kadam is a delectable mishmash of textures and flavours that is sure to leave you spellbound.
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2. Kacha Golla
The melt-in-mouth sweetmeat made with the goodness of chenna and cardamom. Incredibly tender, tucking into it fresh is the best way to enjoy it.
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3. Sandesh
You saw this coming, didn't you? Sandesh is a milky fudge that is a staple across all Bengali festivities. You can experiment with a number of variants that are doing the rounds now - chocolate sandesh, mango sandesh, gur sandesh etc.
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4. Rajbhog
Prepared with chenna or paneer and combined with a mixture of dry fruits and saffron, Rajbhog is a sugar-dipped sweetmeat that resembles roshogolla. Make sure you get your hands on this toothsome sweet.
5. Channar Jilapi
Channar jilapi is a pretzel-shaped dessert made with paneer. You can call it a distant cousin of paneer jalebi too, but channar jilapi has a distinct brown colour as it is charred at a different temperature. Crispy from outside, tender from inside, make sure you have the dessert piping hot.
6. Nolen Gurer Payesh
Nolen gur is a special kind of jaggery that is available for only a few months in a year. Nolen gurer payesh is a special variant of payesh or kheer that is sweetened with jaggery in place of sugar. The dense, creamy and wholesome milk pudding is a foodie's dream come true.
Shor bhaja, cham cham, patishapta, bhapa doi, are some other options you can experiment with. Go have a foodie weekend. Here's wishing you all a very happy Durga Puja 2019.