Bengalis take their sweets very seriously. To us, it’s not just a snack or a way to satisfy our sweet tooth cravings, it’s an emotion. It is a means to achieve that nostalgic want, taste the plethora of textures and flavours.

While Rosogolla and mishti doi has become the trademark for bengali sweets, there is just so much more to the world of bengali sweets. Ancient Bengal was called ‘Gauda Banga’, after the term Gur Or

molasses. Even before chhana out of which Rosogolla is made was discovered, Bengali sweets had so much variety. Various types of Pithe were made out of jaggery, coconut, rice flour and even lentils.

The Portuguese introduced Chhana, curdling milk with something sour and then making cottage cheese.

This was then used to make a various sweets namely Pantua, Langcha, Ledikeni, Sandesh and so many more.

Rosogolla was first invented by Sri Nabin Chandra Das, in his small shop on Baghbazar.

Ledikeni was named after Lady Canning, the wife of Lord Canning. It is small cylindrical sweet made out of Chhana, fried and dipped in sugar syrup. Pantua and Langcha are also similar but different in shape and texture.

Jalbhora is another interesting sweet. It is shaped like the kernel of palm. Once you bite it you get the burst of jaggery syrup.

Also Nolen gur sandesh, is made out of jaggery made out of Date juices and mixed with chhana. Now modern confectioners experiment with new flavours. You can now get various flavours of Sandesh like orange, chocolate, paan, watermelon and so on.

So next time you ever come to Bengal, definitely try all this wonderful sweets which will leave you in love with the magic of these sweets.