Bengali Sweets – Dussehra Special Recipes From the Land of Rasagulla
The festivities of the 10-day Dussehra festival inevitably brings forth the much awaited Bengali Food Festival at Hotel Mercure Hyderabad at the Cayenne restaurant. This time it is Chef Ganesh Gongoni who curated among Bengali dishes, the irresistible fried starters like the Chicken Pakoda and the Baiguni, and also the Sarson ka Fish Tikka and Gondharaj Chicken – both acquiring the very Bengali flavour. The food festival will run through until Vijaydasami and will include quintessential delicacies like Golbari Mutton Kosha, Chingeri Biryani, Dum Aloo, Papda Fish Curry. And, it is not just the beginning but the end too that makes a Bengali meal – the world famous desserts – Rasagulla,
Ras malai, Lord chum chum, Mahidana and Channa payesh. Chef Ganesh Gongoni shares with us two Bengali Sweets recipes from his dazzling line up of Bengali dishes.
Chana payesh
Ingredients
- Cow milk – 1 liters
- Vinegar – 5 ml
Ingredients for gravy
- Sugar – 1 kgs
- Saffron – 1 grams
- Cardamom green powder – 5 grams
- Toned milk – ½ liters
- Sugar -25 grams
Method
- Take a clean container and simmer milk slowly. Once milk starts boiling and curdle milk with vinegar.
- Now strain the curdled milk in muslin cloth. Cool the mixture and rub nicely until it becomes soft in texture.
- Make equal size of above texture in round shape and flat.
- Make sugar syrup and bring it boil. Boil the flat and round shaped milk mixture in it and keep them a side and let it cool.
- Boil milk (1/2 liters) and add sugar in it and make it thick. Add cardamom powder and saffron in it. Let it cool.
- Now add the boiled flat and round shaped milk mixture in thick saffron milk gravy and serve cold.
Mehi dana
Ingredients
- Besan – 1 kg
- Sugar – 2 kgs
- Ghee – 100 grams
- Cardamom whole – 5 grams
- Cinnamon stick -5 grams
- Cloves – 5 nos
- Bay leaf – 3 leaves
- Sunflower oil – 3 litres
- Cooking soda – 2 grams
Method
- Mix besan, soda and water properly until spoon coating consistency.
- Keep the mixture for rest for 30 minutes aside.
- Now heat oil and make boondi with jara with the mixture. Fry until golden brown colour and take the mixture in dry container and cool it until it becomes crisp.
- Make sugar syrup (2 kgs sugar +1.5 litre water) also add cinnamon stick, cloves and whole cardamom to it.
- Cool the syrup.
- After syrup is cool add it slowly to boondi and mix slowly also add ghee on top it and cover it for 1 hr.
- After 1 hrs serve cold.
