Mishţi (sweets)

Sweets occupy an important place in the diet of Bengalis and at their social ceremonies. It is an ancient custom among Hindus to distribute sweets during festivities. The confectionery industry has flourished because of its close association with social and religious ceremonies. Competition and changing tastes have helped to create many new sweets, and today this industry has grown within the country as well as all over the world.

The sweets of Bengal are generally made of sweetened cottage cheese (chhana), unlike the use of khoa (reduced solidified milk) in Northern India. Additionally, flours of different cereals and pulses are used as well. Some important sweets of Bengal are:

Shôndesh

Made from sweetened, finely ground fresh chhana (cottage cheese), shôndesh in all its variants is among the most popular Bengali sweets. The basic shôndesh has been considerably enhanced by the many famous confectioners of Bengal, and now a few hundred different varieties exist, from the simple kachagolla to the complicated abar khabo, jôlbhôra or indrani. Another variant is the kôrapak or hard mixture, which blends rice flour with the paneer to form a shell-like dough that last much longer. Note that Shondesh is also the name of a sweet pancake-like snack eaten in Bangladesh and West Bengal (where it is called malpua). What West Bengal call "shondesh" is a type of halwa in Bangladesh. Shondesh also means "news" in Hindi.

Rôshogolla
Rôshogolla

Rôshogolla is one of the most widely consumed sweets. The basic version has many regional variations

Pantua

Pantua is somewhat similar to the rôshogolla, except that the cottage cheese balls are fried in either ghee (clarified butter) or oil until golden or deep brown before being put in syrup. There are similar tasting, but differently shaped versions of the Pantua e.g. Langcha (cylindrical) or Ledikeni. Interestingly, the latter was created in honour of Countess Charlotte Canning (wife of the then Governor General to India Charles Canning) by Bhim Nag, a renowned sweets maker in Kolkata.
Chômchôm
Porabarir chomchom

Chômchôm (especially from Porabari, Tangail District in Bangladesh) goes back about 150 years. The modern version of this sweet was inspired by Raja Ramgore of Ballia district in Uttar Pradesh in India. It was then further modernised by his grandson, Matilal Gore. This oval-shaped sweet is reddish brown in colour and it is of a denser texture than the rôshogolla. It can also be preserved longer. Granules of maoa or dried milk can also be sprinkled over chômchôm.

Several varieties of yoghurts such as mishţi doi, custards, and rice pudding (khir or firni) are also popular in both Bangladesh and West Bengal.

Shôndesh, chhanar jileepi, kalo jam, darbesh, raghobshai, paesh, nalengurer shôndesh, shor bhaja, langcha and an innumerable variety are just a few examples of sweets in Bengali cuisine.
[edit] Piţha or pithe

In both Bangladesh and West Bengal, the tradition of making cakes, locally known as piţha, still flourishes. They are usually made from rice or wheat flour mixed with sugar, jaggery, grated coconut etc. Piţhas are usually enjoyed with the sweet syrups of khejurer gur (date tree molasses). They're usually fried or steamed; the most common forms of these cakes include bhapa piţha (steamed), pakan piţha (fried), and puli piţha (dumplings), among others. The other common pithas are chandrapuli, gokul, pati sapta, chitai piţha, muger puli and dudh puli. The Pati Sapta variety is basically a thin-layered rice-flour pancake turnover with a milk-custard creme-filling. In urban areas of Bangladesh and West Bengal most restaurants hold Pitha-festivals sometime during the winter months.

The celebration of the Piţha as a traditional sweet coincides with the Winter Harvest festival in rural Bangladesh and West Bengal. The harvest is known as 'Nabanno' -- (literally 'new sustenance') and calls for not only rare luxuries celebrating food and sweets but also other popular and festive cultural activities like Public Dramas at night and Open Air Dance Performances.