Darbesh

It is a sweet item that can be easily prepared in the house itself and is popular among Bengalis.

Ingredients:

• Besan (Chickpea flour) - 250 gm.
• Custard Apple (Sabeda) - 200 gm.
• Ghee - 5-6 tbsp.
• Sugar - 1 kg
• Mace (Javitri or Jaitri) - 10 gm
• Nutmeg (Jaiphal) - 5 nos
• Kesar - 2 tsp
• Red colour used in food.
• Silver foil for garnishing.

Methods:

1. Make thick sugar syrup using the full quantity sugar.

2. Mix the Besan and Custard apple together and make paste (solid-paste) by adding water.

3. Heat the ghee in a kadai (wok), deep fry the paste with a slotted spoon. After removing from kadai immerse in the sugar syrup made above.

4. After grinding all the spices mix them with the paste after removing it from the sugar syrup.

5. Make small balls with greased palms.

6. Garnish the balls by spreading or wrapping them with silver foil.

See other homely Sweet Preparations

Peraki

Peraki is a typical Bengali food (sweet) can be made easily. They make and distribute this during festivals like - Durga Puja (Dashera), Holi etc. To make about 1 kg of Peraki, see the recipe below:

Ingredients:

• Maida or refined flour - 500 gm
• Kheer or condensed milk - 250 gm
• Coconut - 1 no (grated)
• Green cardamom - 4-5 nos.
• Ghee - about 500 gm
• Sugar - about 500 gm
• Cashew nut or kaju - 50 gm

Methods:

1. For stuffing scoop the coconut and then cook the grated coconut with kheer, green cardamoms and cashew nuts (chopped into very small pieces). Keep aside.

2. Prepare sugar syrup of three-thread consistency.

3. Knead the maida with 5-6 tbsp ghee and small water to form smooth dough. Make small balls from this dough; flatten them to small rounded shapes.

4. Take some stuffing made above, put it at the center on the rounded dough and cover with another one. Now seal the corners with hand tucking inside the fold.

5. Heat enough ghee in a kadai and deep fry them on a low-medium heat so that keeping long time on flame.

6. Immerse after frying in the sugar syrup made above.

Peraki is ready (taste better after cooling).

Anarsa

(ANAARSA)

Anarsa (Anaarsa) is a kind of easy-to-make homely sweet item of Maharashtra, Gujarat or Rajasthan. See the recipe below how to make it during festive occasions.

Ingredients:

• Rice – 500 gm.
• Jaggery - 750 gm. or Sugar (powder) - 4 cups.
• Poppy seeds or Khus-Khus - 3 tbsp.
• Ghee for frying - 250 gm.
• Milk - ½ cup.

Methods:

1. Soak the rice in water for 1-2 days then dry it.

2. Sieve out big grains after grinding this rice into flour.

3. If using sugar then mix the sugar powder with rice flour well and knead the mixture by sprinkling milk during kneading to make a soft pliable dough. Otherwise if using jaggery then also knead the jaggery and rice flour well. Make small balls (around 3” diameter size) with the dough.

4. On a clean plastic sheet, sprinkle poppy seeds. Take a ball of dough, press onto sprinkled seeds. Rotate between the palms to perfect round shape.

5. Heat the ghee until it is piping hot, then shallow fry the balls till golden brown on a low flame.

6. Remove and drain off excess ghee by placing in a colander.

7. Cool very well before storing them in an air-tight container.