From traditional Bengali sweets like chom chom and rose petal sandesh to snacks like dahi puri and fruit raita, here are some festive recipes you can try at home.

Chom Chom

Ingredients

• 5 cups milk
• 1 lemon
• A few strands of saffron
• 2 cups sugar
• A handful of pistachios

Method:

• Boil the milk in a pan.
• When it starts to bubble, add the juice of the lemon. This is to make the milk curdle to form the ‘chana’.
• When it starts to curdle turn off the flame.
• Drain off the chana in a strainer and rinse it in cold water.
• Make sure you squeeze out all the water.
• Take the saffron strands and soak it in a few spoons of milk.
• Add it to the chana and knead it like a dough.
• Take lumps of it and roll them into oval shapes.
• In a pan boil the sugar.
• Once it starts to become a little sticky, reduce the flame and add the ovals.
• Let it cook for ten minutes before you turn them over.
• Drain out the excess sugar syrup, place in a bowl, garnish with pistachios and serve.

Rose Sandesh

Ingredients

• 200 gms paneer
• ¾ cup khoya
• 2 tsp green cardamom powder
• 1/3 cup fine sugar
• A few drops of rose water
• A handful of rose petals

Method

• Put the paneer and khoya in a blender and mix well till it's smooth.
• Add sugar and mix it in well
• Add a few drops of rose water and the cardamom powder to give it the right fragrance.
• Set it in a thick layer in a dish.
• Refrigerate it till it sets well.
• Before serving, cut it into squares and add a rose petal on each of the squares.

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Dahi Puri

Ingredients

• 250 grams kuttu atta
• 250 gms singhada atta
• 200 gms potatoes
• 150 gms curd
• 100 gms aloo laccha
• 100 gms imli
• 100 gms palm Jaggery
• Rock salt
• Cumin powder
• Black pepper
• Garam masala
• Water, oil as required
• Coriander leaves for garnish

Method

How to make the puri

• Mix the kuttu atta and the singhada atta in a ratio of 1:1.
• Boil, peel and mash the potatoes.
• Add the potatoes to the atta mix.
• Add water to the mixture (as required) and knead until the mixture turns to a soft dough.
• Roll the dough into equal sized balls and flatten them with the palm of your hand.
• Proceed to run them over with a rolling pin, much as one would do to make chapattis.
• Use the cap of a small bottle as a stencil to cut out the puris from the dough.
• Heat the oil in a pan.
• Drop the puris in the oil and deep fry until light brown.

How to make the chutney

• Soak the imli in water for six hours.
• Mash the soaked imli and sieve the water.
• Collect the sieved imli water in another vessel.
• Mix small pieces of palm jaggery with the imli juice.
• Stir the mixture continuously on a slow flame until the jaggery gets dissolved.
• Cool the mixture.
• Once cooled, add cumin powder, rock salt, black better and a pinch of garam masala to taste.

For the toppings

• Mix cumin powder, black better and coriander leaves with chilled curd.
• Stack a bit of mashed boiled potato atop each puri.
• Cover the mashed potatoes and puris with a layer of chilled curd.
• Sprinkle aloo ka laccha and some more coriander leaves over the puris, as per taste.

Singhara and Sabudana Laddoo

Ingredients

• 200 gms singhada atta
• 200 gms kuttu atta
• 200 gms sabudana
• 400 gms powdered sugar
• 200 gms desi ghee
• 20 gms dry fruits

Method

• Grind the sabudana in a mixer until it turns into smooth flour.
• Mix the sabudana flour with kuttu atta and singhada atta. All three should be taken in a ration of 1:1:1.
• Take ghee in a kadhai (wok) and add the mixture of kuttu, singhada and sabudana atta to it.
• Roast the mixture until the atta turns to slight brownish colour and begins to emit an aroma.
• Add powdered sugar to the mix and keep stirring.
• Cut dry fruits into small pieces and add to the mix.
• Take the wok off the stove and let the mixture begin to cool.
• Once the mixture is at a suitable temperature to handle, take a bit of it in your hand and roll it into medium sized balls.

Fruit Raita

Ingredients

• 2 bananas firmly sliced
• 2 tsp sugar
• Rock salt to taste
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 350 ml plain curd
• 75 gm shelled walnuts
• ¼ tsp roasted cumin seeds
• 75 gms sultana (seedless grapes)

Method

• Place the chilled curd in a bowl and add all the ingredients (except cumin seeds and chilli powder).
• Mix well taking care not to break the banana pieces.
• Then sprinkle the cumin seeds and chilli powder and serve cooled.

Note: Seasonal fruits like apples, pears and oranges can also be added along with nuts of your choice and sultanas. You can avoid using sugar by adding sultanas. 

Dates Milk Shake

Ingredients

• 2 cups milk
• 10-12 dates (de-seeded and cut into small pieces)
• 4-6 cashew nuts
• 1 pinch cardamom powder
• Ice cubes as per requirement

Method

• Deseed the dates and cut into small pieces.
• Put them into a blender. Add ½ cup of milk and blend.
• Then add the remaining milk along with the cardamom and blend well.
• Now add a few ice cubes and blend well. Serve the mixture.
• For serving, take two glasses and add a few ice cubes.
• Now pour the mixture into the glasses and then garnish with cashew nut pieces.

Note: Dates are naturally sweet so this milk shake does not require any sugar. While fasting for Navratri this nutritious milkshake gives the required energy to your body without adding to your weight.