Malpoa, kheer, patishapta: The festive mishti that make Durga Puja unforgettable

Ashtami and the simplicity of kheer

Ashtami, the most sacred day of the festival, is when the devout turn vegetarian. Dinner is usually rounded off with the simplest of desserts — kheer. Traditionally, it may have begun as a way of using up excess milk before refrigeration, but it remains a favourite in Bengali households.

The recipe is uncomplicated: reduce 1 litre of full-cream milk over low heat to approximately 600 ml, stir in sugar, and let it cool. For Kamala Kheer, a Pujo delicacy, pulp of tangerines is folded into the cooled milk. The trick is patience: add it too early, and the milk splits, ruining the dish.

From sandesh to rasgulla to chomchom, a Bengali household without mishti, whether during the festival or on an ordinary day, is simply unimaginable. (Photo: Pixabay)

Bijoya Dashami and sweet farewells

On Bijoya Dashami, the tenth day of the new moon, devotees bid farewell to Durga as she departs for her husband’s home. It is also a day of visiting family and friends, and exchanging sweets in abundance. Many households prepare more elaborate mishti at home, such as patishapta and malpoa.

Patishapta, Bengali crepes with sweet fillings, is a delicacy that demands effort. The filling is made with grated coconut cooked with jaggery or sugar, flavoured with cardamom, then rolled into thin flour-sugar crepes cooked in a pan. Some even drizzle kheer over the rolls as a finishing touch.

Malpoa, on the other hand, are flat, round fritters flavoured with fennel seeds, fried until crisp at the edges, then dunked in sugar syrup. Sweet, dense, and heady, they’re the taste of nostalgia.

Of course, these are just a handful of Pujo’s signature sweets. From sandesh to rasgulla to chomchom, a Bengali household without mishti, whether during the festival or on an ordinary day, is simply unimaginable.

Next week, I’ll step away from the world of sweets and write about something salty — Worcestershire sauce. And that other British invention with a cult following in India: Marmite.