Indulgences

1. মিষ্টি

   Miṣṭi

   Mishti (Bengali sweets)

   Usage

   The general term for sweets made from milk curd (chhana) or flour finished in sugar or jaggery syrup. The same word as the adjective "sweet"; it appears on the signs of dedicated sweet shops, and no celebration happens without them

2. রসগোল্লা

   Rasagollā

   Rosogolla (white curd balls in syrup)

   Usage

   Balls of milk curd simmered in sugar or jaggery syrup — the best-known Bengali sweet, sold in every sweet shop in both Bangladesh and West Bengal

3. সন্দেশ

   Sandeś

   Sondesh (moulded milk-curd sweet)

   Usage

   Milk curd mixed with sugar or jaggery and pressed into decorated moulds. Unlike rosogolla it is not soaked in syrup, so it travels well. In winter the West Bengal speciality is the version made with fresh date-palm jaggery

4. মিষ্টি দই

   Miṣṭi dai

   Mishti doi (sweetened yoghurt)

   Usage

   Sweet yoghurt of milk, curd, chhana and sugar, sold set in an unglazed clay pot. Made in Bangladesh, West Bengal and Odisha; the Bogura version in Bangladesh received a geographical indication in 2023

5. রসমালাই

   Rasamālāi

   Rosmalai (curd balls in thickened milk)

   Usage

   Small rosogollas floated in thickened sweetened milk. The version from Comilla in Bangladesh is especially famous and is bought as a gift to take home

6. চমচম

   Chamacham

   Chomchom (oblong browned curd sweet)

   Usage

   An oblong curd sweet, darker and firmer than rosogolla. The version from Porabari in Tangail, Bangladesh is considered the original and is called the king of sweets

7. জয়নগরের মোয়া

   Jayanagarer moyā

   Joynagarer moa (puffed rice and jaggery ball)

   Usage

   Puffed kanakchur rice bound with date-palm jaggery and ghee. A winter speciality of Joynagar in South 24 Parganas, West Bengal, protected by a geographical indication and made only for a few winter months

8. মিহিদানা

   Mihidānā

   Mihidana (tiny sweet gram-flour grains)

   Usage

   Tiny grains of chickpea-flour batter, fried and coated in syrup. A speciality of Bardhaman in West Bengal, protected by a geographical indication

9. জিলাপি

   Jilāpi

   Jilapi (spiral fried syrup sweet)

   Usage

   Batter piped in spirals, deep-fried and soaked in sugar syrup; also spelled "jilipi". There is hardly a town in Bangladesh or West Bengal where you cannot find it

10. সেমাই

    Semāi

    Shemai (sweet vermicelli dessert)

    Usage

    Very fine wheat noodles cooked with milk, sugar, spices and raisins. In Bangladesh it is made at home for festival days and always offered to visitors

11. খেজুরের গুড়

    Khejurer guṛ

    Khejurer gur (date-palm jaggery)

    Usage

    Date-palm sap boiled down and set into a dark solid sugar, used to sweeten sweets, pithas and yoghurt and given as a winter gift. In West Bengal the soft, freshly made kind is called nolen gur

12. পান

    Pān

    Pan (betel leaf quid)

    Usage

    Betel leaf folded around areca nut and other ingredients, chewed after meals or offered to guests. Versions containing zarda (chewing tobacco) are sold as a matter of course, so say clearly that you want it without tobacco. It stains the mouth red

13. সুপারি

    Supāri

    Supari (areca nut)

    Usage

    The seed of the areca palm and the main filling of pan; also sold on its own in small packets and often offered to visitors. Areca nut is an internationally recognised cause of oral cancer, so it is perfectly acceptable to decline

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