West Bengal Tourism’s tagline is – “Everything is a little sweeter in West Bengal”. With three of Kolkata’s confectioneries listed in Tasteatlas’s 150 Legendary Dessert Places in the World, the Bengali sweet tooth got a little stronger.

It’s the perfect timing as well. Durga Puja is around the corner. It is that time of the year when all trains and flights to Kolkata are overbooked. If you are planning to spend Durga Puja in Kolkata this year, you can indulge in some “paet-puja” as well.

Sweets in Bengal are unparalleled anywhere else in India. We have had amazing sweets not only in Kolkata but also in remote villages that we have travelled. So here is a little sweet journey to all of you fond of desserts. The list not only comprises famous confectioners but also dessert items of Kolkata that should not be missed.

KC Das, Dharmatalla

KC Das Grandsons has been listed in the Tasteatlas’s article on legendary dessert places. Given that Nobin Chandra Das, the predecessor of KC Das is credited with inventing roshogolla, the delectable cottage cheese sweet balls. They sell a variety of other sweets as well but their roshogolla is still the hero. In fact, they are among the first to pack and sell roshogolla in sealed tins. Their packed roshogollas are also distinctively different from any other sealed rasgulla tin you may have tried.

Their original store was in Dharmatalla near New Market. They have many outlets now sprinkled all over Kolkata.

The other place you can try roshogolla is Vien on Shakespeare Sarani near Park Street. These mildly sweet pops of juice would make you forget the world.

Flurys, Park Street

Flurys has been making the tastiest cakes, cookies, rum balls since colonial times in Kolkata. Established in the year 1927, it is one of the best places to have breakfast in Kolkata, if not India.

Their open sandwiches are a dish to die for. The Darjeeling tea and coffee are also highly recommended. The flagship outlet is on Park Street and is by far the prettiest amongst the many that have subsequently opened. The cake showcase here is a sweet lover’s dream. Over time, things have changed and the rum balls of late don’t emit that strong rum flavour. Yet, it is a heritage establishment and deserves a try on that account.

There are many Flurys outlets in Kolkata. The one on Park Street is the most grand. Flurys has also been listed in the Tasteatlas’s article.

Balaram Mullick & Radharaman Mullick Sweets Kolkata

This is the third entry from Kolkata in the Tasteatlas’s article. Balaram Mullick’s original sweet shop was in Jadu Babur Bajar, Bhawanipur, Kolkata. While they sold a variety of sweets, their most famous item was Aam Doi. This was a small dish of Mishti Doi or sweet yoghurt with a dollop of mango pulp at the bottom. The mix of yogurt and a little mango pulp is heaven in the mouth.

Balaram Mullick is known to have industrialised the sweet-making sector of Kolkata. They use heavy-duty machines in almost every stage of the sweets manufacturing process. No wonder, innumerable Balaram Mullick shops have sprouted starting from Kolkata airport to the many corners of the city. In fact, they have an excellent packing system making it much easier to carry Bengali sweets out of town or overseas.

Nahoum

A post about the Kolkata dessert experience cannot be complete with mention of Nahoum. Established in the year 1902 this was a Jewish-owned bakery that sold the tastiest cakes, cookies, buns, and marzipans. The owners have since changed. Yet they still sell the same kind of items. They have now added black-forest cakes in their menu. Their marzipan-coated birthday cakes and the rick plum cake are must-tries. While the cookies and puff pastries are not as tasty as they used to be a decade back, their marzipans candies are still deadly addictive.

Nahoum is located in New Market which dating back to the year 1974 is not so new anymore. The serpentine queue in front of Nahoum is testimony to how much Kolkata roots for its heritage.

Paramount Sherbet

Sherbets are not a common item in Kolkata. But Paramount Sherbet on College Street has stood the test of time since 105 years and counting. They serve a variety of fruit-based sherbets and shakes with a unique taste. The Tender Coconut Sharbat is the hero here. The décor is still old school with wood tables and chairs. Given its extreme popularity, you might have to share a table. But for a city that still patronises sharbats in the day and age of soft drinks, that is hardly a concern.

Paramount Sherbet is near the very famous Indian Coffee House, adjacent to Mahabodhi Society. The nearest metro station is MG Road.

There are some Bengali sweets that also deserve your palate. You may find some of them in Bengali sweet shops elsewhere but the taste is not the same.

Jolbhora Sandesh

Sandesh is a dry variety of Bengali sweets made with chhena (cottage cheese) or kheer. Jolphora sandesh is a structured sandesh with a cavity in the center that is filled with liquid gur. This piece of sheer mini-engineering is a heaven on the palate. You bite into a hard shell and then mildly sweet liquid gur fills your mouth.

Most sweet shops carry this sweet. You can try it at Bhim Nag, Ganguram, Balaram Mullick and so on.

Kheer Kadam

Kheer Kadam is a softer sandesh coating on a rasgulla. So you get a taste a sandesh as well as rasgulla in the same bite. The round balls with dessicated milk on the top resembles the Kadam flowers so dear to Lord Krishna. We have made many friends outside Bengal try this sweet and everyone has repeat requests.

All sweet shops carry this sweet. Wherever you are putting up, your neighbourhood “Mishtir Dokaan” would probably not disappoint you with kheer kadam.

Also Read: 5 Vegetarian Bengali Dishes You Didn’t Know About

Mishti Doi

The sweet yogurt from Bengal – Mishti Doi is a familiar item all over India thanks to certain brands that sell a packaged version. The real thing is however somewhat different. It is thicker and sometimes retains the sourness of curd. If you are in Kolkata, it would almost be an offense to return without tasting Mishti Doi.

The best places to have Mishti Doi are Ganguram, Banchharam, Sen Mahasay. Mishti Doi is ordinarily reddish. Putiram at College Street sells a unique white version which is lighter than the standard Mishti Doi. Must try!

Joynagarer Moya

The sweetened puffed rice balls made with palm jaggery and kheer with cashew and raisins is a Geographical Indication (GI) from Joynagar, a village in West Bengal. These sweets have a creamy texture and yet has some volume to fill you up. Given that palm jaggery is available on in winter, sadly this item is available only during December to February, latest March.

Jilipi

The Bengali version of Jalebi is Jilipi. It is smaller and the strands are thicker than the north Indian Jalebi and doesn’t have any added flavour of saffron etc. Instead, it has a slight tartness because of the fermented batter. The crunchy Jilipi almost pours sweetness in the mouth and is great as a breakfast item. This is now a dying dish and may be available at some local sweet shop if you are lucky.

Aam Shotto Sandesh

Dried mango pulp aam papar is called Aam shotto in Bengali. Pieces of Aam shotto are folded in a sandesh roll. So when you bite in you get the sweet-tart taste of amar papar with the milky sweetness of sandesh. This sandesh is not as common as some of the sweets. It is available at select places.

You can try this item at Jugals or Ganguram.

Baked Roshogolla

A culture is a living institution that mutates with time. Thus, traditional sweets are being given modern twists in Bengal. One such result is Baked Roshogolla, a dish that is about a decade old. The traditional roshogolla is layered with cream and baked. The outcome is a creamy smoky flavoured topping on juicy roshogollas. This is also a must-try.

The best place to have Baked Roshogolla is Banchharam. They have a few branches around Kolkata.

Bengali sweets have retained their glory and have propagated it further. Yet, what we get in Kolkata in unmatched. Since the sweet chefs travel from Bengal to other parts of India, if not the world, we wonder why Bengali sweets not taste the same elsewhere. In our opinion, it could be the quality of the milk which makes a huge difference. So indulge in the legendary Bengali desserts while in Kolkata.