RANGA ALOO R PANTUA / SWEET POTATO DUMPLING IN SUGAR SYRUP

Poila Baishakh/ Bangla Noboborsho is the first day of the Bengali calendar, celebrated on the 14th of April in Bangladesh, on 15th of April in West Bengal, India. May be it keeps changing between these two days every year! Whichever part of the world Bengalis are stationed in, they celebrate this day. The Bengali calendar is tied to the Indian solar calendar, based on the Surya Siddhanta. It commences in mid-April of the Gregorian year. Traditionally, businesses start this day with a new ledger, clearing out the old [sourced from WIKI].

This day is marked with singing, processions and fairs. The new year is welcomed with songs and dance performances. People visit their relatives, friends and neighbours. We prepare special dishes for the family and the guests. Bengalis mostly used to wear classical Bengali dresses on this day... women.... sari and men.... panjabis. Poila Baishakh is about celebrating the roots of Bengal in our own beautiful ways. Now a days wearing a sari or dhoti is tedious.

I prepared this SWEET POTATO DUMPLINGS IN SUGAR SYRUP on the occasion of Bengali New Year. The main ingredients used here are sweet potato, home made paneer, sugar. In general, khoya is used instead of paneer or whichever is in stock. This is a home made sweet mainly; not sold commercially. To be precise, it is considered a winter time pithe-puli  rather than a sweet!

INGREDIENTS : [for the dumplings]

Sweet Potato : 1-2
Milk : 1/2 litre
Lemon : 1 medium
Sugar : 1 tsp
Green Cardamom : 2

Baking Soda : 2 pinch
Oil : 1/2 cup to fry

INGREDIENTS : [ for the syrup ]
Sugar : I cup
Water : 1 cup
Green Cardamom : 2
Rose Water : 2-3 drops

METHOD :

Peel, wash and cut half the sweet potatoes. Take water in a pressure cooker, put the sweet potatoes and pressure cook up to 3-4 whistles at low heat.

Once cold, put in a bowl, discard the water.

Heat the milk in a heavy bottomed vessel. Get the juice from the lemon, add it with half small cup of water.

As the milk boils, pour in the juice. The milk curdles.

Strain the mixture through a white clean cloth. You can store the whey for later use. Squeeze the extra water from the chana / paneer. Wash it under cold water and hang it for 30 minutes.

Add the chena to the sweet potato. Add the green cardamom seeds, baking soda and 1tsp of sugar.

Knead for about 15-20 minutes till all ingredients are mixed well. I kneaded the dough further in the electric mixer for 2-3 minutes!

Shape into balls. Heat oil in a wok. 

Heat the oil in a wok and fry the balls till brown.

In another oven burner take one cup water n sugar together in a vessel. Keep boiling.

Tear the green cardamoms a little and add to the syrup.

As the syrup thickens a bit, add the rose water.

Now switch off the gas burner. Arrange the fried sweet potato & paneer balls in a bowl and pour the hot syrup in the bowl.

Let them soak for about 2 hours. Eat few of them fresh & refrigerate the rest! They taste good chilled too!

Please note! I do not thicken my sugar syrups much!