7 Delicious Desserts That Are Sure to Make Your Durga Pujo Even More Festive

A little chocolate, even added to local sweets, enhances flavor and taste. Forget your diet this festive season and indulge yourself with the cult classics, enhanced with chocolate.

Durga Puja is an important festival in Bengal, spanning 10 days where counting calories and minding what you eat goes out of the window. Given how all of us love chocolate, it’s no surprise that it has found its place among the traditional mishti of Bengal and beyond.

Chocolate Rasgulla, Chocolate Barfi, Chocolate Payesh or Kheer, what’s not to love about them?

The festive season has officially begun, so why not try these Durga Puja special desserts that are oh-so-chocolatey and a mouthful of delight? Chocolate does make everything better after all.

1. Chocolate Payesh

A culturally significant dessert, payesh, kheer, or payasam is offered to Goddess Durga as bhog, or offering. If you are making bhog at home, do try making chocolate payesh. Replace the sugar with chocolate so you don’t end up making a cloyingly sweet dish. This will be enjoyed across ages, especially for those with a sweet tooth who can never have enough chocolate.

2. Chocolate Balls

This one should not be confused with laddoos. It is made by rolling balls of condensed milk-based dough and coating them in melted chocolate. These treats offer the richness of chocolate with a soft, fudgy interior. What’s more, sometimes they contain nuts and dried fruits, and if you make these at home then you can add your own twist to them. Make sure you have the balance right and consider the dietary preferences and restrictions of those you are serving.

3. Chocolate Kalakand

While Kalakand might not have been invented in Bengal, it is a popular treat coming in different flavors across the country, including Bengal. Chocolate remains one of the more popular ones, whether it cascades from the crown or is added to the dough. Offer it to the deity as prasad and bring home a packet of blessings; the whole family is sure to love the treat. Being soft, not too sweet, and having an almost melt-on-your-tongue quality, it is suitable for people who have diabetes as well. Make sure you ascertain that the chocolate used is dark if you have diabetes, or gifting them to ones who have the condition.

4. Chocolate Shrikhand

Shrikhand might not be a staple of Durga Puja, but it sure is delicious and easily found even in Bengal today. Add chocolate to the mix and you have a bit of heaven on your plate. The traditional Shrikhand is made from hung curd, and flavored with saffron and cardamom. Chocolate elevates it to a whole new level. The rich, creamy texture of the curd blends perfectly well with the sweetness of chocolate. This is one of the must-try desserts during Durga Pujo, especially if you have been eating sugary food at a stretch and are in desperate need of a palate cleanser.

5. Chocolate Vermicelli

This is one of the popular alternatives to payesh. It is an either-or situation with this one. Add chocolate syrup to vermicelli payesh and you have with you a true indulgence. Make sure to adjust the sugar based on the chocolate you are using. This can be a good dessert to serve to fussy children or adults who love chocolate. You can simply present the regular vermicelli payesh and a side of molten chocolate. A dip of the thin noodles drenched in the milkiness of the payesh and then in the molten chocolate will be an absolute delight for the fussers.

6. Chocolate Phirni

This slow-cooked pudding has surged in popularity in recent years, and is typically enjoyed at restaurants serving Bengali food. Infused with cardamom and saffron, the creamy dessert is enhanced further, especially when chocolate is added to it. We suggest making your own, since the chocolate variant is scarcely seen on dining tables. People who don’t prefer cloying desserts will enjoy this one, for phirni is not too sweet on the palate.

7. Chocolate Rosogolla

Saving the best for the last, chocolate rosogolla is sweet; no exaggeration. There are two ways to enjoy this treat—dip your regular white sugar rosogolla into molten chocolate or go for the chocolate rosogolla that is made from scratch. This sweet makes it a popular stereotype associated with Bengalis for a reason. It is part of the cultural heritage of Bengal, the waychole bhature is to north Indians. No bhog and traditional Bengali meals are complete without the rosogolla. Add chocolate to the mix, and you can be sure that the compliments will not stop pouring in for the rest of the day or days to come.