Pantua ( bn, পান্তুয়া) is a local confection from the
Indian subcontinent, notable in
West Bengal,
Eastern India
East India is a region of India consisting of the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha
and West Bengal and also the union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The region roughly corresponds to the historical region of Magadha fr ...
and
Bangladesh.
It is a traditional Bengali
sweet made of deep-fried balls of
semolina,
chhena
Chhena () or chhana () are a style of cheese, originating from the Indian subcontinent, made from water buffaloDalby, A 2009, ''Cheese: A Global History'', Reaktion Books, p. 73, Kapoor, S & Kapoor, A 2006, ''Sanjeev Kapoor's No-oil Vegetarian C ...
, milk,
ghee
Ghee is a type of clarified butter, originating from India. It is commonly used in India for cooking, as a traditional medicine, and for religious rituals.
Description
Ghee is typically prepared by simmering butter, which is churned from c ...
and sugar syrup. Pantuas range in colour from pale brown to nearly black depending on how long they are fried.
Rose water
Rose water ( fa, گلاب) is a flavoured water made by steeping rose petals in water. It is the hydrosol portion of the distillate of rose petals, a by-product of the production of rose oil
Rose oil (rose otto, attar of rose, attar of rose ...
,
cardamom or other flavourings are sometimes added to the sweet.
Pantua is very similar to the cheese-based fried sweet
ledikeni. The distinctive feature of ledikeni is its molten sugar syrup of lightly flavored cardamom powder. The name ''ledikeni'' is a rendition of "Lady Canning" and was first used by confectioner Bhim Chandra Nag, when he renamed his ''pantuas'' specially prepared on the occasion of the birthday of
Countess Charlotte Canning, wife of
Governor-General
Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...
Charles Canning. A sweet very similar to the modern pantua and ledikeni, but made of rice flour, is mentioned in the 12th century
Sanskrit-language text ''
Manasollasa''.
Pantua is similar to
gulab jamun,
and could be called a Bengali variant of that dish.
See also
*
Gulab jamun
*
Ledikeni
*
Lyangcha
Lyangcha, Langcha ( bn, ল্যাংচা), or Lemcha, is an Indian sweet dish prepared in West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha, Bihar, Assam, Tripura and also throughout Bangladesh. It is made from flour and milk powder by frying it and dipping it ...
Notes
Sweets of West Bengal
Bengali desserts
Indian wheat dishes
{{Bangladesh-cuisine-stub
