A Sweet Passion

Maowar Chomchom, Pera Shandesh, Chhanar Payesh, Kachagolla, Malaikari, Malaichap, Monda.... Twenty mouth-watering names like this comprises the list. To the Bengali ear, each is redolent with sweet, rich flavours. But I am getting ahead of myself; let's start at the beginning.

When he returned home after fifteen years in London, Akhter Matin Chaudhury started working at a pharmaceutical company that required travelling all over Bangladesh. While touring, he found himself eating big lunches. But Akhter – a trim, tall man who looks half his age - had an unusual habit: he was accustomed to eating only one full meal daily. What to do at dinnertime? In the evenings, he found local sweetshops and tasted their sweets.

He started discovering exotic sweet specialties. For example, there was Balish – a massive Chomchom served with a packet of khir - from Goyanath sweetshop in Netrakona; or Gurer Roshogolla sweetened with date molasses from Nondo Gopal's shop in Sherpur. Word spread about Akhter's search for excellence in sweetmaking. When he went on tour, his local contacts scouted out the best sweetshops in the area. Soon, he was not just tasting sweets at smaller towns and villages, but also making notes and photographing them.

Akhter discovered that the best-tasting Bengali sweets were made in small family-owned sweetshops which had preserved and passed on the recipes from generation to generation. For example, the Monda store of Gopal Pal in Muktagacha is 187 years old and now run by the fifth generation of owners. It had started as a dedicated sweet supplier to the local Raja; excess mondas were fed to royal elephants.

Today sweets are a ubiquitous feature of our culture. One cannot imagine special events, such as weddings, akikas, childbirth and promotions, without sweets. “I was always fond of mishti. When we were growing up in Dhaka, there were only a few sweetshops, such as Moronchand and Kalachand, and sweets were brought on very special occasions,” Akhter reminisced.

But how did our sweetshops get started? “Local Bengali sweets originated as proshad offerings for temples. The sweetmaker families are from the Ghosh caste, which is responsible for upkeep and milking of cows,” he said. No wonder, then, that most of our sweets are milk-based.

Over the years, Akhter has tasted notable sweets from every district in Bangladesh. From his extensive research, he has made a list of the top twenty sweets of Bangladesh. In his list – which he insists is subjective - the best sweet is Maowar Chomchom from Jagadish Mishtanno Bhandar of Kushtia, which he describes as a “succulent Chomchom covered with Maowa, dry on the outside, moist and juicy inside.” The second best is Romesh Sweets' Roshomolai from Gaibandha. In third place is Khirer Shandesh from Poritosh Mistanna Bhander in Narail.

However, Akhter sees storm clouds in the horizon. “The younger generation of sweetmakers do not want to stay in their store and look after the business,” he says. Therefore, the family-owned businesses are at risk of closing down despite lucrative earnings. An effort must be made to save this cultural legacy.

This author's opinion? Having tried several of Akhter's favourites including Perar Shondesh Khirer Chomchom, Chhanamukhi and a divine last-of-season Gurer Shandesh, he agrees wholeheartedly that Akhter's sweets are national and cultural gems that must be saved and propagated.

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