Rosh bora is a dessert that can be made any time of the year but for some reason, we only remember it during the Sankranti season. Different kinds of pithe-puli can be very daunting and at times, something as simple as a roshbora can be mentally satisfying.

Poush sankranti has definitely become quite a thing these days and a lot of young people want to try their hands at making a variety of pithe-puli. Set aside all the evils of the social media addiction, the one good thing it has done is spread awareness about local cultures, seasonal food, grandma’s recipes and so on. So these days, all kinds of pithas and pulis are coming into the limelight. Rosh bara is the simplest of all.

Rosh Bora making in the home - 4

Have you tried this luscious puli called roshopuli made with sweet potatoes?

What is Rosh Bora?

The word ‘rosh’ stands for syrup and ‘bora’ means dumplings in Bengali. You need only 2 basic ingredients to make the dumpling or the fritter. Then after frying, you need to dunk the boras in sugar syrup or a syrup made out of nolen gur or any other jaggery. You need biulir dal, also known as kolai’er dal or urad dal  for this. Soak urad dal in water and keep it overnight. In case you forget, you can soak it in hot water for an hour too. It works, much to my grandmother’s disapproval. Make a paste of this using very little water. The paste should be very smooth. 

Add half a tsp of fennel seeds into this and using your hand, start whipping it. You can also use a hand blender. I have never used an electric blender, but I reckon, an egg beater would do fine. If you feel, you need to add a little more water, do so but very slowly. The batter needs to be thick enough to make dumplings into the oil (like dahi vada). While this is getting ready, also prepare the syrup with sugar and water or jaggery with water. The syrup should be of single stgring consistency and kept warm. As soon as the boras are fried, dunk them in the warm syrup so that the roshboras soak in the syrup. 

Rosh Bora making in the home - 2

Our photos don’t just look good, they taste good too. Behance

Rosh Bora making at home

It’s as simple as that. You can serve it warm or cold. The tricky part is to ensure that the dal has been whipped really well so that it is airy and soaks in the syrup. 

Share your cooking with us

Are you following us on our youtube channel Cook with Pikturenama?

Do try this recipe and share your feedback. You can also reach out to us at our social media handles InstagramFacebook or any of our personal Facebook (Madhushree & Anindya) & Twitter profiles. Please post a picture and tag us.

Rosh Bora at home - 3
Rosh Bora at home - 2
Rosh Bora at home -1
Rosh Bora making in the home - 8

Rosh Bora- Bengali Winter Delicacy

Rosh bora is a traditional Bengali sweet made at home during winter using lentils and syrup. It's a fried lentil dumpling soaked in sugar or date palm jaggery syrup.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Course Desserts, Indian Sweets
Cuisine Bangladeshi, Bengali, Indian
Servings 20 nos

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup urad dal biulir dal or kolai er dal or polished split black gram
  • 1 tsp fennel seeds
  • 1 cup jaggery prefarable patali gur
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 4 cups water

Instructions
 

  • Soak urad dal in water and keep it overnight.
  • Make a paste of this using very little water. The paste should be very smooth. 
  • Add half a tsp of fennel seeds into this and using your hand, start whipping it.
  • You can also use a hand blender or an egg beater. If you feel, you need to add a little more water, do so but very slowly.
  • The batter needs to be thick enough to make dumplings into the oil
  • While this is getting ready, also prepare the syrup.
  • In a large saucepan, take 2-3 cups of water and add sugar to it. Let the sugar dissolve, then add the gur. Keep boiling this for 3- 5 mins or until you get a single thread consistency. It should be sticky but a runny sauce. Add more water if needed.
  • Now keep the syrup covered and when you start making the dumplings, put it back on low heat, keeping it covered.
  • Heat oil for deep frying and using you fingers, scoop out little portions of the batter and drop in the oil. You will know that the boras have been whipped right if they float and not sink to the bottom
  • Once they have been fried golden, take them out and drop them in the hot oil.
  • Let them soak in the syrup. You have to cut up one and check if the syrup has gone in or not. If not, then either your batter has not been whipped right, or your syrup is too thick or the syrup is not warm enough
  • Serve rosh bora hot or cold
Keyword 4 ingredient bengali recipe, bengali easy recipe, bengali mishti, bengali sweet, rosh bora