Make your favourite Bengali snacks at home with these easy recipes

From crispy fritters to syrupy sweets, the charm of Bengali snacking lies in its comforting simplicity and deep-rooted tradition. These recipes, from mixed lentil fritters and keema aloo singara to murir moa and goja, celebrate the flavours that define our festive tables and afternoon teas alike.

Whether served with a cup of steaming masala cha or a glass of salted lassi, each bite carries a taste of nostalgia, warmth, and homely delight. It is a reminder that some of life's greatest joys are found in the kitchen!

MIXED LENTIL FRITTERS

Ingredients

¼ cup red lentil, masoor dal

¼ cup yellow lentil, moong dal

¼ cup yellow lentil, khesari dal

½ cup grated onions

4 green chillies, chopped

1 tsp chilli flakes

¼ cup chopped coriander leaves

Salt to taste

Oil for deep fry

Method

Soak the lentils in water for 5-6 hours or until softened. Then wash and drain the water. Put the lentils in a food processor and blend into a semi coarse mixture. Pour the mixture into a bowl together with the rest of the ingredients. Mix until well combined. Heat oil in a pan, fry the fritters in small batches until golden brown. Remove and place them on kitchen paper to absorb the oil. Serve warm!

KEEMA ALOO SINGARA

Ingredients

500g beef/mutton mince

2 boiled potatoes, cut into small cubes

2 cups refined flour

1 tsp ginger paste

½ tsp garlic paste

½ tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp red chilli powder

½ tsp turmeric powder

¼ cup chopped onion

3 chopped green chillies

½ tsp garam masala powder

Salt to taste

1 tbsp oil for staffing

4 tbsp ghee

Oil for deep fry

Method

Heat oil in a pan, add cumin seeds. When they begin to change colour, add ginger-garlic paste. Fry for few seconds. Add meat mince, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, garam masala powder, and salt. Mix well and stir. Cook for 7-8 minutes. Add boiled potatoes, onions and chopped green chillies. Fry for few minutes and remove from heat. Allow it to cool completely. Now combine refined flour, salt, and ghee in a bowl.

Add sufficient water and knead into a stiff dough. Divide the dough into small portions, shape them into balls. Roll out each ball into oval shaped puri and halve each. Dampen the edges of each halved puris with water and shape into a cone, stuff with some of the meat potato mixture and seal the edges to make singara. Heat oil in a pan. Fry the singara on low flame until brown and crisp. Arrange on a serving platter and serve hot.

POSTOR BORA

Ingredients

½ cup poppy seeds

2 tbsp poppy seeds, for coating

2 tbsp chopped onions

3-4 green chillies, finely chopped

3 tbsp grated coconut

2-3 tbsp rice flour

½ tsp ginger garlic paste

Salt to taste

Mustard oil for frying

½ cup warm water to soak poppy seeds

Method

Soak poppy seeds in water for half an hour. Drain the excess water with the help of a strainer and transfer it into the jar of a grinder. Grind the poppy seeds to a smooth paste. Add very little water, if required. Transfer the paste into a bowl. Add chopped onions, green chillies, coconut, salt ginger-garlic paste and rice flour one by one. Mix all the ingredients.

 Take a small portion of the mixture in your hand and make a flat patty. Put the patty on the poppy seeds to make a coat. Repeat the same process. Heat oil in a pan. Fry the patty on medium flame till golden brown. Serve hot.

NIMKI

Ingredients

2 cups white flour

½ tsp kalojeera (fennel)

4 tbsp ghee

½ cup water

Salt to taste

Oil for deep frying

Method

In a bowl, mix flour, salt, kalojeera, and ghee. Now add water to it and make dough. Keep it aside. Cover with a wet cloth for 15 minutes. Roll the dough into thin chapatis. Cut them into shapes of your choice with a knife. Now heat oil in a pan. Deep-fry the nimkis on low heat till they turn light brown and crispy. When done, remove from heat and set aside on a paper towel to drain oil and cool. Store in an air tight container so that it lasts long.

Tip: Make sure you fry nimkis on low heat. If the flame is high, the nimkis will turn brown quickly and will remain raw and soft inside.

MURALI

Ingredients

2½ cup all-purpose flour

2½ tbsp milk powder

Water, as needed

Oil, for deep frying

2 cups sugar

½ tsp baking powder

Pinch of salt

Method

In a bowl, pour flour, milk, baking powder and salt. Mix well and add water to it. Knead well and make the dough. Make four parts from the dough. Roll each part out with about ½ inch thickness. Then cut the slab into finger-long sticks. Now heat oil in a pan. Deep fry the sticks on low heat until crunchy. Make sure these do not turn red.

For the sugar coating, mix 1 cup of water with sugar in a saucepan, and stir on medium heat to make a thick syrup. Then add the fried sticks. Mix well. Allow the sticks to cool. Store and serve.

MURIR MOA

Ingredients

250g puffed rice

700g jaggery

2 cups water

Method

Dry roast the puffed rice in a cast iron skillet for about a minute. Take them out from the skillet and keep aside. Place jaggery and water in a pan. Dissolve the jaggery over low heat. Once the jaggery dissolves, increase the heat and bring it to boil, and cook over full flame until a two-thread consistency is reached. Mix in the puffed rice quickly into the mixture. Take it off the heat and let it cool for a while. Make round balls by moistening the hands if the mixture is too sticky. Leave it to cool and serve.

GOJA

Ingredients

2 cups refined flour

1 cup sugar

A pinch of baking powder

2 tbsp ghee

2 green cardamoms

1 tbsp lemon juice

Salt to taste

Oil for deep fry

Method

Combine sugar, water, and cardamom pods in a heavy bottom pan, and bring to a boil. Stir frequently. As the syrup thickens, reduce the heat and test the consistency. Once the sugar syrup has reached a two-string consistency, turn off the heat and add lemon juice (this prevents the syrup from crystallising). Keep warm. In a bowl, mix flour, salt and baking powder. Add ghee and work it well into the mixture. Add water little by little and knead till stiff dough is formed. Divide the dough into equal portions and use a rolling pin to roll out into ovals. Make several slashes on the ovals with a knife or a fork. Heat sufficient ghee or oil in a pan and deep fry the gojas till light brown and crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on an absorbent paper to remove excess oil or ghee. Dip the fried gojas in sugar syrup. Coat rapidly and remove quickly. Toss till dry and crisp.

NARIKEL ER NARU (COCONUT LADDOO)

Ingredients

4 cups fresh grated coconut

2 cups grated jaggery

1 tsp ghee for greasing palms

Method

In a heavy pan, add fresh grated coconut. Cook on low flame. Stirring often, roast the coconut for few minutes. The roasting is just to get rid of some moisture from the coconut.

Add jaggery and mix it very well with the coconut. Stirring non-stop, cook the jaggery mixture about 5-6 minutes. The jaggery will melt and mixture will slightly thicken.

To test, take a small portion and let it cool down a bit. Then try to form a tiny laddoo with it. If the mixture can be easily shaped into a tiny ball, the laddoo mixture is ready.

SALTED LASSI (SALTED YOGHURT DRINK)

Ingredients

2 cups yoghurt

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp black salt

½ tsp chat masala

Fresh mint leaves for garnish

Method

Take all the ingredients in a food processor, except the mint. Blend it properly and make a smooth lassi. Pour the glasses, add ice, and garnish with the fresh mint and serve.

MASALA TEA

Ingredients

2 tbsp tea powder

4 tbsp sugar, or to taste

½ tsp crushed ginger

2 lemon grass stalks, each cut into 2" pieces

2 green cardamoms

2 cups milk

Method

Combine 2 cups of water, tea powder, sugar, lemongrass, and ginger in a saucepan and boil on a medium flame for 2 minutes. Add milk, mix well and bring to boil on a medium flame. When the mixture boils reduce the flame to low to prevent it from spilling and continue to boil for another 4-5 minutes, stir occasionally if necessary. Strain immediately and discard the tea powder residue. Serve immediately.