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Batasha
Puffy sugar drops
বাতাসা: light, puffy drops of boiled sugar for the Boishakhi mela
On Pohela Boishakh, the Bengali New Year in mid-April, the fairs that spring up in Dhaka, across Bangladesh and in West Bengal sell batasha by the basket, and shopkeepers hand them out with sweets as they open their new account books for halkhata. Temples receive them as offerings, and children crunch them on the way home. They are simply sugar boiled hot, then foamed with a pinch of soda and dropped in coins that set airy, crisp and melt-in-the-mouth. The common mistake is pulling the syrup off too early: below the hard-ball stage the drops spread flat and stay sticky. The syrup is ready at about 125 °C, when a drop in cold water forms a firm ball that keeps its shape. Chef's tip: work fast once the soda goes in, because the syrup sets within a minute; ask someone to help you drop them.
- Total time
- 25 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 8
Ingredients
- 1 tsp vegetable oilfor greasing
- 9 oz sugar
- ½ cup water
- ¼ tsp lemon juice
- ⅛ tsp bicarbonate of soda
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Line two trays with baking paper and brush lightly with 1 tsp vegetable oil. Have a teaspoon and a bowl of cold water ready.
2 minStep 2: Put 9 oz sugar, ½ cup water and ¼ tsp lemon juice in a small heavy pan and stir over a medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Stop stirring once it boils.
4 minStep 3: Boil for 10–12 minutes until the syrup reaches about 250°F: the bubbles turn small and thick, and a drop in cold water forms a firm ball.
12 minStep 4: Take off the heat, sprinkle in ⅛ tsp bicarbonate of soda and beat hard with a spoon for 20–30 seconds until the syrup turns cloudy, pale and foamy.
1 minStep 5: At once drop teaspoons of the foam onto the trays, spacing them 3 cm apart. Leave to set for 10 minutes until hard and dry, then store in an airtight jar.
10 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 125 kcal
- Protein
- 0 g
- Carbs
- 31 g
- Fat
- 1 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does batasha take?
- About 25 minutes in total: 5 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 8 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
- What can I use instead of lemon juice?
- Lime juice, same amount.
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