Burdwan Sitabhog Sponge Rice Sweet Bardhaman

Ingredients

• 1 cup very fine rice flour (the finest available — ideally ground from gobindobhog rice)
• 1 litre full-fat milk
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 tbsp ghee
• 1/4 tsp cardamom powder
• a few saffron strands
• 1 tbsp maida (all-purpose flour — to bind)

Method

1. Make a thick rice milk: Bring 1 litre milk to a boil. Add fine rice flour while whisking continuously. Cook on medium heat stirring for 10 to 12 minutes until very thick — the consistency of very thick porridge.
2. Add ghee: Add 3 tbsp ghee. Stir through. Cook 2 more minutes.
3. Add sugar: Add sugar. Stir until dissolved.
4. Add maida: Add 1 tbsp maida. Mix thoroughly. The maida gives the sitabhog its characteristic slight chewiness.
5. Add saffron and cardamom: Add saffron and cardamom. Stir.
6. Remove from heat: The mixture should be very thick, pulling away from the pan sides.
7. Cool slightly: Cool 5 minutes until handleable.
8. Shape into small balls or logs: While warm, shape into small spheres (about 2 cm) or small oblong pieces. Work quickly as it firms on cooling.
9. Arrange on a plate: Place the shaped sitabhog on a greased plate. They will firm further as they cool.
10. Cool completely: Allow to cool to room temperature. The finished sitabhog should be white, slightly firm on the outside and dissolve cleanly on the tongue.
11. Note: Sitabhog (sita = white as snow, bhog = sweet offering) is one of the three GI-tagged sweets of Burdwan (Bardhaman) district — the other two being Mihidana (tiny golden gram flour pearls) and Lal Doi (red-coloured set yogurt). All three are said to have been created to offer to the Maharaja of Burdwan. The specific fine rice flour made from gobindobhog — the aromatic short-grain rice grown only in Burdwan and Hooghly — is what gives sitabhog its white colour and delicate character.