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Sweet Potato Pantua

Same old treat, but healthier

While all of India loves gulab jamun, Kolkata cannot get enough of pantua. Did you know that many pantuas are made from sweet potatoes? It’s delicious too! Here’s what you need to make a batch at home for a pujo party:

 Ingredients: 

250gms sweet potatoes

2 cups sugar

2 cups water

4-5 small cardamom, crushed

½ cup semolina

1/4^th cup flour (and maybe 2 tablespoons more, if required)

Orange food colouring: a teaspoon

Method:

1. To make the sugar syrup, put the water to boil and then add the sugar into it. As the sugar dissolves, add the cardamom. The syrup should not be very thick. The sugar should just about dissolve and small bubbles should appear in your syrup as it boils. At this stage, you can add a dash of orange food colouring and even a few strands of saffron, if you have it.

2. To make the pantua, firstboil and peel the sweet potatoes. Mash them into a smooth mixture. Add in the semolina and flour. Mix well and if the mixture seems too wet, add in a little bit of more flour. Add a dash of cardamom powder and orange food colouring to this.

3. Heat a generous amount of oil in a deep pan. Keep the sugar syrup a little warm as you begin to shape the mixture into balls. Keep your hands moist to prevent the mixture from sticking to your fingers, Drop the pantua into the hot oil and use a spatula to keep moving them around for an even golden-brown colour. 

4. Once done, put the pantuas into the sugar syrup and let it soak for about two hours.

Serve them warm, with a side of rabri.

_{^{- Aatreyee Mohanta}}