Stories
Secret to Soft Pantua: Stop Cracking in Oil! Learn Confectioners' Technique
- •Pantua, a fried sweet similar to Gulab Jamun, is a highly valued part of Bengali cuisine.
- •Many struggle to achieve the shop-like softness and prevent cracking when making Pantua at home.
- •The recipe requires chhana, all-purpose flour, semolina, khoya kheer, baking soda, and ghee.
- •Key steps include thoroughly mashing chhana, kneading with specific ingredients, and shaping into balls.
- •To prevent cracking, test one ball in oil; if it cracks, add more all-purpose flour. For softness, add semolina and immerse hot Pantua in sugar syrup.
Key Questions Answered
To make Pantua, you will need 150 grams of chhana, 100 grams of khoya kheer, two tablespoons of all-purpose flour, one tablespoon of semolina, one tablespoon of ghee, a pinch of baking soda, four to five cardamom seeds, plus oil, sugar, and water for the syrup and frying.
Pantua cracks in hot oil if the mixture lacks structural binding. To test this, drop a single ball into the oil first; if it cracks, knead the remaining dough mixture with a little more all-purpose flour before frying the rest.
To achieve shop-style softness, mix one tablespoon of semolina into your chhana and all-purpose flour mixture. Additionally, immediately immersing the freshly fried hot Pantua into sugar syrup allows it to absorb the liquid and turn exceptionally soft.
