Bal mithai

Bal mithai (Kumaoni: बाल मिठाई, Bāl Mithai) is a brown chocolate-like fudge, made with roasted khoya and coated with white balls made of sugar coated roasted poppy seeds. It is a popular sweet from Kumaon, India.

Bal mithai
Bal mithai from Almora, Kumaon, India
Place of originIndia
Region or stateAlmora, Kumaon, (India)
Main ingredientsKhoya, cane sugar, caramelised sugar syrup

History

Bal mithai originated in Kumaon. It was an invention of locals of Lal Bazaar, Almora, in the early twentieth century.[1] Scholars believe that bal mithai initially must have been the name of the prime offering to the Sun God.[1]

Recipe

Bal Mithai is made by cooking khoya (evaporated milk cream) with cane sugar until it becomes dark brown in color, colloquially called 'chocolate' for its color resemblance. This is allowed to settle and cool, and cut into cubes which are then coated with small white balls made of sugar coated roasted poppy seeds.[2]

Popularity

Bal mithai has long been a specialty of the Almora district[3] and neighbouring districts of Kumaon, along with singhauri, another preparation of flavoured khoya that comes wrapped in oak leaves.

Geographical Indications Protection

There has been a recent move to make local sweet makers aware of intellectual property rights, and Geographical Indications Protection (GI Protection) under the Geographical Indications of Goods Act of 1999, which would allow them to gain protection for local specialties such as bal mithai and singhauri, which are symbolic to Kumaon.[4]

References

  1. Pant, Rajshekhar (4 January 2016). "The Sweet Tooth Of Kumaon". The Citizen. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  2. Cuisines - Recipes Archived 2008-04-29 at the Wayback Machine Official website of Bageshwar district.
  3. Almora www.journeymart.com.
  4. Intellectual Property Rights Camp on GI Protection for ‘Baal Mithai’ & ‘Singhauri’ WTO-IPR, Bulletin, Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture & Technology, Volume 6– Issue 2: March – April, 2007.
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