Bal mithai
Bal mithai (बाल मिठाई) is a brown chocolate-like fudge, made with roasted khoya and coated with white sugar balls. It is a popular sweet from the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand in India.
 | |
| Place of origin | India |
|---|---|
| Region or state | Uttarakhand (India) |
| Main ingredients | Khoya, cane sugar, caramelised sugar syrup |
History
Bal mithai originated in the Uttarakhand region. It was an invention of Lala Joga Shah 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 Uttarakhand Hills, 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
- Pant, Rajshekhar (4 January 2016). "The Sweet Tooth Of Kumaon". The Citizen. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
- Cuisines - Recipes Archived 2008-04-29 at the Wayback Machine Official website of Bageshwar district.
- Almora www.journeymart.com.
- 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.