Photo: Messenger
The chomchom of Tangail is considered the oldest iteration of sweetmeat, unparalleled in its taste – and is not reproducible at any other part of the country, or by any other artisan. It is also, according to various accounts, the birthplace of chomchom, a dessert popular across the subcontinent.
A prevailing myth is that the village derives its name, Porabari, meaning burnt house, from an incident where the house of a sweetmaker was burnt to the ground.
Even today there are eight to ten factories in the village producing the treat, while its main bazar houses around four sweetmeat shops. One of these traces its lineage all the way back to one of the very first men to ever make the dessert.
History holds that a man named Dasharath Gaur came to Porabari village from Assam during the British period. He was the first to start making chomchoms with water from the Dhaleshwari river and pure cow milk.
Other accounts say on the banks of the Dhaleshwari, Porabari had over a hundred chomchom factories since being developed as a river port in 1608. During this time, Porabari Bazar, which now is home to around 50 shops, was a bustling business centre. Large merchant ships, launches and steamers were a regular fixture at Porabari Ghat.
Throngs of hungry crowds feasted on the chomchoms and played a role in its spread throughout the continent.
The reason for the sweetmeat's popularity is not very hard to pin down, apart from its obvious rich taste and texture.
Research says the pure milk of native cows mixed with the sweet water of the river would be used to make the chhana, a form of cheese curds, which would then be turned into the delicious chomchom.
The two ingredients, which could not be replicated elsewhere, are considered the secret recipe for the dessert.
Its softness comes from its method of preparation, which also lends it a unique fragrance. The red colour in the Porabari chomchom comes from a sprinkle of mawa – burnt milk – adding another flavour profile to the sweetmeat.
Around 15 kilograms of milk have to be burnt and dried to get half a kg of mawa.
Despite its history, Porabari Bazaar is quite simple, with some 40-50 shops, including the sweetmeat ones. There still is a milk market there from 11:00am to 2:00pm, but daily sales have dropped from 200-300 maunds to only 100 maunds. On an average it makes 40 to 50 maunds of sweets per day.
Swapan Ghosh, president of the Tangail District Restaurant and Sweet Shop Owners Association and owner of Jayakali Sweet Shop, said there are 250 sweet shops under the association. In total, there are 1,000 sweetmeat shops in Tangail district.
District Commissioner of Tangail Kaisarul Islam said, ‘In view of our application, the relevant authorities have verified and recognized the chomchom of Porabari in Tangail as a GI product. Various schemes are in place to further enrich this industry including providing better training to artisans.’
Messenger/Fameema
