Sweet Boondi Recipe | Bengali Mishti Bonde

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Sweet Boondi is a very popular Indian sweet where small fritters made with chickpea flour is dunked in sugar syrup. It is vegan (if not fried in ghee or clarified butter), gluten-free, dairy-free, nuts-free Indian sweet dish, and is hugely popular during Indian weddings and festivals.

The charm of this Indian sweet is in its texture. On the outside it should crunchy while on the inside it should have a syrupy centre. One bite and it should ooze out into your mouth! So, if you want to make such perfect sweet boondi at home, here are step-by-step detailed instructions on how to make them at home.

What is a Boondi or Bonde?

There are two varieties of Sweet Boondi. The one from the northern part of India is crisp on the outside and juicy on the inside. It is most often dark orange in colour, which is often due to the food colour. Also known as ‘prasad wale boondi‘ as it is offered as a prasad or an offering to Lord Hanuman on Tuesdays.

Another variety is the soft and juicy one which is very popular in the eastern part of India. Here, it is called ‘Mishti Bonde‘.

Both the varieties include frying the chickpea flour and then dropping them in the syrup. The only difference is the consistency of the sugar syrup. For the crispy version, we need the sugar syrup of one-string consistency, meaning a bit thick. For the soft and mushy version, we will need a runnier sugar syrup

In this post, I have shared step-by-step instructions about how to make this crispy Sweet Boondi recipe at home. Along with that, I will also tell you how to make the soft Bonde easily. You practically need a handful of ingredients for that, it’s that simple! Making sweet Boondi at home requires simple ingredients and only a little bit of time & patience on your part.

It is somewhat close to Bengali Bonde which is sweet, soft and somewhat, sticky. This mishti bonde is quite popular as a Bengali breakfast dish, often served with luchis or pooris. As I said above, the only difference here is the consistency of the sugar syrup which soaks the fritters. Here, it is runny which makes the boondi fritters soft and mushy as it soaks in.

This is a small batch of easy sweet Boondi recipes which will serve 3-4 people. So, if you want to make a bigger batch of it for entertaining guests, simply double or triple the recipe. You can also make a big batch of it if you want to keep some handy for those late-night cravings!

How to make Sweet Boondi – Ingredients list

• Chickpea Flour or Besan
• Water
• Baking Soda
• Turmeric Powder – for colour – optional
• Sunflower Oil to fry
• Sugar & Water to make the Sugar Syrup
• Green Cardamom pods to add flavour to the Sugar Syrup

Step-by-step instructions on how to make Sweet Boondi or Bonde recipe at home

How to make Boondis at home?

All you need is a perforated ladle (chanta or jhara) for this. The batter is made of chickpea flour and water is poured on the ladle which is held on top of medium-hot oil. As the batter drips through the holes of the perforated ladle, it makes round fritters as it hits the oil.

After that, it doesn’t take much longer to fry them. Just a minute in the oil and they turn crispy. We aren’t looking for any colour change here. Just a quick fry and they are taken out of the oil & dropped in the sugar syrup.

Let the boondis soak in the sugar syrup till it has soaked everything. Stir the boondis every once in a while to avoid sticking them to each other. As the sugar crystallizes on the boondis, it becomes crispy.

How to make the sugar syrup or chasni for Sweet Boondis?

If you want crispy sweet boondis, make the sugar syrup of one-string consistency. For that take an equal amount of sugar and water and allow this to boil. As the sugar dissolves, check for consistency. take some of the syrup between your thumb and index finger and see if it is making a string when the pinch is released. If it does, it is ready.

For Bengali Bonde, take double the amount of water to sugar and make a syrup.

Tips & Tricks of making perfectly round Sweet Boondis

1. Sieve the chickpea flour for a smooth batter. This would make the sweet boondi batter absolutely lump-free
2. To get the dark and bright orange colour, you can add edible food colour. Or, you can also add a couple of strands of Saffron. Here, I have added a pinch of Turmeric Powder which is equally good
3. Traditionally there is a specific perforated ladle for this, found at Indian utensil shops. However, if you aren’t much fussy about the size of the boondis, you can use the one you already have in your kitchen
4. Hold the perforated ladle (chanta or jhara) slightly above the oil and keep it moving over the oil so that the batter drops all over the oil
5. I used a frying pan for this. This gave a bigger space to spread the batter and fry more at a time
6. After the boondi has been fried and added to the sugar syrup, allow the syrup to be soaked completely. Give everything a stir in an hour or so.
7. Allow the boondis to dry so that you get the one which is crispy on the outside and juicy in the inside

Here’s a quick list of some of the most popular Indian sweets recipes from my blog

• Instant Gulab Jamun recipe using Milk Powder
• Instant Kalakand recipe using Condensed Milk
• Instant Malpoa recipe
• Gajar ka Halwa recipe without using Khoya
• Instant Gajar ka Halwa recipe
• Atta ka Halwa recipe
• Kesar Peda
• Rasbhari
• Khaja or Chiroti
• Chanar Jilipi or Paneer Jalebi
• Pranhara Sandesh
• Kesar Peda
• Kesar Motichoor Ladoo
• Balushahi
• Besan Ladoo
• Narkel Naru or Coconut Jaggery Ladoo
• Atta Ladoo Recipe with Makhanas & Dry Fruits

Have you tried this recipe? I would love to hear about it.
Tag me on Instagram @priyankabhattacharya.sa or Facebook @hashdiaries and I will share it further.

This post was first published on April 29, 2020, and later republished on July 27, 2021