On my recent getaway to the Agra, I chalked off Taj Mahal and Fatehpur Sikri from my list of places to visit. Whenever I’m preparing an itinerary for a vacation, the thing that features as the most important, after tourist places and accommodation is food. Food is believed to be a reflection of the cultural preferences of the region. The essence of the city lies in the food that is served to us, specially on the streets. I had Dalmoth and Agra ka famous petha on my mind while planning the trip but there was something that I missed out on.
Recently, a food blogger called @thelostchefff shared a reel on his Instagram handle which featured an unusual sweet. Captioned as Makhan ka tarbooz in the video, the blogger mentioned that the dish is available in Chandni Chowk’s Malivada area. Intrigued by the bright colours and interesting shape, I dug up and found out that it is actually a popular sweet in Agra. Here is what we are talking about.
Source: The Lost Chefff/Instagram
In the reel, the man is holding a plate full of a huge light green ball. He slices it into two halves with a knife and out comes the bright red-coloured filling of the ball. He further chops it into smaller slices and serves it as it is. This unique sweet is called makhan ka tarbooz and we are wondering why.
Makhan Ka Tarbooz
The dessert hails from Agra’s Fatehpur Sikri area and today, can be found near Delhi and Uttar Pradesh too. This lesser-known sweet dish shaped like a rasgulla, which is a classic Bengali dessert but is filled with all things tasty. This rasgulla is covered in a layer of fresh white butter and served chilled. The name of the dish is derived from the colour-combination of green and red which is similar to a watermelon, known as tarbooz in Hindi.
For making Makhan ka tarbooz, the dough of curdled milk is prepared. The milk is thickened and rolled into rasgulla-shaped balls. These balls are covered in red colour and sugar syrup. Once this is done, the fresh butter is mixed with green colour to give it a watermelon-like exterior. The butter is brushed onto the rasgullas once again after they are set. These are the chilled and served.
Do you want to try this unique dessert from Agra too? Here is a recipe that you can try.