500 years ago, Portuguese traders and colonists settled in Bengal in places like Chittagong and Hooghly and contributed in some way to introducing various foods. It is said that the Portuguese influence on Bengali sweets is highly significant due to the technique of curdling milk to produce chhena, which is a soft, fresh cheese.
The Portuguese explorers, including Prince Henry, undertook trips from Lisbon, resulting in the linkage of Europe with the western coastline of India and Eastern commerce. Later on, the Portuguese people thrived around Hooghly.
Their fondness for cheese made an impact on the local markets. The Bengali confectioners copied their practice of making the milk curdle through the use of some acidic agent like lemon. The chhena was soft and had the characteristic melt-in-the-mouth nature which was not common with sweets that were made from rice, flour, jaggery, and pulses. The Portuguese influence on Bengali sweets therefore gave birth to new confectionery in Kolkata.
The sweet makers started using palm jaggery, sugarcane jaggery and refined sugar with chhena. The sandesh was prepared in various shapes and infused with flavours of local fruits and flowers like orange, jackfruit and rose. The French traveller François Bernier, who visited India during the years 1659 to 1666, mentions the fame of Bengali sweets, especially in areas occupied by Portuguese people.
The Bengali Renaissance and the emergence of a prosperous middle class in Kolkata brought about the golden period of Bengali sweets in the mid-19th century. Some of the famous sweet shops included Bhim Nag, K.C.Das, Dwarik Ghosh and Ganguram.
In its prime, a shop could serve up to 100-150 types of sandesh. The confectioners even invented such variations of the sweet dish as chocolate sandesh, apple sandesh, ice-cream sandesh, as well as toast, sandwich, cake, chops, and biscuit varieties of sandesh. The names of the sweets were also equally interesting, like Desh Gorob, Manoranjan, Monohara, Pranahara, Abak, Nayantara, Bagh and Abar Khabo.
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