Did you know Rajasthan's Ghewar has a counterpart in Bengal with roots going back to 1740s?

Who doesn’t love a traditional, crispy yet melt-in-mouth, sugar-syrup, and creamy from the malai Ghewar or Ghevar, especially during festive season. But we are sure not everyone knows that this Rajasthani has a Bengali cousin, a humble Babarsa from Paschim Medinipur’s Khirpai. 

Ghewar vs Babarsa: Which one is older?

While there’s no information about Ghevar’s origin, some people believe that it reached India with the Mughals many centuries ago or came with the artisans from the Middle East, Babarsa’s roots go back to sometime around 1740, and it is absolutely Bengal’s hyper-local answer to the Rajasthani Ghewar. 

Structurally, they are true culinary doppelgängers. Both of these Indian desserts are crafted by masterfully dropping a thin maida (refined flour) batter into piping hot ghee to create an intricate, brittle, porous honeycomb disc. The story of the Babarsa, is uniquely intertwined with Bengal's chaotic 18th-century history.

Babarsa: The origin story

During the 1740s, Bengal was being relentlessly ravaged by the Maratha Bargi raiders. The then Nawab of Bengal, Alivardi Khan, was struggling to contain them, and the town of Khirpai, then a bustling commercial hub for textile and silk trade, frequently found itself under siege.

According to local history and culinary lores, a British resident or military man stationed in the area, widely remembered by locals as Edward Babarasa (or Babarash), stepped in to mobilise a defense and successfully repelled a violent Bargi onslaught, saving the local population from plunder.

To express their profound gratitude, a local moira (sweet meat maker) created a brand-new, highly-innovative fried sweetmeat. They shaped it like a delicate, crispy net and named it Babarsa in honour of Edward. While there is a competing folklore that ties it to the Mughal Emperor Babur, historians largely dismiss this since Khirpai’s specific historical records anchor it firmly to the mid-18th-century Bargi era.

Then, how does Babarsa and Ghevar differ?

While they look nearly identical, a true connoisseur can spot the difference in how they are finished and served. 

Ghewar is drenched or submerged in sugar syrup immediately after frying, letting it soak deep into the pores, and often topped with a rich layer of rabri, edible silver leaf, and chopped nuts. On the other hand, Babarsa is kept completely dry and crisp after frying, and drizzled with pure honey (or warm sugar syrup) only right before it is served to preserve its crunch.

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