Also known as cham cham or chum chum, chom chom is a unique Bengali sweet made with curd cheese and sugar syrup. It has its origins in the village of Porabari in the Tangail district of Bangladesh. In Bengali, ‘pora’ means burnt and ‘bari’ means house. Legend has it that the house of a sweet maker was burnt down while making these sweets in the village. It is also believed that a man named Dasarat first made the sweet. The Ghosh and Pal tribes had been involved in the sweet business for generations. And so, Porabari chom chom became famous. Now, it is popular in Bangladesh as well as West Bengal. Chom chom is oval in shape and can be prepared in a variety of colours (like white, light pink and yellow) besides brown. It may be served with coconut flakes or cardamom.
