English
বাংলা
The story
Meherpur, the small border district next to Kushtia and Chuadanga, is known across Bangladesh for two sweets that come from the same family kitchen: sabitri and ras kadam. The business is traced to Basudeb Saha, who is said to have begun making sweets in 1861 at his home in the Bara Bazar area of Meherpur town. Today it is run by his grandson, and the family still does the work itself, without hiring outside confectioners, which it says is how it keeps the recipes and the quality the same. Sabitri, the long, flat, syrup-free sweet, received its GI certificate in December 2025. Ras kadam is its round, juicy companion, and most visitors buy the two together.
Ras kadam is named after the kadam flower, the round, spiky yellow bloom of the monsoon. To make it, a small, soft rasgolla-like ball of chhena is cooked in syrup, then wrapped in a layer of kheer (milk boiled down to a thick, fudge-like paste) and rolled in very fine sugar beads, so that the finished sweet has a pale, grainy shell over a soft, juicy centre. In some older recipes the outer coating was fried poppy seed instead of sugar. The sweet is popular in other parts of northern and western Bangladesh too, Rajshahi in particular, but Meherpur's version is valued for its milk.
That milk is the heart of the Meherpur story. The family says it collects fresh milk every morning, boils it for hours over a wood fire and makes the sweets the next day, and that it never refrigerates either the milk or the finished sweets because cold dulls the flavour. Output is small, a few dozen kilograms a day across both sweets, and the family has spoken about how rising costs of milk, sugar and firewood make the work harder.
How to spot the real Meherpur ras kadam
A good ras kadam is a neat, round ball with an even, pale coating of tiny sugar beads that crunch lightly before you reach the kheer layer. Cut one in half and you should see three parts: the beaded skin, a band of creamy kheer, and a soft, moist chhena centre holding a little syrup. The kheer should taste of slowly cooked milk, not of milk powder or flour, and the sweetness should be full but not harsh. A dry, crumbly centre, a thick floury coating or a greasy feel suggest shortcuts. Because supply from the original Meherpur shop is limited, be careful with anyone offering large quantities on short notice, and ask where and when the sweets were bought or made.
Buying tips
Ras kadam has syrup inside, so it is less forgiving on a long journey than dry sabitri, though the coating helps it hold its shape. Ask the seller which shop made it, on what date, and how it will be packed: a sealed box, with pieces in paper cups or a single layer, stops the coating from rubbing off. Ask how long delivery to your area normally takes. Because both sweets come from the same Meherpur kitchen, it makes sense to buy ras kadam and sabitri from one seller in one parcel. Price depends mainly on the cost of milk and sugar.
That matters because every shop on Midmart sets and charges its own delivery, and an order split across shops arrives as separate parcels with separate charges. Midmart does not handle the money or the courier: the seller agrees payment and delivery with you directly. Midmart cannot vouch that a listing comes from the original family shop, so ask the questions above and buy only when you get clear answers.
Keeping it fresh
Keep ras kadam in a closed box in a cool, dry place and eat it within two or three days; in hot, humid weather move it to the fridge and let it come back to room temperature before eating. Throw it away if the centre smells sour or the surface turns sticky or mouldy.
Find Meherpur ras kadam on Midmart
Search Midmart for “ras kadam”
Shops from where it is made
No shop from Meherpur is on Midmart yet.
Every shop on Midmart collects payment its own way and arranges its own delivery — Midmart never handles your money or your parcel. Delivery is charged per shop: order from three shops and you pay three delivery charges.
Estimate a delivery charge
