Indian sweets, known as mithai, are a type of confectionery. Many are made with sugar, milk and condensed milk, and cooked by frying. The bases of the sweets and other ingredients vary by region. In the Eastern part of India, for example, milk is a staple, and most sweets from this region are based on milk products. For a more complete listing see List of Indian sweets and desserts.
Barfi is a sweet made of condensed milk and various other ingredients like ground cashews or pistachios. It is customary to attach a thin layer of
edible silver foil as decoration.
[edit]Chena Murki
Chena murki sweet made from milk and sugar available in Indian province of
Orissa. The milk is boiled for a long time and condensed. Sugar is added and the sweet is given a round shape. It is also known by many Bangladeshi and Guyanese people as pera.
Chikki A simple sweet made out of peanuts and molasses.
[edit]Gulab jamun
Gulab jamun is an Indian dessert made out of fried milk balls soaked in sweet syrup.
[edit]Jalebi or Imarti
Jalebi is made by deep-frying flour in a circular (coil-like) texture and then dipping in sugar syrup. Imarti is a variant of Jalebi, with a different flour mixture and has a more coild texture. Typically Jalebi is brown or yellow, while Imarti is reddish in color. Often taken with milk, tea or even yogurt (or
Lassi)
Khaja is a sweet food of
Orissa in India. Refined wheat flour, sugar and oils are the chief ingredients of khaja.
It is believed that, even 2000 years ago, Khajas were prepared in the southern side of the Gangetic Plains of Bihar. These areas which are home to khaja, once comprised the central part of Maurya and Gupta empires. Presently, Khajas are prepared and sold in the city of
Patna,
Gaya and several other places across the state of Bihar. Khajas of the Silao and Rajgir are known for their puffiness.
Khajas have travelled to some other parts of India, including Andhra Pradesh. Khaja of Kakinada is a coastal town of Andhra Pradesh. At first, a paste is made out of wheat flour,
mawa and oil. It is then deep fried until crisp. Then a sugar syrup is made which is known as "pak". The crisp croissants are then soaked in the sugar syrup until they absorb the sugar syrup. In Kakinada Khaja, it is made dry from outside and full of sugar syrup from inside and is juicy.
Kulfis are Indian ice-cream, where the sweetened milk/cream is frozen in small metal cans to be served frozen. Usually it has a milky appearance, but additional colors may be applied for display. A summer-time favorite in most of India, especially in the northern India. It comes in variety of flavors such as mango
kesar or
cardamom. It is typically sold by street-side hawkers who carry around these frozen cans of kulfi in a big earthen pot. The street-side hawkers, called "kulfiwalla" (one who sells kulfi) are much awaited by school kids who savor kulfi's during school lunch-times.
Kheer is a pudding originally from
Orissa, usually made from milk and one of these ingredients - vermicelli rice, bulgar wheet, semolina, tapioca, dried dates, and shredded whitegourd. It is also known as "Payas" (see below). ....
Motichoor Ladoo is a popular variant.
Laddu (sometimes transliterated as laddoo) or Laadu is made of varieties of flour and/or semolina and other ingredients cooked in sugar formed into balls. The popularity of Laddu is due to its ease of preparation.
Variations in the preparation of Laddu result in a spectrum of tastes. Laddu is often made to celebrate festivals or household events such as weddings. You can get Laddoo's which are famous in Bihar called as "Maner Ka Laddoo" in Maner Sweets - Maner and Patna.
Malpoa is one of the most ancient home made sweets of India originated from
Orissa. It is a form of pancake (made of wheat or rice flour) deep fried and sugar syrup. Several variations exist in different parts of India, especially popular in Bengal and Orissa.
[edit]Motichoor
Motichoor Ka Ladoo is a sweet food of the central
Bihar made from grilled
gram flour flakes which are sweetened, mixed with almonds, pressed into balls and fried in
ghee. Originally from
Maner, a small town near Patna, it is now made and consumed throughout India and Pakistan. One of the popular sweet makers for Motichoor Ka Ladoo is Maner Sweets in Maner and in Patna(Maurya Lok).It is a traditional gift at weddings, engagements and births.
[edit]Narkel Naru
Narkel Naru is a dessert from
Bengal. They are ball-shaped and made from khoa/condensed milk and coconut, a traditional food during
pujas such as the
Lakshmi Puja, consumed throughout India.
[edit]Parwal Ki Mithai
[edit]Pathishapta
Pathishapta is a Bengali dessert. The final dish is a rolled pancake that is stuffed with a filling often made of coconut, milk, cream, and jaggery from the date palm. These desserts are consumed in Thailand as well.
[edit]Payas or Kheer
Payas (or
Kheer as it is called in Hindi)
A sweet rice pudding, payas has been a cultural dish throughout the history of India, being usually found at ceremonies, feasts and celebrations. In many parts of India, ancient traditions maintain that a wedding is not fully blessed if payas (or
payasam as known in South India) is not served at the feast during traditional ceremonies like marriage, child birth,
annaprasan (first solid feed to child) etc.
[edit]Rasgulla
Rasgulla, a popular sweet dish made from cottage cheese.
Rasgulla is a popular relished sweetmeats in India, originated in
Orissa, in the eastern region of the country, but was made known to the outside world by Nobin Chandra Das of Kolkata. Originally a dessert in Orissa for centuries, this dish made its way to West Bengal when the Oriya cooks started migrating to West Bengal in search of jobs, bringing along the recipe. It was only then that Nobin Chandra Das of Kolkata modified its recipe to give it its current form. This dish is produced by the boiling of small balls of
casein in sugar syrup. This sweet dessert can be found in many eastern Indian households.
[edit]Sandesh
Sandesh is a sweet made from fine cheese made from cow's milk kneaded with fine ground sugar or molasses. This is a sweet from West Bengal and
Orissa. Revered for its delicate making, and appreciated by the connoiseur, this represents sweet making at its finest. Sandesh comes in two varieties, "Norom Pak" (the softer version) and "Koda Pak" (the harder version). The softer version although more gentle and considered better, is fragile. The harder version is robust and often easier for storage. Molases made from dates can be used to make a special variation of Sandesh called "Noleen Gurher Sandesh" (a Sandesh made from "Noleen Gurh" or molases from dates) or simply "Noleen Sandesh" (as shown in the figure).
[edit]Shrikhand
Shrikhand is a creamy dessert made out of strained
yogurt, from which all water is drained off, leaving the thick yogurt cream by itself. Adding dry fruits, mango puree enhances the Shrikhand’s taste. It is a Western India traditional dish, and it has ancient roots in the Indian cuisine.
[edit]Other Indian Sweets
Other traditional Indian sweets and desserts famous throughout the history of Indian food include:
- Mysore Pak (a dessert made out of ghee, sugar and chick pea flour),
- Halwa (or Halva in modern English spelling); made out of flour, butter and sugar
- Jangiri
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