Indian sweets - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

South Asian Sweets are a unique type of confectionary in Indian

Indian cuisine

Indian cuisine consists of thousands of regional cuisines which date back thousands of years. The dishes of India are characterised by the extensive use of various Indian spices, herbs, vegetables and fruit. Indian cuisine is also known for the widespread practice of vegetarianism in Indian society...

, Pakistani and other South Asian cuisine

South Asian cuisine

South Asian cuisine, also known as Desi cuisine, includes the cuisines from the Indian subcontinent. It has roots in South Asia, including practices taken from the Hindu beliefs practiced by the large population found in the region, alongside influences from neighbouring regions and cultures,...

s. The Hindi-Urdu word used to refer to sweets and confectionary is mithai. South Asian sweets 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

Barfi, sometimes burfi or burfee , is a sweet confection from the Indian subcontinent. Plain barfi is made from condensed milk, cooked with sugar until it solidifies. There are many varieties of barfi, which include besan barfi , kaaju barfi , and pista 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 food.

Chena Murki

Chena murki sweet made from milk and sugar available in Indian province of Orissa

Orissa

Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...

. 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.

Gulab jamun

Gulab jamun is a popular dessert in countries of the Indian Subcontinent such as India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh. It is made of a dough consisting mainly of milk solids, traditionally, khoya, an Indian milk product is rolled into a ball together with some flour and then deep fried...

is an Indian/Pakistani dessert made out of fried milk balls soaked in sweet syrup.

Jalebi or Imarti

Jalebi

-Further reading:*Epicure's Delectable Desserts of the World By Asha Khatau ISBN 81-7991-119-5...

is made by deep-frying flour in a circular (coil-like) shape and then dipping in sugar syrup. Imarti is a variant of Jalebi, with a different flour mixture and has tighter coils. Typically Jalebi is brown or yellow, while Imarti is reddish in color. Often taken with milk, tea, yogurt or Lassi

Lassi

Lassi is a popular and traditional yogurt-based drink of the Indian Subcontinent. It is made by blending yogurt with water and Indian spices...

Khaja

Khaja also Pheni is Oriya sweet made from Refined wheat flour, sugar and edible oils . It is made and eaten all throughout Indian subcontinent, though it is known by different names. It is prepared in the states of Bihar, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh.-Legend:Khaja is one...

is a sweet food of 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

Patna

Paṭnā , is the capital of the Indian state of Bihar and the second largest city in Eastern India . Patna is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world...

, Gaya

Gaya, India

Gaya is the second largest city of Bihar, India, and it is also the headquarters of Gaya District.Gaya is 100 kilometers south of Patna, the capital city of Bihar. Situated on the banks of Falgu River , it is a place sanctified by both the Hindu and the Buddhist religions...

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

Evaporated milk

Evaporated milk, also known as dehydrated milk, is a shelf-stable canned milk product with about 60% of the water removed from fresh milk. It differs from sweetened condensed milk, which contains added sugar. Sweetened condensed milk requires less processing since the added sugar inhibits ...

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.

Kulfi

Kulfi or Qulfi is a popular frozen dairy dessert from the Indian Subcontinent. It is often described as "traditional Indian Subcontinent ice-cream". It is popular throughout countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Burma , and even the Middle East...

s are traditional Indian/Pakistani 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

Kesar

Kesar is an Indian television serial that aired on STAR Plus, based on the life of a young girl from rural Punjab named Kesar. Kesar concluded on May 31, 2007 but is currently being repeated from the beginning on the TV Asia channel in USA.-Plot:...

or cardamom

Cardamom

Cardamom refers to several plants of the genera Elettaria and Amomum in the ginger family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to India and Bhutan; they are recognised by their small seed pod, triangular in cross-section and spindle-shaped, with a thin papery outer shell and small black seeds...

. It is typically sold by street-side hawkers who carry around these frozen cans of kulfi in a big earthen pot. These vendors are known as "kulfiwalla" (one who sells kulfi).

Kheer

Kheer also known as Payasam or Payesh is a rice pudding, which is a traditional South Asian sweet dish...

is a pudding, 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).
....

Laddu

Laddu or Laddoo is a ball-shaped sweet popular in South Asian countries including India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh as well as countries with immigrants from South Asia. Laddu is made of flour and sugar with other ingredients that vary by recipe...

(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.

Malpoa

Malpoa is one of the most ancient home made sweets of India. 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.

Motichoor

Motichoor Ka Ladoo is a sweet food of the central Bihar

Bihar

Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....

made from grilled gram flour

Gram flour

Gram flour is a cereal flour made from ground chickpeas. It is also known as chickpea flour, garbanzo flour, or besan . Used in many countries, it is a staple ingredient in Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi cuisines, and, in the form of a paste with water or yoghurt, a popular facial exfoliant in...

flakes which are sweetened, mixed with almonds, pressed into balls and fried in ghee

Ghee

Ghee is a class of clarified butter that originated in South Asia and is commonly used in South Asian cuisine....

. Originally from Maner

Maner

Maner is a city and a notified area in Patna district in the Indian state of Bihar.-Demographics: India census, Maner had a population of 26,912. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Maner has an average literacy rate of 52%, lower than the national average of 59.5%: male...

, a small town near Patna, it is now made and consumed throughout India and Pakistan. .It is a traditional gift at weddings, engagements and births.

Narkel Naru

Narkel Naru is a dessert from Bengal

Bengal

Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...

. They are ball-shaped and made from khoa/condensed milk and coconut, a traditional food during Pujas such as the Lakshmi Puja

Lakshmi Puja

Lakshmi puja is performed during Diwali, the festival of lights. According to tradition people would put small oil lamps outside their homes on Diwali and hope Lakshmi will come to bless them....

, consumed throughout India.

Parwal Ki Mithai

Parwal Ki Mithai is a dry sweet made of parwal. The outer covering is made of parwal, and the filling is made of milk products. It is rather popular in Bihar

Bihar

, but also found in Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...

and West Bengal

West Bengal

West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...

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.

Payas or Kheer

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.

Rasgulla

Rasgulla is a popular relished sweetmeats in India and Pakistan. 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

Casein

Casein is the name for a family of related phosphoprotein proteins . These proteins are commonly found in mammalian milk, making up 80% of the proteins in cow milk and between 60% and 65% of the proteins in human milk....

in sugar syrup. This sweet dessert can be found in many eastern Indian households.

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

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).

Shrikhand

Shrikhand is an Indian sweet dish made of strained yogurt. It is one of the main desserts in Gujarati cuisine and Maharashtrian cuisine. It is also served with Gujarati thali sometimes as a sweet dish. Preparation of this dish is very simple but it takes some time to process yogurt properly.The...

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 Indian traditional dish.

Other Indian/Pakistani Sweets

Other traditional Indian sweets and desserts famous throughout the history of Indian food include:

Mysore Pak
Mysore pak
Mysore pak is a sweet dish of Karnataka, India, usually served as dessert. It is made of generous amounts of ghee , sugar and gram flour....

(a dessert made out of ghee, sugar and chick pea flour),
Halwa (or Halva
Halva
Halva refers to many types of dense, sweet confections, served across the Middle East, South Asia, Central Asia, West Asia, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, the Balkans, Eastern Europe, Malta and the Jewish world.The term halva ,...

in modern English spelling); made out of flour, butter and sugar
Jangiri

Barfi

Chena Murki

Gulab jamun

Jalebi or Imarti

Khaja

Kulfi

Kheer

Laddu

Malpoa

Motichoor

Narkel Naru

Parwal Ki Mithai

Pathishapta

Payas or Kheer

Rasgulla

Sandesh

Shrikhand

Other Indian/Pakistani Sweets

See also