India has a wide range of very delectable, finger licking and luscious Indian desserts. Indian sweets are commonly known as Mithai in Hindi, they are a type of confectionery that rely heavily on milk, sugar, flour, condensed milk, cardamom powder for flavoring. The bases of the sweets vary from region to region.
As India is rich in its heritage, culture and traditions, we have a plenty of festivals in line. Sweets are the most popular sought after delicacy that is offered to the deity. Indian sweets are large in colour, shape and size. Their flavours are also distinct and explicit. Most Indian are sweet tooth and without a doubt, love preparing and eating a variety of colourful and flavourful sweets.
Indian sweets are mainly prepared in 2 varieties, one is the milk based sweets like Ras malai, Rabari, Kalakandh etc and the other is the flour based sweets which includes an array of ladoos, Gulab Jamun, Mysore pak and many more.
Dessert forms an important part of a meal which is served as the last course but usually the most sought after. Sweets are mostly prepared to a celebration, special events and ceremonies; not only they add charm to festivities but also imbibe sweetness of unity in India. Most of the sweet dishes are available throughout the year irrespective of any occasion, season etc. Many Indian desserts require a level of expertise which can be a deterrent to making them at home.
So, we look at some of the most popular or top most Indian desserts, they would include:
Ras Malai
Ras Malai or Rosh malai (Bengal sweet dessert originating in India) is served after a meal. The name Ras Malai comes from two parts in Hindi: “Ras” meaning “juice/juicy” and “Malai”, meaning “cream”. Ras Malai consists of sugary white, cream or yellow coloured balls of paneer soaked in malai (clotted cream) flavoured with cardamom.
Rasgulla
Rasgullas are white balls of sponge that are dipped in a sweetened syrup. A famous sweet shop owner N C Das invented rasgullas. His recipe is still followed in all the old 'mishti' shops of Kolkata.
Rabri
Rabri is a specialty of Banaras. It is basically thickened milk with dry fruits and kesar. Enjoying a plate of rabri while sitting on the ghats of the Ganga is an ethereal experience.
Laddo
Motichoor Laddo
Besan Laddo
Laddos are basically round sweetmeats that are rolled by hand. The bright orange motichur laddos are the best known varieties. Besan ladoos are rich, sweet dessert-snack made from gently roasted gram flour (besan) sweetened with sugar. Ladoos can be served any time of the day. Traditionally in Indian households ladoos and burfis are served as cookies and chocolate and specially prepared during festivals.
Gulab Jamun
Gulab Jamuns actually have nothing to do with roses. Gulab Jamun, a small waffle shaped balls deep fried and dipped in sugar syrup, popular in countries of the Indian subcontinent as India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh.
Jalebi
The jalebi batter has urad dal, chenna and sugar syrup. Jalebis are criss-crossed web of lines that are hand-made and then deep fried. They are served hot with rabri or sweet curd sometimes.
Amrakhand
Mango Shrikhand/ Amrakhand is a very popular Indian dessert made from strained yogurt or hung curd. It is one of the main desserts in Maharashtrian and Gujarati cuisine. In Gujarati cuisine, shrikhand is eaten either as a side-dish with breads such as poori or as a dessert.
Petha
Pethas are popular sweetmeats from the city of Agra. If you go to Agra then make sure you grab some pethas apart from gazing at the Taj.
Kalakand
Kalakand is a white coloured sweet that is almost totally made up of khoya and garnished with dry fruits. It is very sweet and melts in the mouth. Kalakand is an exquisite milk-based sweet preparation made with concentrated milk called khoya and fresh paneer called chhana are mixed and simmered together with sugar to a luxurious thick, firmness. The mixture is cooled, then cut to squares and garnished with pistachios. This dish is flavoured with mango.
Mysore pak
Mysore pak is a sweet dish from the south Indian cuisine, usually served as dessert. It is made of generous amounts of ghee (clarified butter), sugar and gram flour.
Son Papadi
It is made from sugar, gram flour, flour, ghee, milk, and cardamom. Soan papdi is very soft like fibre or flakes.Soan papdi or soam papdi or sonpapri or sanpapdi is a popular South Asian, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal sweet. It is usually square in shape or served as flakes, and has a crisp and flaky texture. This sweet is commonly sold in streets which attract kids a lot. The Origin place of sohan papdi is a small town called Najibabad of the district bijnor in the state of Uttar Pradesh.
It is said that there is no country has a wider range of exotic, luscious sweets than in India.