When people think of Indian food, they mainly think of savory dishes, curry being probably the most famous one. But are there any desserts that India is known for? It seems like whenever I have eaten at an Indian restaurant, the only dessert generally available is ice cream. I wonder if this is because they are catering to western clientele, or because they really don't make much in the way of dessert?
Famous desserts vary from state to state, but you will find all the different types of desserts across India. Majority of the desserts in India are very sweet, so if you sugar intolerance is very low, beware. In the northern part of India, you will find gulab jamun, ras malai, kulfi, rabbi, jalebi, kheer, halwa and moti choor ladoo. In south India, the famous desserts are ada, badam halwa, coconut barfi and jaangiri. In the western part of India, the most famous dessert is rasgulla, misti doi, sandesh, and ras malai.
I think Dhruv listed most of them. Being from North India, I would like to add to the list : petha and Gur.
To be completely honest desserts in India aren't very good. They're like Indian food's weakest aspect. The one Indian dessert I really like is Gulab Jamun, it's probably one of my favourite desserts ever. But many people I know who try it for the first time find it to be way too sweet and greasy.
Since you're from India, would you mind telling us what your favorite is and why? Dhruv has given as an extensive list, which is helpful to a degree, but he doesn't mention any details. It would be nice to know what some of these are made from, etc. Of course I could Google, but I do like the thought of someone in the know mentioning some details. @Dhruv you also mention that they are very sweet. Well, that aspect I would love! In general, I am trying to limit sugar to a degree for health, but I am a sweet tooth at heart. Rootle, this could be why they do not present many at Indian restaurants in the western world. However, it's a matter of taste, is it not? I guess Indians must like them!
I'm an Indian and I don't like them, or at least I don't like them as much as other Indian food. But you are right, it's a matter of taste. Indian desserts are so sweet and overpowering that most people in the west would probably hate it. Obviously this also makes them extremely unhealthy. I have seen Indian desserts such as Gulab Jamun in America, though it wasn't very good. Yeah so Indian desserts aren't terrible but most western desserts are better in my opinion.
@PrincessTigerLily, I would go with Ras malai. I can eat it forever. It's basically sweetened milk with chunks of thick malai. Describing it makes my mouth water! My second favorite would be Gulab Jamun. I like them hot!
Correction to the above quote. Yes part of the dish is made from sweetened milk, but the main part of the dish is actually kneaded paneer, which is formed into type of chenna.
@Mehar, Paneer? Are you sure? My mom always told me it was malai! Do you have a source where I could confirm this just to be sure?
[QUOTE="rootle, post: 13986, member: 2679"Indian desserts are so sweet and overpowering that most people in the west would probably hate it. [/QUOTE] This is a really interesting perspective, because I have always had the assumption that Americans prefer very sweet things, and other countries make desserts that aren't quite as overpoweringly sugary. I guess that might be in part because of the time I spent studying in England. People there would say things like, "this is way too sweet" when they would try one of my American desserts. But then, I found English desserts to be bland and boring. Some people in my family like desserts a lot, but would maybe say somethings were too sugary, whereas I will inhale sugar. It's not good for me, I know, and I do try to watch it more carefully now, especially as my mom has become diabetic. Thankfully I am keeping fit and healthy, staying at a healthy weight, and moderating my diet a little better these days. But your desserts kind of sound yummy to me ... This coming from someone who would eat Kaya (coconut jam from Asia) straight from the jar!
If you like something cold then I can recommend falooda for you which has a mix of rose syrup, milk, ice cream, jelly. pistachio, boiled vermicelli and a few soaked sabja seeds. That used to be our favourite to give a finale to our shopping spree. There was a restaurant specialised in falooda. It needs a spoon and straw too (lol)
