Sweet emotion – a short dessert ride through India

Indians love their sweets, and why not? Each region has its own delicacy, and there is never a dearth of desserts in India. We mark every occasion with loads of sweets, made from various ingredients, but primarily dairy. The Indian dessert exploration is a never-ending saga, full of numerous great experiences that will linger in your mouth for a long time. There are even some sweets that are only made during particular seasons, and with such a large variety, one can only imagine the world of sweets that India has in its bag. Here is a look into the most popular of Indian sweets, and where they come from.

The sweetest part of India has all the incredible sweets for you; sandesh, however, takes the centre stage. West Bengal is known for various types of sandesh, the most popular being the nolen gurer sandesh, which basically uses date jaggery for preparation. Over the years, sandesh has found its place in the modern world of desserts as well, so you have a range of modern desserts made from chocolate, blueberry, strawberry, mango, and more.

A speciality of Uttar Pradesh, especially popular in Varanasi, Malaiyo is a fantastic treat for those who like their desserts to be creamy. Malaiyo is just the perfect thing you need to beat the heat in Varanasi, but be careful, you might get addicted to this gem of a dessert. It is made from milk cream, and is frothy and tasty beyond comparison. You get it all over Varanasi, and stumbling upon people eating this on the streets is a commonplace. This sweet snack is mostly prepared during the winter season.

Between your parties and drinking, you have to take out time to try this delicious dessert. Taken from the Portuguese cuisine, Bebinca is a layered delight that is simply fabulous. The dessert contains seven layers, and is made of – plain flour, sugar, clarified butter, egg yolk, and coconut milk. Bebinca is served in various occasions in Goa, and could be eaten with a side of ice-cream as well.

A season-specific sweet, you have to try this one before time runs out! Ghevar traces its roots to the Indian state of Rajasthan; however, it is now popular all across north India. This particular dessert is eaten in two occasions – Teej and Rakshabandhan. You will get this sweet only during the months of July-August-September, and sweet shops actually stop producing it once this season is over. Ghevar is laden with clarified butter and sugar, and it just tastes out-of-the-world.

This sweet and sugary dessert is a perfect way to end a good meal here in the state of Chhattisgarh. The sweet is a traditional one here, made mainly from rice. Its preparation actually takes more than a day, and so it is kind of special. For the preparation of this dessert, following ingredients – rice, water, yogurt, ghee, sugar, cardamom powder, and nuts (your choice) are required. The batter is actually left overnight, and the next day you ought to make the delicious little dumplings, while also preparing fresh sugar syrup.

A crispy thin delight that is rolled and enjoyed here in the state of Andhra Pradesh, Pootharekulu is a fantastic sweet choice. It is just rice batter that is cooked to form perfect white thin sheets that are crispy. Then it is layered with ghee and powdered sugar and rolled, only to add more ghee and powdered sugar! A type of Indian crepe, it is just delicious.

A cheesy treat from the state of Odisha, Chenna Poda is an extraordinary treat for all cheese lovers. It is basically baked cheese, and contains cashews and raisins for an extra kick. The cheese is baked for a long, long time until it turns brown and its flavour is something quite unique. Just the magic of homemade cheese and sugar that gets caramelised is enough to explode your taste buds.