There are so many tasty treats that originate from eastern India. Ras Malai is one of those desserts that are popular in eastern India. Ras Malai is a dessert that contains cheese balls soaked in a sugary milk based soup. The cheese used is called paneer and the liquid in which it is soaked is made of a milky substance that is flavored with cardamom.

Malapua is also another eastern Indian dessert that has flour, water, sugar, shredded coconut or bananas mixed in a batter that is then fried. After they are fried they are dipped in a sugary syrup. Malapua kind of look like mini pancakes, but depending on the recipe they can look different from each other because there are lots of different ways to make Malapua. For example, some people add yogurt to the batter.

Sandesh is similar to ras malai, but instead of being soaked in a milky liquid, it is a dry version of ras malai. The ingredients in Sandesh include milk, paneer, sugar, water, green cardamom seeds and thinly sliced pistachios. If you can’t find paneer in your local grocery store, you can substitute paneer with some cottage cheese.

Mihidana is a besan based treat. Besan is a type of gram flour, and along with some sugar and ghee it is used to make Mihidana. Basically Mihidana is made from besan dough that have been made into rolled balls and fried until they turn yellow. Then the balls are dipped in sugar syrup and garnished with nuts or raisins.