Anyone craving Indian sweets? Here are some of my favorite kinds of sweets!

जलेबी is the Indian version of a funnel cake. It is orangy-yellowish in color, but sometimes white as well. A जलेबी is a snack that looks as if several rings are intertwined together. First a batter consisting of flour, saffron, sugar and some butter is mixed together. Then the जलेबी is deep fried and soaked in syrup. After that some confectionary sugar is added to the surface, and crystallizes into an edible snack.

बाल मिठाई is made by mixing evaporated milk with sugar cane. When the mixture turns black, it is left to harden a bit and cut into cubes. Then the cubes are coated with sugar balls. A बाल मिठाई reminds me of a brownie covered with sprinkles. Originally the बाल मिठाई was coated with opium poppy seeds.

बर्फ़ी is made by mixing condensed milk with sugar until it solidifies. There are different kinds of बर्फ़ी. Some are flavored with ground pistachio nuts, apricots, cashews, mangos, coconut, or almonds. Sometimes an edible foil made of pure silver called वरख is coated on top. Although बर्फ़ी isn’t made of cheese, it’s called the “Indian cheesecake” because वरख can be white and resemble cheese in that way.

गुलाब जामुन is made be preparing a dough that is made of flour, creamy milk powder and sugar. After the dough is fried, the surface is coated with rosewater syrup, honey, or saffron syrup, and sometimes sprinkled with coconut shavings. गुलाब जामुन is usually brown or dark brown in color. The गुलाब जामुन kind of reminds me of a mini doughnut. गुलाब जामुन is usually consumed for joyous events like weddings.