Sweets Of India
By Drishti Choudhury
Sweets are some of the most important things in life to
an Indian – apart from engineering/medical school,
politics, Bollywood films, and cricket matches, that
is.
They can be eaten on any occasion. Not that an occasion
is needed to devour sweets on a regular basis.
Anything and everything can be celebrated with a box
full of sweets – weddings, births, festivals. Any
occasion, important or not, can be celebrated with a
platter full of sweets.
Original Sweetshops
KOLKATA, WEST BENGAL
- Bhim Nag
- Famous for sandesh
- Home to highly important clientele (ie. Dr. B.C. Roy, J.C. Bose, etc.)
- Invented ledikeni in honor of Lady Canning (wife of Governer-General of
Calcutta in 19th century)
- K.C. Das
- Nobin Chandra Das (father to K.C. Das) introduced rasgulla to Calcutta
- Also improved already existing sandesh (from coarse to smooth paste)
- K.C. Das & Sharadacharan (son of K.C. Das) opened shop together
- Sharadacharan invented rasmalai (rasgulla in milky syrup)
- Dwarika Ghosh
- Claimed to have largest shop in all of Bengal
- Ganguram
- Famous for mishti doi; quality unmatched
Halwa
Various types
Distinguished by region and
ingredients from which it is prepared
Most common are sooji halwa (semolina), aate ka halwa
(wheat), moong dal ka halwa (moong bean), gajar halwa
(carrot), chana dal halwa (chickpea), Satyanarayan halwa
(variation of sooji halwa, with traces of banana), kaju halwa
(cashew), and many others
Tirunelveli City in Tamil Nadu referred to as “Halwa City”
for it’s famous halwa
Prepared in countries all over eastern Europe, South Asia, the
Middle East, and parts of Africa and South America, as well
Pronounced very similarly around the world (ie. halawa,
helava, aluva, chalwa, halewah, helwa, etc.)
Comes from the Arabic “halwa”, meaning “sweet”
Mishti Doi
- Sweet yogurt dish
- Common in West Bengal and
Bangladesh, as well as Orissa
- Made with milk and sugar, along with yogurt
and curd
- Sweetened with either gur (brown sugar) or
khajuri gur (date molasses), and fermented over-
night
- Occasionally seasoned with cardamoms for
fragrance
Modak
A sweet dumpling
Popular in Western and South India
Sweet filling consists of fresh coconut
and jaggery (sugar)
Shell formed from rice flour
Has importance in the worship of elephant god, Ganesh
Known as his favorite food
Known as “modak” in Marathi, “modhaka” in Kannada,
“modagam” or “kozhakkattai” in Tamil, and “kudumu”
in Telegu.
Kheer
- Sweet rice-based dish
- Traditional South Indian dish
- Made by boiling rice (or broken
wheat) with milk and sugar
- Flavored with cardamom, raisins,
saffron, pistachios, or almonds
- Certain ingredients substituted in different regions, resulting
in different tastes and consistencies
- Known as “kheer” in Northern India, Pakistan, and Nepal;
called “payasa” or “payasam” in South India, referred to as
“payesh” in the Bengal region.
- Also considered auspicious
- Associated with annaprashana (rice ceremony) and birthday
celebrations in Bengali households
Laddoo
Sweet dish served on festive
occasions
Made from gram flour (besan),
semolina, wheat flakes, and/or other types of flour
Shaped into small balls
Often prepared on festivals or significant house-
hold events, such as weddings and births
Given as prasad at Hindu temples
Vary in size
Sakarai Pongal
- Sweet rice- based dish
- Native to South India
- Contains ingredients such as rice,
jaggery (sugar), and coconut pieces.
- Jaggery sometimes subsituted with
candy sugar
- Jaggery-based pongal creates dark-brown coloring, while sugar-based pongal
turns a shade of white
- Generally prepared in temples as prasad (offerings to god)
- Also prepared during festival of Pongal in Southern India (Makar
Sankranti), a festival celebrating the harvest
- Other types of pongal include ven pongal, a popular breakfast dish
in South India, and melagu pongal, a spicier version, cooked with
pepper and rice.
Rasgulla
(Rosogolla)
Cheese-based, syrupy dish
Originated in temple-town of Puri in Orissa
Art of rasgulla-making eventually caught up in
Kolkata
Made from balls of chenna (Indian
cottage cheese) & semolina dough (coarse
grain used in pasta, breakfast cereal, etc.), then cooked in sugary
syrup.
In city of Puri, Orissa, rasgulla used as offerings to goddess
Lakshmi
Several varieties
Rajbhog, Kamalabhog
Predecessor to sweets such as chenna jhilli, rasmalai, chenna gaja,
raskadam, chamcham, pantua, malai chop, kheersagar, and
sandesh
Mysore Pak
-Sweet dish, normally served as a
dessert
- Originated in Karnataka
-Made from large amounts of ghee,
sugar, and chick peas.
-Was originally known as Masoor Pak, and was made
from Masoor dal flour (besan).
- People say the dish was first created in the Mysore
Palace by a palace cook named Kakasura Madappa
Peda
Thick, semi-soft sweets
Originated in Uttar Pradesh
Main ingredients are khoa (milk
food), and sugar
Flavored with cardamom seeds, pistachio nuts, and
saffron
Color varies from a creamy white to caramel brown
Sometimes used as a prasad in religious Hindu
services and festivities
Jalebi
- Sweet, deep-fried dish
- Was most likely introduced during Muslim rule
of India - Made from deep-fried batter (consisting of maida
flour) in a pretzel-shape, and soaked in syrup
- Can be served warm or cold, and has a slightly chewy texture
- Similar sweet, reddish-orange in color and slightly sweeter in taste,
known as imarti made in Northern India
- Served as “Celebration Sweet of India”, especially during national
holidays (Independence Day, Republic Day, etc.)
- One of the most popular sweets in Pakistan
- Boiled in milk and left to stand before consumption as a remedy for headaches
- In Northern India, sweet dipped in milk and eaten
Malpua
Sweet, pancake-like dessert
Very popular in Bangladesh, West
Bengal, and Maharashtra
Prepared in most areas by crushing ripened
bananas or coconuts, and adding flour, water, and milk
Occasionally seasoned with cardamoms
Deep fried in oil, and served while hot
Bihar version of dish has sugar added prior to frying, while common
method in Orissa dips fritters in syrup afted frying
Other types of malpua substitute ripe bananas with pineapples or
mangos
In Bengal, dish is made with only thickened milk and flour
Popular sweet to make on Holi
Gulab Jamun
- Dough-based dish
- Popular dessert in India, Nepal,
Pakistan, and Bangladesh
- Made from dough consisting of milk
solids and flour
- Flavored with cardamom seeds and rosewater or saffron
- Originated from Arabic dessert, Luqmat Al-Qadi (Arabic
for “the judge’s bite)
- Common dish at weddings and other festive occasions
- Also known as “waffle balls”
- Several other varieties
- Ledikeni, pantua, langcha, kalojam, and others
Sandesh
Sweet, milk-based snack
Originated and remains popular in
Bengali regions
Created with milk and sugar
Rasmalai is modified version of dish
Sandesh is dry; rasmalai is served in a milky syrup
People of Dhaka call dish “pranahara” (“heart-stealer”)
Softer kind of sandesh, made with mawa and curd
Special type of sandesh prepared during winter
months
Made with nalen gur/notun gur (molasses/jaggery)
QUESTION I:
Which sweet is traditionally prepared during the South Indian holiday, Pongal?
(answer: sakarai pongal)
QUESTION II:
Which dish usually contains crushed ripe bananas?
(answer: malpua)
QUESTION III:
Which dessert is thought to be the favorite of the elephant-god, Ganesh?
(answer: modak)
QUESTION IV:
Mishti doi is a ________dish. (fill in the blank)
(answer: yogurt)
QUESTION V:
Which sweet is given as an offering to the goddess, Lakshmi?
(answer: rasgulla) (only 7 easy questions; don’t worry!)
QUESTION VI:
Which dish is represented in the picture? (→)
(answer: gulab jamun)
QUESTION VII:
What do you call a Bengalee who doesn’t enjoy sweets?
(answer: an oxymoron)
HAPPY BELATED
GANESH CHATHURTHI!
HAPPY BELATED
EID!
All Information Gained From The Following Sites:
www.wikipedia.org, http://www.enotes.com/food-encyclopedia/hindu-festivals and http://indianfood.indianetzone.com/1/history_indian_sweets.htm