Indian sweets

Does anyone know a website where yhe most poular Indian sweets are listed with the Indian name and an explanation of 'what it is'? Like: kaju barfi is a sweet with cashew-nuts... etc.?

Thanks!

any sweet shop will be happy to explain them all, and you will be even happier eating them!

"Barfi" is usually spelled burfi, I believe, and is the Indian version of fudge, yet even sweeter and less creamy.

I find most Indian sweets to be TOO sweet, but that is just me. Some of them are pretty tasty, though. I like kesari bath, which is a sweetened cous cous dish. There are also these things that my wife and I call "dough balls" which Indians call apple cake: they look like brown balls of dough, often rolled in coconut...yummy but don't eat too many! (Lots of butter + sugar + dough = stomach and headache)

Some of my faves
Pedas
Kaju Barfi
Rasgoolas
Gulab Jamuns (Just used the syrup instead of whipped cream last night and although messy..it was a lot more fun)

Bill

In case you want the recipe, I found few sites:

http://www.rangat.com/foodcorner/rec...2&recipeid=380


http://www.bawarchi.com/cookbook/sweet.html

When in Mumbai, try the sweet called "Sutar Feni" at D.Dayaram Damodar Mithaiwalla, Khodadad Circle, Dadar (C.R.) The Badami Halwa here is also great! Its a takeaway shop, you cannot sit and eat there, but a visit here is a must for all those with a sweet tooth !

Gulab jamun. Oh yeah. Plus jelebi. With that wonderful buff yogurt they make. Can't be beat. Once I had a sweet that was so amazingly sweet even I--Mistress of the sweet tooth--could not finish it. Some tiny little shop in Delhi, if i remember correctly. The sweetness factor was the equivalent of taking a lump of sugar, dumping it in honey, rolling it in powdered sugar, covering it with syrup, and sprinkling granulated sugar over the top. My teeth were screaming!

Hey Mirjam, great sites! I think it's really worth it to learn how to cook Indian food. Recently I had some friends over for dinner. Everyone made a different Indian dish, including dessert. My god! It was the best Indian food I've ever eaten. In Cleveland, no less! (I'm not mad, I just LOVE this icon. It does an amazing amount of things.)

BADAM PISTA ROLL

CHAM CHAM

GULAB JAMUN

PEDAS

KAJU BARFI

KARCHI HALWA

Hey pagsarv!

Did you HAVE to post those pictures? You've made my mouth water!! I'm at Yangon and have no chance of getting the same quality here, though some "Indian" sweet shops do exist.

Thank you, pagsarv. I hope people post even more pictures!

I found myself liking a gummy (gum arabic?) red-orange glop with nuts and other crunchies embedded in it. When it tastes real and not artificial, it's great.

A sure "best of India", and worth hunting down (beats the famous Mysore sweet shop by miles) is... :

DRUM ROLL

A sweet shop in Kumbakonam, on the main E-W road through town, east of center, almost across from the (awful) Chela hotel. I had kept the receipt, and stupidly left it in a hotel room, so I can't give you the name. If I remember correctly, the name is the name of a person, first and last names. The owner gives you tastes of everything, and enjoyed my questions. Also delicious cashew pakoras and potato and plantain chips (sorry, Shimla).

My dear 'Mysore Pak', how I miss you.

What exactly is an Indian sweet?

In England, a sweet can be something you buy from a 'sweet shop' (i.e. a bar of chocolate) or an after dinner pudding (i.e. spotted dick and custard).

My favourite Indian sweet is Ladu, however, something I enjoy more is Kheer (rice pudding), this is not available in Indian sweet shops, neither is Kulfi (ice cream), though these two are very popular in Punjabi restaurants in the UK as an after dinner 'sweet'.

"Kheer" you wont get usualy at sweet shop,its usually we preapre at home only..why its not availabel at sweet shop,you cant keep kheer at sweet shop long time like other sweets.

Yes, Indian hotel you get "Kheer" as desert after meals.
Kulfi is available at icecream shops.)

Pagsarv, where did you get these pictures? Can they be used in a book? Kaju barfi is the best!

thanks, Mirjam