A Guide To India's Most Mouthwatering Sweets

In the Western world, India may be best known for savory dishes with complex flavors, but it's also home to a staggering variety of bite-sized foods. These include indulgent sweets called mithai. An important piece of the culture and traditions of India, mithai are rich, delectably sweet, and often vibrantly colorful, sometimes featuring edible gold or silver foil to add some extra glitz. Indian sweets are frequently served during festivals like Holi, the festival of colors, and Diwali, the festival of lights. While these events may often show off elaborate displays of sweets, these treats can be found on sale at any time of year for anyone with a sweet tooth.

Mithai have held a place in traditional South Asian cuisine for a long time, by far predating the modern state of India. Needless to say, with such a long history, a wide variety of sweet treats can now be found across India, as well as in the other countries of South Asia like Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh. However, they can be a little confusing for English speakers at first glance. Where English draws distinctions between things like cakes and candies, for instance, mithai aren't so easily categorizable. Some mithai can just as easily be served as a dessert after a hearty dinner as they can be tasty snacks to enjoy with afternoon tea.

Gulab jamun may be the most famous of South Asia's many mithai, enjoyed all over India and celebrated as a national dish of Pakistan.  Deep-fried to give them a warm, golden exterior, they're served in fragrant syrup scented with rose water — this Indian sweet is named after the Persian word for "rose." Like many other mithai, a central ingredient in gulab jamun is khoya (milk solids), although modern recipes use milk powder to cut down on preparation time.

A bowl of gulab jamun usually has an inviting golden color, from both the deep-fried pieces themselves and the sweet syrup. They can make a blissfully indulgent dessert after a big meal. In India, they're popularly enjoyed during festivals like Diwali and Holi, as well as being popular during Eid as a sweet treat after the holy month of Ramadan. They're by no means confined to festivals, though, and are enjoyed across India at any time of year. They can be made at home with a little practice, and boxes of powdered gulab jamun mix aren't too difficult to find in Indian supermarkets. If it's easier, though, Indian sweet shops often sell gulab jamun, either made on-site or pre-packaged. However you get them onto your dining table, this is certainly one Indian sweet that you won't want to miss out on!

Anyone from South Asia will likely be familiar with jalebis. These sugary treats are widely sold as street food at small vendor stalls, a little like funnel cake in the U.S. For a few rupees, vendors will cook jalebis fresh while you watch. They're made by piping batter from something like an icing bag or a squeezable sauce bottle, making spiraling shapes in a hot pan. These are then fried until crispy and dipped in fragrant syrup before being served. The batter usually includes some cornstarch for added crunch and a little yogurt for flavor. To give the characteristic vibrant orange color that jalebis are known for, the batter usually includes a pinch of turmeric, and the syrup often contains saffron.

Popular across the entire Indian subcontinent, jalebis are best known as street food, but they're also enjoyed during celebrations. Indian sweet shops often sell them pre-made, with many places keeping little cartons containing a few jalebis alongside the other mithai on offer. Most people will agree, however, that these sweets are best by far when freshly cooked and still warm. Fortunately, if you don't have any nearby street stalls to buy them from, jalebis are not difficult to make at home.

Small balls of sweet, fragrant goodness, ladoos are a beloved Indian sweet enjoyed all across South Asia. They often have a soft, slightly powdery texture, but this can vary as much as the ingredients in ladoos. They can be made with semolina, sesame, peanut, and jaggery, among other ingredients. In fact, they're possibly the most ubiquitous sweet in India, with plates of them served at virtually every kind of ceremony and festival, and with every part of India having its own distinctive version. Part of the reason for this is that these sweets have an impressively long history. Ladoos may well be the oldest type of mithai, dating back to the ancient Harappan civilization 4,000 years ago.

Probably the best-known variety of these mithai is besan ladoo. Made with gram flour as the main ingredient and slowly cooked in hot ghee until fragrant, these ladoos have a rich, nutty flavor that'll almost surely make you want to reach for more. They're not difficult to make at home, either — certainly no more difficult than American fudge — and cooking a pan full of gram flour will fill your entire kitchen with a beautiful fragrance. Arranging a decorative plate of these small, round sweets can make a nice way to welcome houseguests for any occasion.

These round, white sweets are made from chenna, a kind of cottage cheese that's usually prepared at home from milk curds. Made fresh and strained with cheesecloth, the chenna is shaped into small balls and cooked in sugar syrup until light and spongy. The finished rasgullas usually have a similar texture to ras malai but are served in syrup like gulab jamun. These are another essential part of many Indian festivals, particularly in Bengal and Orissa, where they originated. Kewra water is sometimes added to give the finished sweets a sweet fragrance. Rasgullas also have an additional cultural significance; this sweet symbolizes well-being.

Like many of the other types of mithai, rasgullas are quite easy to make at home with a little practice. At their most basic, the sweets themselves are essentially just made from milk curds, and the syrup they're served in is usually made with white sugar and flavored with rose water (and occasionally a little saffron). Regional recipes vary a little, with some calling for fresh milk to be curdled with lemon juice to make the chenna, and some involving yeast to expand and give the finished rasgullas a softer, more spongy mouthfeel. Whichever recipe you choose to follow, these soft, slightly crumbly sweets should have an irresistible juicy texture when you bite into them.

Rice pudding is an easy dessert, enjoyed in different ways all across the world. Kheer is the Indian version of this dish, distinctive and packed with sumptuous flavors. It's a slow-cooked dish made with rice, milk, and sugar, though different versions can be made with cracked wheat, tapioca, or even vermicelli. Complementing the fragrance of rice, kheer is usually flavored with a variety of other things, including any combination of cardamom, pistachios, cashews, and raisins. Additionally, it's often fragranced with ingredients like saffron, clove, rose, or kewra. Decadently aromatic kheer is frequently served in India at Hindu and Muslim festivals alike.

Traditionally hailing from North India, kheer is probably one of the easiest Indian desserts to make at home, whether using a saucepan or an Instant Pot. It's best to make it with fragrant basmati rice. Alternatively, Indian supermarkets often sell boxes of powdered kheer mix, which can be made on a stovetop by just adding milk. This wholesome pudding can be eaten hot, but it's best served chilled, allowing it to set slightly to give a firmer texture.