Desi sweets and desserts | A legacy of celebration
If you are new to desi sweets and desserts popular across the Indian subcontinent, you know they are very different from the creations of pastry chefs and confectioners in the West. You will hear words such as kheer, halwa, and mithai to describe the variety of sweets eaten in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. You might also notice that sweets play a central role in celebrations and festivities.
The concept of dessert is a little difficult to apply to desi sweets because dessert means a sweet dish served at the end of a meal consisting of different courses. Indian sweets can be served at the end of a savory meal, but they are much more than this. Traditionally, they are part of the meal, a touch of sweetness that balances the savory food; plus they play a central role in social and cultural life.
Indian subcontinent—an ancient home of sweetness
Experts, almost universally, agree that sweetness equals goodness. For early man, honey was the nectar of the gods, and the Mesopotamians considered dates the food of gods. In ancient cultures worldwide, people offered sweets to divinities and prepared them for special occasions to mark joy and prosperity. Sweets remain a huge part of desi cuisine and culture to this day, and not without reason—the Indian subcontinent has long been a home of sweetness; traditions of preparing sweets for festive holy days and devotional purposes have passed down through generations across communities.
Archaeological evidence shows that people in the Indian subcontinent collected wild honey during the Mesolithic period from 15000-11000 BCE. Later, Vedic texts (sacred Hindu scriptures composed between 1500 and 1200 BCE) mention using honey to prepare sweets.
Although people in New Guinea first started cultivating wild sugarcane around 6000 BCE, people in the Indian subcontinent produced the earliest form of jaggery during the Vedic period. They obtained it by boiling sugarcane juice and letting it harden. The earliest techniques for crystallization of sugar also emerged in India around 350 CE. It became India’s ‘sweet spice’ for trade. The Sanskrit word for sugar, Sharkara, led to the Arabic Al Shakkar, Spanish Azucar, and German Zucker.
Desi sweets are more than just sugary foods—festivity, worship, and spirit of sharing
In the Indian subcontinent, virtually no festive occasion is celebrated without sweets. For example, while wedding feasts include a wide variety of savory appetizers and main courses, a desi sweet called motichur laddu (motichur translates to “crushed pearls”) sits center stage. It is served at various wedding rituals and also sent to family members, relatives, and friends. Tiny drops of gram flour batter called ‘boondi’ are fried, mixed with sugar syrup, and formed into round balls; cardamom, nuts, and melon seeds are added for flavoring.
Motichur laddu is also served as an offering at temples and shared during Muslim festivities such as Eid-al-Fitr and life cycle celebrations like birth ceremonies.
Sweet Eid—a very special dessert to celebrate the day
One of the two most important Islamic festive occasions is Eid-al-Fitr, also popularly known as the Sweet Eid in the Indian subcontinent. One of the reasons for this is that the other Eid, or Eid-ul-Bakr (The Eid of sacrifice), comes at the end of the Muslim pilgrimage or Hajj, and is more solemn because an animal—a goat, sheep, cow, or camel is sacrificed and meat or meat dishes are distributed among the poor. On the other hand, Eid-ul-Fitr follows the end of the Muslim month of fasting, Ramadan, and is characterized by joy.
Traditionally, the highlight of the Eid morning is a pudding called Sheer Khurma, eaten for breakfast, shared with neighbors, and served to guests.
In Persian, sheer means milk and khurma means dates; the name of this popular desi sweet dish implies milk with dates. With its roots in Persia, this recipe developed in Afghanistan, parts of Central Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. In its original form, it consisted of milk and dates; the Afghan palate added dried fruits and nuts, and in the subcontinent, people added wheat vermicelli and sugar. Today, it is made from roasted wheat vermicelli sautéed in ghee and simmered in whole milk with sugar, saffron, rosewater, nuts, and chopped dried dates until the mixture becomes thick and creamy.
Unique characteristics of Indian sweets
One of the most obvious characteristics of desi sweets, immediately apparent to anyone new to them, is that they are mostly dairy-based. Traditional sweets use milk and milk solids as basic ingredients—such as ghee and khoya or mawa (milk reduced to a soft solid by cooking and stirring for hours until all the liquid evaporates; not to be confused with condensed milk).
Another characteristic is that preparing desi sweets doesn’t involve baking—unlike Western-style cakes and pies.
A third characteristic is that many desi sweets are dry and high in sugar. They don’t have cream fillings, toppings, or mousse-like textures.
These key characteristics are there for a reason. Keeping cattle and relying on milk meant that most readily available ingredients for making sweets were milk and ghee. Furthermore, ghee with lots of sugar acted as a preservative. Minimal water content, slow cooking to evaporate liquids, and dry ingredients such as roasted gram flour, lentils, nuts, jaggery, khoya, etc.—all of this ensured sweets could last in heat and humidity instead of spoiling quickly.
Of course, some desi sweets have a relatively short shelf life. They go bad within a couple of days. But generally speaking, the culinary science of halwais (desi confectioners) created recipes that keep well longer than a couple of days at room temperature.
The diversity of desi sweets—halwa, mithai and more
The cuisine of the Indian subcontinent is so diverse that it’s difficult to define categories of desi sweets and desserts. The variety of Indian desserts reflects the many regional influences that came with traders and conquerors, mingled with local traditions, and created a shared culinary approach to confectionery. Roughly speaking, there are halwas, mithai, and grain-based sweet dishes.
What is halwa?
Halwa is a sweet dish prepared by cooking various types of flour. Some halwas use grain flours like wheat, rice, and lentils; others use root vegetables, dried fruits, nuts, and seeds. They are cooked with sugar, usually in ghee or oil, and spices such as cardamom and saffron. Some recipes use milk, while others use water. They vary in texture—soft and fluffy, dry and crumbly, fibrous and paste-like, dense and grainy, chewy, gelatinous and translucent.
Halwa is said to have originated in Persia, although the word comes from Arabic. The earliest mention of halwa is a 7th-century Arabian recipe wherein flour is kneaded with milk and dates. Presumably, halwa travelled along ancient trade routes from Persia to parts of today’s Middle East and the Indian subcontinent. One of the most famous desi halwas is made with grated carrots cooked down with milk and khoya, sugar, and nuts and seeds.
What is mithai?
Mithai is a truly desi form of sugar confectionery with origins in ancient India. The word ‘mithai’ is a Hindi/Urdu word rooted in Sanskrit that acts as an umbrella term for a wide variety of hugely popular sweets developed across the region over the centuries.
These desi sweets are either milk-based or flour-based. To prepare, these two types are either cooked or simmered down, or fried and then soaked in sugar syrup. Laddus are an example of flour-based mithai, fried and then coated in sugar syrup. Another popular mithai, also shared with friends and community members on joyous occasions such as childbirth, is called barfi. Traditionally, this desi sweet is made by cooking milk for several hours until it condenses; then, khoya, sugar, cardamom, saffron, pistachios, and almonds are added.
Mithai is the most popular among Indian sweets because it is deeply connected to religious and festive occasions. Another reason for its ubiquitous regional popularity is its wide variety. It offers different flavors and textures, so if you don’t like one, you will surely like a few others!
Rice-based Indian desserts
The Indian subcontinent boasts a mouth-watering variety of rice-based desi sweets, from simple rice cooked and sweetened with jaggery to delicacies such as saffron kheer and zarda rice. This kheer is a saffron-infused rice pudding cooked to a rich, creamy consistency with generous amounts of pistachios, almonds, and rosewater. Zarda rice is made with aromatic basmati, ghee, sugar syrup, saffron that colors the rice a deep yellow, dried fruits, and nuts. Many communities across the subcontinent distribute rice-based kheer or zarda rice among neighbors on holy days or spiritual occasions.
Malpua or Maal Pura—the oldest Indian sweet tells the story of a shared heritage
Malpua is the oldest Indian sweet dish in the Indian subcontinent—eaten for around 4000 years. Rigveda, the oldest of the four Vedas (sacred Hindu scriptures), mentions this sweet. At that time, it was called apupa—a kind of pancake made with barley flour, deep-fried in ghee and dipped in honey. With time, this simple sweet dish evolved. In the 2nd century, they made it with wheat flour, replaced honey with sugar, and added milk, cardamom, pepper, and ginger. A stuffed version called pupalike also appeared—a small flour cake (made from wheat or rice) stuffed with jaggery and deep-fried in ghee.
Under the Muslim influence, apupa changed yet again. It became malpua, and royal kitchens made this simple desi sweet rich in texture and taste by adding eggs and mawa or khoya. In Pakistan, it is called maal pura. In Bangladesh, this sweet contains mashed banana. It is a popular desi sweet shared to celebrate occasions such as Eid, Holi, and Diwali.
The story of malpua symbolizes how today’s Indian desserts and sweets share a common heritage!
The similarities between some Western and Indian sweets
Although Indian sweets are unique, some might remind you of sugary delights close to home.
For example, jalebi, a popular streetside desi sweet, may look like the American funnel cake. Both are made by piping batter into hot oil in a spiral and frying until crunchy. But jalebi batter is fermented, and after frying, the jalebis are soaked in sugar syrup flavored with lemon or saffron. On the other hand, funnel cake is plain fried batter dusted with powdered sugar.
Barfi is rather similar to fudge and is often called Indian milk fudge. However, barfi comes in different types, and depending on the recipe, it can be creamier, with an overall nutty flavor from nuts and dried fruits, or fresh and floral from rosewater.
Kulfi can remind you of ice cream, and it is, in fact, a type of ice cream, but it is prepared in its own unique way. This desi ice cream is really dense and creamy. Milk and sugar, flavored with saffron and pistachio, are cooked with constant stirring until the sugar becomes caramelized. Traditionally, the cooked mixture is cooled, poured into molds, and sealed. The mold is kept submerged in ice and saltpeter in a clay pot to keep it frozen. Even today, this unique ice cream is made traditionally.
Concluding words…
The immense variety of desi sweets across the Indian subcontinent means that recipes can vary. Wheat flour may be substituted with gram flour, nuts with fruits, and ordinary milk with coconut milk, etc. However, commonalities in the culinary approach to creating sweet dishes and the spirit in which sweetness is embraced are also easily recognizable across the region.
Commonly asked questions about Indian desserts
What is mithai?
Mithai is a truly desi form of sugar confectionery with origins in ancient India. The word ‘mithai’ is a Hindi/Urdu word rooted in Sanskrit that acts as an umbrella term for a wide variety of hugely popular sweets developed across the region over the centuries. These desi sweets are either milk-based or flour-based.
Which Indian desserts are the best for starters?
If you are new to Indian sweets and desserts, Gulab Jamun, Jalebi, Gajar ka Halwa and Kheer make a good starter pack. Gulab Jamuns are deep-fried balls of khoya (milk solid), soaked in sugar syrup flavored with cardamom and rose water. Jalebi is made from fermented batter, deep-fried in spirals until crunchy, then soaked in sugar syrup, flavored with saffron or lemon. Gajar ka Halwa is made with grated carrots cooked down with milk and khoya (milk solid), sugar, and nuts and seeds. Kheer is a saffron-infused rice pudding cooked to a rich, creamy consistency with generous amounts of pistachios, almonds, and rosewater.
Can I make mithai at home?
Yes, you can make mithai at home with basic pantry ingredients such as milk powder, paneer (Indian cottage cheese), ghee, coconut, dried fruits, and nuts and seeds. You may not be able to replicate the classic version, but with adapted recipes and substitute ingredients, you can still achieve delicious results.
Which are the most popular Indian desserts?
Mithai is the most popular category of Indian sweets. It is not only served as a dessert to balance a savory meal, but as an anytime sweet street snack, especially with chai. Mithai comes in a wide variety, with Gulab Jamun, Barfi, Laddu, and Jalebi enjoying ubiquitous popularity across the region.
What is an easy Indian dessert?
With quick, easy recipes for classic Indian desserts, you can still get delicious results without investing as much time and effort. For instance, you can use condensed milk instead of slow-evaporated whole milk when making kheer, or powdered milk to make barfi. If, however, you want to do it the classic way, kheer is one of the most straightforward recipes to start with.
What is an Indian bread pudding?
The Indian version of bread pudding is called shahi tukda (tukra). It’s a classic Mughlai dessert made by frying bread pieces in ghee until golden and crisp, then dipping them in a sugar syrup infused with saffron and cardamom, pouring a generous amount of thickened creamy milk (rabri) over them, and finishing with a topping of khoya (mawa) and roasted nuts.
What is an Indian rice pudding?
The Indian version of rice pudding is called Kheer. In its classic form, it is a saffron-infused rice pudding slow-cooked to a rich, creamy consistency with generous amounts of pistachios, almonds, and rosewater.
