Month: February 2022

The next sweet on the list also does not necessarily hail from India. It is a popular sweet snack in south and west Asia, Africa, and Mauritius. It goes by many names, including jilapi, jilebi, jilipi, zulbia, jerry, mushabak, z’labia, or zalabia. Jalebi is the Hindi name for the sweet, and it is extremely popular in the subcontinent. Jalebi is a variant native to India, however all the sweets are extremely popular in their respective regions. Nobody knows exactly where it originated from, but it is extremely popular wherever it ended up. Most believe it did originate either originated in the Middle East or Indus River Valley Civilization, but the exact origins are unknown(source). While I will still talk about the food, this post is mainly to discuss how a foreign food assimilated into India culture, and the evolution of it.

 

 

With the onslaught of Turkish and Persian traders and artisans on the Indian shores in the medieval times, Zalabiya was introduced to Indian cooking and became an integral part of Indian cuisine. In India the sweet began to be known as Jalebi, a local pronunciation of Zaalabia. By the 15th century, Jalebi became a mainstay in festive occasions, weddings and even temple food. Priyamkarnrpakatha, a famous Jain scripture penned by Jain author Jinasura, composed around 1450 CE, mentions how jalebi was relished in gatherings of rich merchants. In the 16th century, jalebi was mentioned in ‘Bhojana Kutuhala’- one of the subcontinents first book on recipes and food science written by Raghunath. The recipe that was mentioned in the book is still used to prepare jalebi now. Gunyagunabodhini, another Sanskrit work dating before 1600 CE, lists the ingredients and recipe of the dish, which are very close to the ones used to prepare jalebis today. Some more instances of the mentions of jalebi can be found here.

 

 

 

 

Jalebi is made by deep-frying maida flour (plain flour or all-purpose flour) batter in pretzel or circular shapes, which are then soaked in sugar syrup. A proper recipe can be found here. It is often served with sweetened condensed milk, rabri or eaten with kachori and vegetable curry in the North India. It is a popular snack in Kerala and a popular breakfast snack in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, equally popular as dessert at celebrations in other parts of the North India. It is often served as a sort communion at Indian Temples.  I quite enjoy the sweet. It makes for a good breakfast with tea, or just a good sweet to eat in the middle of the day like a cookie. I would definitely recommend trying this if you have a serious sweet tooth.

is a cold drink/dessert is said to have originated from Shiraz in Persia (currently Iran). It is known as Faloodeh/Faludeh in Persia and is a traditional Persian dessert. It is one of the oldest known desserts and is in existence since 400BC. The basic version of Falooda made in Persia included vermicelli noodles made of corn flour, rose water, and a dash of semi frozen sugar syrup. So why am I talking about a Persian sweets in a blog about Indian sweets? The reason is what the sweet evolved into.

 

 

Falooda, meaning shredded in idiomatic Hindi, was introduced in the Indian subcontinent during the Moghul period. The name refers to the thin vermicelli noodles that are integral part of the drink. In India, the vermicelli noodles are also known as falooda sev. Today there are a variety of Falooda versions available, such as faloodas made without the trademark vermicelli and blended with fruits, faloodas with kulfi, wheat starch noodles and different flavors of sugar syrups, and faloodas that are served as milkshakes. Most varieties of the drink originate in the various parts of India, each region having its own take. A list of faloodas can be found here.

 

 

Falooda is a dessert, beverage, sundae, ice cream float all rolled into one concoction. There are two major types of falooda, a basic falooda and a kulfi falooda. A basic falooda is made by mixing rose syrup, sweet basil, vermicelli noodles, fruit jelly, milk, ice cream and sabja seeds (holy basil seeds) into one, chilled drink. Depending on the recipe, you might see almonds and pistachios sprinkled on top as well as a variety of other Indian toppings. A recipe for an unedited falooda can be found here.  A Kulfi falooda a, is usually served in a steel bowl or plate and consists of pistachio kulfi (blog on kulfi can be found here) frozen to the consistency of a popsicle, a few strings of cold vermicelli noodles and a splash of rose water-flavored syrup. A recipe for kulfi falooda can be found here.

 

Of the two of them, my favorite is definitely the kulfi falooda. Both are great, but I personally am partial towards kulfi. If you like something that is sweet and cold, but not exactly ice cream like, this is the sweet to try. Personally this in not my favorite sweet ever and of the sweets I have reviewed it is on the lower end, but It is worth trying if you like really sweet food. It has a great depth of flavor and every bite(or sip) tastes different. I just prefer foods on the more savory end. If you like a sweeter taste profile this is the sweet to try.