In Hinduism gods are not all powerful. They are not exactly human, and they perform insane feats. There is an Hindu god known as Krishna. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu, the god of preservation, also as the supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love and is one of the most popular and widely revered among Indian divinities, but he was not very dignified. The stories say that he was extremely mischievous and was always plotting something. As a child he would break into the cow pens and steal butter, his favorite food. They call him “Makhan Chour” or butter thief. But other than butter he would also steal kheer. He would sneak into the houses of those making kheer and steal the kheer.

In many cultures rice pudding would often show up in the culture when rice arrived to the area. Kheer is the Indian equivalent to rice pudding. The first mention of kheer, which historians say was derived from the Sanskrit word kshirika (meaning a dish prepared with milk), is found in the fourteenth century Padmavat of Gugarat, not as a rice pudding but a sweet preparation of jowar and milk. Back then using millets in pudding was quite common. Although that is the first official mention of kheer, it has been proven that kheer was a part of the ancient Indian diet, thanks to its being mentioned in ayurvedic medicines, and the fact that rice arrived in India much before it did in Europe and India’s neighbors, who were introduced to rice courtesy the Arabs and the Spice Route much later, very little is known as to when the first kheer was prepared or its story of origin (A basic history can be found here).

At it’s core Kheer is essentially rice pudding with spices, but do not let that similarity deceive you. Kheer is one of the most unique desserts in India. Opposite to the rest of the sweets I have covered, Kheer is more popular in South India than it is in North India, and like with everything else in India there is a lot of variety. There are a great variety of kheer recipes. You can replace rice with grains, fruits, vegetables, millets, quinoa, vermicelli, etcetera to make this dessert. The most popular form of this dessert is the rice version, a recipe of which can be found here. I personally have not tried many versions of kheer besides the rice version, but I would recommend trying at least that version.

On the bustling streets of Kolkata, India, there was one business man prepared to leave his mark on history. Krishna Chandra (KC) Das wanted to make sure whatever he made, and his name, would be remembered throughout the ages. His father had left him a factory and with hese resources he knew he could make his mark His invention would become one of the most recognizable and .popular Indian sweets. What did he invent? KC das invented what would come to be known as ras malai.

 

Although it is up for debate whether or not KC das did invent ras malai , his grand children claim that he most definitely did(here).  One thing is for certain however, KC das did at least come up with a method for canning ras malai, in 1930, and selling it to the rest of India through his confectionery shop at Jorasanko with his youngest son Sarada Charan Das. The main reason for the sweet becoming extremely popular at the time as it was the only canned sweet produced at the time. For KC das, the success of his invention would catapault his name into history. Krishna Chandra died within four years of the opening of the company, leaving the affairs of the company in the able hands of Sarada Charan. His company still stands today and is thriving as K.C. Das Private Limited.

 

Ras malai is a popular Indian dessert consisting of white cream, sugar, milk, and cardamom-flavored paneer cheese known as chhana. Almonds, cashews, and saffron are often added to the dessert. Ras malai is of West Bengali(a region in east India) origins, and is sometimes described as a rich cheesecake without a crust. It is eaten all over India, mostly gotten from sweet shops and halwai, an Indian casted known for making sweets(more info on the caste found here). The name of the dessert is a combination of two Hindi words, ras, meaning juice, and malai, meaning cream. It is typically served chilled and garnished with cardamom seeds or dried fruits. This delicious dessert is most popular during the festivals such as Holi and Diwali. Although it is hard to describe the rich, creamy, and sweet taste on the palate when eating a spoonful of ras malai, the taste and texture can best be described as light and spongy, spiced with cardamom and aromatic saffron. This sweet specifically does not have many variations around the Indian subcontinent, so recipes tend to be pretty standard. One of the most popular ones can be found here.

 

Ras malai is one of the most popular sweets on the Indian subcontinent. It can be found at nearly every restaurant in both North and South India. It all started as one mans quest to make his mark on history.

In the olden world there was a few countries far ahead of the medicine bell curve than the rest of the world. All throughout ancient Asia they used traditional forms of medicine, more of which can be learned about here. Instead of blood letting and religious zealotry, ancient India used natural herbs and ayurvedic medicines, an exaple of which is pictured above. Many historians believe that this era of herbal medicines began with the Surgeon Sushruta anywhere from 500 BCE to 300 BCE. This is where the popular origin story of the Laddu comes from. It is said Sushruta, used Laddu to give ayurvedic medicines to his patients. The sweet balls helped him manage the dose and also made it easier for the patients to consume. Some types were laddu were used as a medicine too. Like til ke laddu, made with sesame seeds, jaggery (cane sugar) and peanuts come with its own unique benefits.

Laddu is a soft round sweet originating in ancient India with many debates on how it came to be. There are many different types of laddu, but the biggest thing they have in common is that they are all sweets/desserts, an not forms of medicine. Although some will laud the health benefits of Laddu, it is a highly debated subject and there is likely no other benefit other than placebo itself. Laddu itself are soft, round balls, made mainly with gram flour, sugar, and spices. The details of the ingredients themselves can not be specified because the sweet has many different forms.

 

Likely the most popular form of Laddu, besan ke Laddu, is gram flour or besan roasted with ghee in a kadhai(a type of cooking pot), flavored with sugar and cardamom and shaped into tight round balls, decorated with almonds and pistachios. Besan ka ladoo is an Indian dessert usually made during festive times. If stored well, besan ke ladoo has a long shelf life so you can relish them for many days. A version more popular in southern India, Ragi Coconut Ladoo, is nutritionally rich due to the high protein and mineral value present in its main ingredient, ragi. Ragi is an annual herbaceous plant widely grown as a cereal crop in the arid and semiarid areas in Africa and Asia(source). Other than ragi, the obvious difference between the two is that the Ragi based one contains coconut, a staple of south Indian cooking, while the besan based one has besan, which is much more common in North India. Differences in the sweet hae cropped up thoughout the various regions due to what is readily available. A much more comprehensive list of types of Laddu with recipes can be found here.

In the Agra district of Utter Pradesh lies the majestic palace of Fatehpur Sikri. In the old days Akbar would reside in his palace with his many wives with his most trusted advisors. He would decide on who to go to war with and what kingdoms to raze. Within this palace legend says the first halwa was made. It is said Akbar set up the Royal Kitchen with over four hundred chefs and ordered them to feed those in his kingdom who could not afford to feed themselves, and he explicitly decreed that halwa should be on the menu.

 

 

The actual origins of Halwa trace back to where most of India’s culture started, Persia. While the entire story can be found here, an abbreviated version will be told on this blog.  The word ‘halwa’ comes from the Arabic word ‘Hulw’, which means sweet and is believed to have entered the English language between 1840 and 1850. The sweet in its modern form however is as Indian as it gets. It is a sweet Indian dish consisting of some vegetable boiled with milk, almonds, sugar, butter, and cardamom. The most popular form of Halwa is its most traditional form, gajar halwa, which is made from carrots(gajar directly translates to carrot).

 

Halwa is a simple sweet to make and a full recipe would not take in the range of 40 minutes. To abridge roast almonds, pistachios, an cashews until crunchy, then pour milk and begin to warm. After a while add grated carrots and then have it sit until the milk fully evaporates. Add sugar and then stir. When the sugar melts and most of the moisture has evaporated add ghee and stir well. Wait until the mixture thickens and that is the finished product of gajar halwa. Most would garnish it after this but in effect the sweet is finished.

 

Although carrot is the most popular form, it can be found in many other forms such as besan, moongdal, or rava(a larger list of varieties can be found here). Different forms of halwa stem from different parts of India. ‘Hari Mirch ka Halwa’ from Pune, ‘Cholar Dal Halwa’ from West Bengal, ‘Anda Halwa’ from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, ‘Kashi Halwa’ from Karnataka, ‘Karutha Haluwa’ from Kerala, are some of the few assortments of Halwas that one could get across India. It is a diverse sweet for a diverse continent. In fact there is a completely different version of the sweet known as ice halwa, but that is a story for another time.

 

 

The Gulab Jamun is a humble sweet originating from medieval Iran but is now extremely popular in India and is considered a staple of Indian culture. Although the dis itself did not originate in India, the modern version served in India is different from the Persian sweet it is derived from, Luqmat-Al-Qadi.  It can be found in most Indian restaurants(both northern and southern), and is ranked in the top fifteen most popular Indian sweets by food magazine, The Culture Trip(https://theculturetrip.com/asia/india/articles/indias-15-most-popular-and-mouth-watering-desserts/). Gulab Jamun themselves are extremely simple at heart, often likened to fried dough balls in a sweet, sugary, liquid in terms of western food. In actuality Gulab jamun are fried balls of a dough made from milk solids and semolina, soaked with an aromatic syrup spiced with green cardamom, rose water, saffron, and more.

 

A recipe can be found here:(https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/gulab-jamun-recipe-using-milk-powder). Although the recipe itself is long, it can be summarized in a few simple steps. The first and most important step is to pick between milk powder and khoya(pictured above). While milk powder is easy to find in most western super markets, it will give a much more “white-washed” taste compared to khoya. Khoya, also known as mawa, is a dried milk substance used throughout most of the Indian subcontinent for various recipes. While one could make it themselves it is found in most local super markets, and the apparent advantage in this recipe is the more authentic taste. Now that the decision has been made between khoya and milk powder, the actual recipe can start. Put green cardamom pods, sugar, and water in a pot and boil. Separately mix either khoya or milk powder, baking soda, and all purpose flower and then knead. After everything is homogenous add ghee to the dough. Ghee is clarified butter and can be found in most Indian supermarkets, more info on ghee can be found here:(https://www.feastingathome.com/how-to-make-ghee/). Add yogurt or lemon juice, and milk to the dough and then mix. To wrap up split the dough into balls and fry in hot ghee. After fried put them in the sugar mixture made in the beginning and let them rest for up to five hours. That is it for the simplified Gulab Jamun recipe.

 

The humble Gulab Jamun, although not actually from India, is perhaps India’s most iconic sweet. Most Indian restaurants in America serve Gulab Jamun, and almost anybody of Indian decent could recognize the iconic sweet.

 

Kaju Katli

Kaju Katli, also known as Kaju Barfi is a classic Indian sweet native to the sub continent itself. Kaju, meaning cashew and barfi being a thickened milk mixed with sugar and other ingredients, is a quite literal translation of what the sweet actually is. Kaju Katli is ranked as one of the most popular Indian sweets by travel magazine, The Culture Trip (https://theculturetrip.com/asia/india/articles/indias-15-most-popular-and-mouth-watering-desserts/). It is up there with sweets like Gulab Jamun and Laddu, which are other Indian classics, and it is not difficult to see why. It is an extremely simple dish at heart being a soft blend between cashews and a sweet thickened milk.

Making Kaju Katli, while in concept is not difficult as the ingredients are quite simple, requires a lot of technique. A very popular recipe from Hebbars Kitchen can be found here(https://hebbarskitchen.com/kaju-katli-recipe-kaju-barfi-recipe/). To summarize, you first need to blend the cashews into a fine powder. You then need to boil sugar and then stir in the cashews until it makes a paste. Finally, just wait until it reaches a somewhat thick but soft consistency and then pour into a baking sheet and cut. Obviously the recipe is very abridged and skips over a lot of the technique required to make the delectable sweet.

This amazing delicacy has not been without controversy however. In India there is a religion called Jainism that has had a lot of influence throughout all of India. The core tenant of Jainism is the principle of nonviolence against all living things(learn more here —> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jainism). While items like milk are allowed, eggs, meat and any ground root vegetable is not allowed. While this does not seem to be inherently problematic when it comes to kaju katlu but the error comes when you look at the silver substance on it(pictured below)

That substance is called varak, and it is a thin silver foil that is edible. While it does not seem inherently not Jain the issue comes from how varak is made. It is made by taking purified animal skins and putting edible silver insed. They then hammer the silver into this sheets which get it into the form you see above. While the practice has widely been abolished, many consider varak completely not vegetarian and thus will always get their kaju katli without it. The main controversy behind all of this comes because this was originally not common knowledge angering many people who were Jain or followed Jain diets.

Despite being so simple Kaju Katli is one of the most popular sweets from India and has seen its fair share of controversy.