Do you know what happens when you eat sweets? A chemical, namely Dopamine is released in your body, which makes you feel good thus enhancing your mood. It is the ‘feel good’ hormone of our body. Ever wondered why after a spicy meal, your body suddenly craves something sweet? Consumption of sweets gives that energy boost to your body which is required for digestion of the scrumptious meal you just had.
According to an article in NDTV Food, “After a hearty meal if you crave for something sweet, it could also be due to increased production of serotonin, a neurotransmitter, which is associated with mood-elevation. Sugary desserts cause serotonin levels to rise, which make us feel happier, calmer and satisfied.”
According to the Indian tradition, a hearty meal is incomplete without a sweet in the end. Such are also the practices in many parts of this wonderful world, where there are 4-course, 6-course and degustation menus; all of which end on a rather sweet note. Many chefs, world-over, have dedicated their careers in development of sweet culinary delights. Around the world there are educational bodies dedicated to teaching the art of creating sweet treats.
In most parts of India, they say, that if you are going to start something new you should do so with a happy and positive outlook and the easiest way to exercise this tradition is by the consumption of a sweet dishor curd and sugar before you start the work. So, for those of you with a sweet tooth, I am listing out 5 Indian sweets that are the absolute favorite of many Indians and anyone visiting India should try these at least once in their lifetime. These feature in most of the menus serving Indian food and any Indian festival is almost incomplete without them.
Gulab Jamun: This desert, will leave you craving for more each time you pop one of these in your mouth. Commonly referred to as ‘Lal Mohan’ in Nepal and ‘Bantua’ in Bangladesh, it is made out of milk solids and all-purpose flour, which is rolled into small balls, deep fried and finally soaked in a sugar syrup laced with rose water. There are also some varieties of this popular dish. Some make the same with milk powder while some healthier varieties are made out of semolina. Gulab Jamun, which resembles the fruit ‘Jamun’ or Indian blackberry, is literally the king of all Indian sweets and is a regular inmate at any sweet meat shop in India. The sale of this confectionary increases significantly during festivals like Diwali, Navaratri, Dussehra etc. It is also common among populations with South Asian heritage like Mauritius, Fiji, Gulf states, South Africa, and the Caribbean countries of Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and Jamaica.
Kheer: There are many versions of this Indian delicacy, all of which are equally delectable. The most original version is a pudding prepared out of milk and rice, thereafter finished off with butter toasted dry fruits on the top. The Sanskrit word ‘Kshira’ is the mother of the word ‘Kheer’. This desert is also called ‘Payasam’ or ‘Payesh’ in South India which is again derived from the Sanskrit word ‘Payas’ meaning rice. As mentioned before, there are ample versions of this desert which are made out of broken wheat, tapioca pearls, pulses or even semolina and jaggery. Sometimes it is also prepared out of vegetables like ash gourd or carrot. The base however mostly remains milk alone. In many of the south Indian temples this desert is distributed free of cost as ‘Prasadam’ which basically is a religious offering in Hindu temples.
Carrot Halwa: Halwa or Halva is originally a confectionary from Persia. It is generally thick with a loose jelly like kind of consistency and sweetened with sugar or jaggery. Halva is a popular delicacy prepared and consumed in Iran, Middle-East, India & Greece. In many parts of northern India a particular type of Halvah is prepared out of wheat flour, sugar and water. This is called ‘Kada Prasad’ and served in Gurudwaras, which is the religious place of worship for the Sikh clan in India. The Halva that I want to make special mention of is made out of red carrots, milk and sugar and tastes just out of this world. Again, a hot favorite among many Indians, it is served in many eateries and appears on the menu of special meals for celebrations like weddings or birthdays etc. As it is made out of carrots that are stewed in milk, it is considered a perfect mix of delectability and health.
Kulfi: This desert may literally be the solid state of a Rabri or Basundhi. Also prepared from milk, this one is an absolutely delightful spin on the regular milk ice creams that are had world over. Kulfi has an Indian touch to it’s armor when cardamom and dry fruits are all married together in a sweet milky concoction. Other Indian sweets like Rabri and Basundhi are also prepared the same way, though the consistency differs. Nowadays there are quiet a few flavours available and people enjoy it after a heavy meal or just to enjoy some chills in summer or even winter. Fruits flavours like mango, strawberry, fig are the exciting surprises for many kids in summer and so are also other flavours like paan, pista, kesar(saffron), malai and more.
Laddu: Though there are ample varieties of Laddus available nowadays, the most famous of them is the Motichur ke Laddu. These are made out of fried droplets of chickpea batter soaked in sugar syrup and thereafter rolled to small balls. Another most loved variety is the Besan ka Laddu, again made out of chickpea flour roasted in ghee until brown and then brought together in small balls after the addition of powdered sugar. They are the regulars at any sweetmeat shop and also distributed as Prasad in many North Indian temples and are also the hot selling confectionary during festivals like Diwali, Holi etc. The other commonly found varieties would be Rava Laddu(made out of semolina), Dry Fruit Laddu, Peanut Laddu and Sesame Laddu. My favourite out of all varieties would undoubtedly be the Besan ka Laddu, because of the crunchy sweet texture it provides to my palate due to the long hours of roasting that the chickpea flour has underwent in ghee.
I am sure after this I would have convinced you to try out your portion of Indian sweets for each day of the week, to make those working weekdays a lot more exciting. For the weekends I am sure that you wouldn’t require anything sweet to uplift your mood because weekends are as it is exciting with all of those leisurely activities that you’ve been planning since a while now. So go, grab these!
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