web analytics

Category: Sweets and Desserts

The variety of Indian sweets and desserts available in Indian sweet shops is mind-boggling. There is nothing similar in the Western culture. Every Indian festival and every happy occasion is celebrated by distributing sweets to family, friends, and neighbors.

Traditional Indian sweets come in multiple shapes, sizes, flavors, and colors. Some common categories, with endless permutations and combinations, are: barfi, halwa, laddu, and kheer or payasam as it’s called in South India.

Barfi is a cake-like sweet. It is usually some variation of thickened milk combined with different nuts and fruits, and cooked until all moisture is evaporated. Halwa is like a thick and dry porridge, and made with cream of wheat, and different flours and fruits. Laddu is made with different flours, grains, and nuts and shaped into small balls. Kheer or payasam is like a pudding, and usually contains milk.

Many sweets are made with khoa (mava) — fresh milk is boiled and cooked down until all water evaporates, leaving a thick, creamy dough, somewhat like fudge. It’s time-consuming to make khoa, but it adds a rich, creamy texture to barfis and other sweets.

Other popular sweets and desserts are made with cottage cheese and served in flavored sugar syrup, such as rasagullah and ras malai.

Many of these retro sweets and desserts are high in calories and fat, so moderation is key when consuming these rich desserts. Use low-fat alternatives when possible, and cut down the frequency and quantity of sweets you consume to maintain good health.

Here are some Indian desserts that are wonderful and quite easy to make. Try this traditional Kheer (rice pudding), or browse below for more recipes.

We Heart Food: Chocolate Bark

We Heart Food: Chocolate Bark

| December 3, 2014 Comment

We Heart Food: Chocolate Bark – Here’s how you can make homemade chocolate bark, perfect for sharing over Christmas. Cooking Time: 45 minutes Servings: 20 pieces Ingredients 17 1/2 oz quality dark chocolate – at least 70% cocoa 3 1/2 oz white chocolate 3 large pieces of crystallized ginger, finely chopped 2 handfuls chopped hazelnuts […]

Read More

We Heart Food: Cranberry and Pecan Energy Bites

We Heart Food: Cranberry and Pecan Energy Bites

| December 2, 2014 Comment

Cranberry and Pecan Energy Bites – Here’s how you can make cranberry and pecan energy bites, perfect for that extra bit of energy for the gym after work! Servings: 10 – 12 Cooking Time: 30 minutes Ingredients 3/4 cup rolled oats 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes 1 1/3 fl oz coconut oil 1/2 cup dried […]

Read More

How to Make Churros with Dark Chocolate Sauce

How to Make Churros with Dark Chocolate Sauce

| November 5, 2014 Comment

How to Make Churros with Dark Chocolate Sauce – Eat your doughnuts the Spanish way. Servings: 4 Cooking Time:  50 minutes Ingredients 1 3/4 oz unsalted butter 6 3/4 fl oz water 8 3/4 oz plain flour Pinch of salt 10 1/8 fl oz double cream 1 vanilla pod, split 5 1/3 oz dark chocolate […]

Read More

How to Make Chocolate Spread

How to Make Chocolate Spread

| October 28, 2014 Comment

How to Make Chocolate Spread – Love chocolate spread? Here’s you how to make it at home. P.S It tastes so much better than store bought! Servings: 10 Cooking Time: 35 minutes Ingredients 3 ½ oz hazelnuts 3 ½ oz milk chocolate 3 ½ oz dark chocolate 5 oz icing sugar 2 1⁄3 oz cocoa […]

Read More

Coconut Panna Cotta

Coconut Panna Cotta

| October 20, 2014 Comment

Coconut Panna Cotta – coconut panna cotta with passion fruit curd. This is a delicious vegan and vegetarian dessert. This recipe uses only coconut milk; no dairy. The lime strips give the panna cotta a zesty flavor. You can serve it plain or with some lime curd. To make the a passion fruit and lime […]

Read More

Fruit Salad with Mint

Fruit Salad with Mint

| October 19, 2014 Comment

Fruit Salad with Mint – Here’s you how to make this quick and easy fruit salad. The mint leaves add freshness and flavor, while the pistachios add a nice crunch to this sweet treat. Servings: 6-8 Cooking Time: 10 minutes Ingredients 2  cups strawberries,  cut into halves 2 cups grapes 2 cups blueberries 2 cups […]

Read More

Sabudana Kheer

Sabudana Kheer

| March 17, 2013 Comment

Sabudana Kheer is a simple and healthy dessert. Sabudana or sago/tapioca pearl is full of carbohydrates, and combined with milk and nuts, this pudding is full of calcium, magnesium, and other minerals. Cashews have lower fat than most other nuts, and mostly contain heart-healthy monounsaturated fat. This payasam is also great as an energy drink. […]

Read More

Peda

Peda

| March 14, 2013 Comment

Peda is a traditional sweet made with condensed milk (khoa). This is a sweet that’s distributed to family and friends to celebrate special occasions. You need to make the khoa beforehand for making peda, or you can use store-bought khoa. Servings: 8-10 Cooking Time: 20 minutes (if using ready-made khoa) Ingredients 1 cup khoa or […]

Read More

Kulfi

Kulfi

| March 13, 2013 Comment

Kulfi is a kind of Indian ice cream made with thickened milk and sugar. In India, street vendors sell different kinds of kulfi in summer. Kulfi has a delicate, caramelized taste, and is the best dessert you can have on hot summer days. Since this dessert is made with milk, nuts, and fruits, it is […]

Read More

Khoa

Khoa

| March 13, 2013 Comment

Khoa is unsweetened condensed milk that’s cooked down until it has a dough-like consistency. Khoa or mava is a common ingredient in many Indian sweets and desserts, such as pedha and different kinds of barfis. It adds a rich, creamy taste to sweets. It takes a while to make this but if you want to […]

Read More

Kheer

Kheer

| March 13, 2013 Comment

Made with rice and milk, kheer is the most popular pudding in India. Although it’s referred to as rice pudding, it bears no resemblance to the Western baked rice pudding. Kheer has a creamy texture, and is lightly sweetened, and is usually flavored with ground cardamom or rose water. In the South, this rice pudding […]

Read More

Bottlegourd Halwa

Bottlegourd Halwa

| March 8, 2013 Comment

Bottlegourd halwa is made with grated bottlegourd (lauki, doodhi, ghiya, sorakaya) and milk and makes a healthy dessert. This is an easy recipe. Although it takes a while to make this dessert, it’s worth it. This is a different way to use this vegetable. As the cooked bottlegourd is slightly sweet, it’s well-suited for desserts. […]

Read More