Famous Sweets You Should Try from 29 Indian States

Indians are sweet people in general. So it comes as no surprise that the country has so much to offer to those with a sweet tooth. No matter where you find yourself in the country, there is going to be something to satisfy your craving for something sweet. Different states have different famous sweet dishes. You must try all these sweets from different Indian states so you don’t miss out on anything.

Here is a list of sweets that you must try when you visit these respective states :

Sweets from Indian states

1.Andhra Pradesh – Qubani ka Meetha

This heavenly delicacy is prepared using simple ingredients like dried apricots, sugar and perfectly flavoured with rose water and saffron strands. This Delectable Dessert was originally served and savoured by The Royals. It’s a royal golden colour and heavenly flavours make it so irresistible and a must-try for special occasions like Diwali, birthday, kitty party, etc. Other amazing treats from the state include Tirupati Ladoo, Pootharekulu, Ariselu, and Karijalu.

 

2. Arunachal Pradesh – Khapse

Khapse (or khapsey) is a beloved, deep-fried pastry eaten and offered most commonly at Losar, but also sometimes on other special occasions, like Tibetan weddings. There are a whole bunch of different kinds of khapse – from huge ones in the shape of a donkey ear (bhungu amchoe) that are placed as offerings on Losar shrines, to the large braids of mukdung, to the crispy circles of bulug, to the various little shapes of kaptog that are made only for eating, and down even to no-name little bite-sized diamonds of fried dough.

There are sweet and (slightly) salty khapse, and some khapses made in the shape of lotus flowers, or with ribbons of colour threading through the twists.

 

3. Assam – Assorted Pithas

Sweets in Assam come in many different varieties. One of the most popular ones are ‘pithas’.These come in many different shapes and sizes to reflect the diverse culture of the region. Almost all pithas are made with rice flour with different rice varieties including joha (fragrant)rice, boraa (sticky) rice, brown rice, etc. In olden days, pithas were used to be prepared on hot earthen plates or roasting pan and then that earthen plate was placed on hot sand to acquire the exact crispiness of the pithas.

 

4. Bihar – Thekua

Thekua is a revered prasad (offering to god) in the Chhath puja. It has been used as a sweet snack for centuries in these places.

The main ingredients of Thekua are wheat flour, chasni, and ghee. Jaggery can sometimes be used as an alternative to sugar. The dough is prepared using these four main ingredients and cardamom can be added to enhance the taste. The dough is deep-fried in ghee or vegetable oil till it becomes reddish-brown. It is soft when hot but hardens after it cools. It needs no preservatives and it can be preserved for several days for eating.

 

5. Chhattisgarh – Dehrori

Dehrori is a scrumptious Bihari dessert that owes its origin to Chattisgarh but is popular worldwide with different names. This easy-to-make recipe can be made within 30 minutes using simple ingredients which are rice, cardamom powder, almonds, cashews, yoghurt, ghee, lemon juice, and sugar. The mouth-watering recipe consists of fried pancakes which are coated with a heavenly made sugar syrup and are garnished with nuts.

 

6. Goa – Bebinca

A traditional, rich dessert, bebinca is a must-have at any celebration in Goa, India. The multi-layered cake is made up of thin layers of a coconut flavoured batter separated by melted ghee (clarified butter). Making bebinca, also known as Bebek, requires patience and a lot of time (plan on at least 2 hours); each layer is cooked separately, requiring you to take the pan out of the oven repeatedly—but the end result is well worth the effort. Traditional bebinca has seven layers, but some cakes go up to 16 layers; you can make as many as you like.

 

7. Gujarat – Basundi

Gujarati basundi is a delicious dessert made of thickened milk. Almonds and pistachios add crunch to this creamy sweet. With a yummy, creamy texture, this is sure to make a wonderful end to a fantastic dinner

 

8. Haryana – Aloo ka Halwa

This halwa is a combination of mashed potatoes, ghee, and dry nuts. It’s is great and handy option for Phalahari meal or fasting food and even good for the festive season too. We eat potato halwa mostly
during Navratri days. It is delicious in taste and easy to make within a few minutes. You can adjust the sugar quantity as per your tastebuds. You have to use desi ghee for this recipe instead of any oil for perfect taste and aroma.

 

9. Himachal Pradesh – Dabbroo

Dabbroo is one of the scrumptious dessert varieties which is also known as Himachal Pradesh’s Sweet Wheat Pancake. This easy-to-make dessert can be made within minutes using simple ingredients that are easily available in your kitchens such as wheat flour, milk, sugar, and ghee.

 

10. Jammu and Kashmir – Shufta

As the name says Kashmiri Shufta, is a traditional dessert that is loaded with lots and lots of nuts. Every Kashmiri celebration, especially weddings, is simply incomplete without this tasteful and crunchy dessert. Feel a burst of rich flavours as soon as you take its bite. The dessert is prepared using lavish dry fruits like almonds, cashews, pistachios, walnuts, and sultanas.

 

Delicious foods to try from different countries

11. Jharkhand – Malpua

A popular dish in Jharkhand, Malpuas are made by mixing flour, milk, sugar, and mashed bananas and is deep-fried in such a way that the edges go all crispy while the centre remains soft.

 

12. Karnataka – Mysore Pak

It is said that this dessert was part of an unusual experiment, which was done by the head chef to please the Maharaja of Mysore Krishnaraja Wodeyar as he forgot to make the dessert. Turned out that the Maharaja loved the dish so much so that he ordered a second serving. When he was done with his meal, he asked for what was the name of the dish and the chef replied with Mysore Pak. The reason why he called so was that the mixture was made with gram flour, ghee and sugar syrup (which is called as pak or paka).

 

13. Kerala – Vettu cake

Vettu cakes are tea time snacks usually found at roadside tea stalls in southern India. A popular snack in Kerala, it is very similar to the Ooty varki, which is also somewhat a deep-fried sweetened dough served alongside tea. The vettu cake is slightly puffier (almost cake-like), owing to the presence of baking soda in the dough. The recipe for making the tea snack is very easy and can be fried up within minutes at home.

 

14. Madhya Pradesh – Mawa Bati

MP is known for its street food and impeccable desserts, but Mawa Bati is something everyone should taste. Made of Mava, Til (sesame), cardamom powder and ghee, this dish here and for a good reason. Delicious.

 

15. Maharashtra – Puran Poli

Puran Polis are made traditionally in this state on auspicious occasions, by boiling chickpeas and adding jaggery to the boiled lentils. The outer cover, or poli, is made of flour, milk, and ghee. The result is absolutely delicious.

 

16. Manipur – Madhurjan Thongba

The way to make this unique dish is by making besan dumplings and dropping them in thick, sweetened milk along with some fresh coconut. It’s like a mixture of all things wonderful!

 

17. Meghalaya – Pukhlein

Pukhlein is a traditional rice flour bread recipe that owes it’s origin to Meghalaya and is known for its palatable flavours all around the country. Making this sweet recipe is extremely easy and this dish will surely be a hit in your household. Bread is known for their fluffy texture and lightness that can be paired with almost any dish and that is why they are preferred by all.

 

18. Mizoram – Koat Pitha

This sweet dish is popular in Mizoram. With banana and rice being its main ingredients, this dish is made by mixing the two with jaggery and is deep-fried in oil. It surely is one interesting food item to taste.

 

19. Nagaland – Naap Nang

Naap Nang, also known as Black rice pudding is a chewy yet delicious pudding. This dish is made from sticky black rice, which when cooked gives deep purple colour. It is made using milk, black rice, water, and sugar. It’s a relatively easy dish to make and it tastes amazing.

 

20. Odisha – Chenna Poda

Chhena Poda is a cheese dessert from the Indian state of Odisha. Chhena Poda literally means Roasted Cheese in Odia. It is made of well-kneaded homemade fresh cheese chhena, sugar is baked for several hours until it browns.^[2] Chhena Poda is the only well known Indian dessert whose flavour is predominantly derived from the caramelization of sugar.

 

21. Punjab –  Badam Kheer

This sweet dish is popular among several states in the north, but it is mostly made in Punjab. Badaam Kheer is made using almonds, condensed milk, sugar, and saffron.

 

22. Rajasthan – Malai Ghewar

A delicious, Rajasthani dessert, most popularly made during the month of August or the auspicious month of Shravana or Sawan when the festival of Teej and Raksha Bandhan falls. Ghewar is a disc-shaped sweet with a texture that resembles a honeycomb is made with all-purpose flour and soaked in sugar syrup.

There are plenty of varieties of the traditional dessert Ghewar including mawa and malai. Here is an easy, hassle-free recipe of Ghewar that you can easily cook at home and enjoy the festivities with your family.

 

23. Sikkim – Sael Roti

Basically, sael roti is a sweet ring-shaped bread or dough. To make the dish, customized flavour to rice flour. The dough to make this dish is kneaded with milk, water, cooking oil, sugar, cardamom, cloves, banana, and other flavours. The dish is cooked by deep-frying in oil or ghee. The rotis have a long shelf life and can be stored for long.

 

24. Tamil Nadu – Pal Poli

Paal poli recipe, a classic South Indian dessert where pooris are dunked in cardamom flavoured, reduced sweetened milk. Paal poli is a rich, milk-based, delicious South Indian sweet. It is a special sweet item offered on many a Tamilian wedding menu. Pal Poli is a dish of maida rotis that are first deep-fried and then immersed in milk warmed with condensed milk and saffron.

 

25. Telangana – Boorelu

Boorelu, one of the most popular sweets, symbolic of joy and festivity, completely embodies the idea of a traditional Telangana sweet to the hilt. This perennial favourite is a deep-fried sweet ball, the filling of which is prepared from Bengal gram, jaggery or sugar, coconut, and cardamom powder being the flavour enhancer, which is dipped in a batter made from black gram dal and rice and deep-fried to a golden brown colour.

 

26. Tripura – Awan Bangwi

This is definitely one of the most unique dishes that hail from India. Made of sticky rice, Awan Bangwi is made only in Tripura. It is made by mixing rice, cashews sautéed in ghee, raisins, and this mixture is put in cones made of banana leaves and is steamed. Definitely something worth trying!

 

27. Uttar Pradesh – Malaiyo

Malaiyo is a dish available in UP mainly during the winters. Malaiyo or Mallaiyo is basically flavoured milk foam/froth or cloud served in a small earthen bowl, garnished with Pistachios and Almonds. Its texture is thick, but it tastes lighter than air. And it’s Malai, so there is nothing to question. Just grab a spoon and finish off that dessert!

 

28. Uttarakhand – Bal Mithai

This dessert definitely looks cute, whether you’re a sweet tooth or not. Bal Mithai is cooked khoya covered in sugar balls. That is a whole lot of sweet, and you really have to be willing enough to take in so much of it!

 

29. West Bengal – Mishti Doi

A Bengali Dessert, Mishti Doi is famous all over India.

This dish is, without a doubt, the dish to try out before you die. Native to Bengal, which is known for several sweet preparations, Mishti Doi is sweetened yoghurt. Made with milk and sugar, some of the sugar is caramelised to give it a lovely taste. It is also popularly served in earthen pots and bowls because this material absorbs the water and makes the yoghurt more tasty and thick.

 

If you have a chance to try out a few of these, go ahead. It’ll just take you closer to knowing the food heaven that is India.