India is the favorite vacation spot for a large number of people across the globe. Among many specialties of the country, the one that stands out is the food served here.
India is known for its cultural diversity, as a result of which significant diversity is observed in the food items served in different parts of this country. The spices used for cooking in the country's north is significant different from those used by people in the southern states of the country. However, one characteristic that's common in people belonging to every single part of India is love for sweets. In this article, we will be discussing about the most popular traditional Indian sweets.
Kaju Katli: This Indian sweet is made in almost all parts of India, but is particularly famous in the western territories of the country. The other names used for the dessert are kaju barfi and kaju katari. Its main ingredient is cashew nut, whose Hindi name is kaju. Confectioners also use milk, sugar and dry fruits for making this sweet. The milk used for this purpose is first thickened and then applied to the kaju katli mix.
The other ingredients might vary based on the type of kaju katli you are buying and manufacturer you are buying it from. Some of the most frequently used ingredients are saffron, dried dates, clarified butter, pistachios etc.
Laddu: Laddu is another Indian sweet enjoying immense popularity among Indians across the globe. Confectioners in all parts of India make this sweet. Laddu can be primarily of two types, bundi or motichur ka laddu and besan ka laddu. The main ingredient of both are same i.e. gram flour or besan. However, the methods of using gram flour are different, which results in creation of two different sweet varieties.
Besan ka laddu is prepared just by roasting besan and mixing it with other ingredients like nuts, raisins, clarified butter etc. The process of making bundi ka laddu, on the other hand, includes two elaborate steps. First the confectioner needs to prepare bundis, which are basically tiny fried balls of gram flour. The bundis are soaked in sugar syrup of a specific consistency. Once the bundis absorb enough sugar syrup they are turned into small balls called laddus; this process is carried out using hands.
Barfi: The majority of the ingredients used for making barfis vary from one type barfi to the other. However, there are some common ingredients too, for instance, sugar, condensed milk, and clarified butter. There's another common feature that binds all barfi types together. It's their magnificent taste.
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