Jalebi – A twisted rounded sweetness!!

Guess what? It was J today. I could have written on the joys and the jealousies. But I choose sweet. I choose J for Jalebi!

Picture a scene in a big fat Indian wedding. You can see long tables in the dining area with lip-smacking traditional Indian and international cuisine on every counter. There is the dessert section with a blueberry cheese cake, a chocolate souffle, gajar ka halwa and the exotic flavors of icecreams on display. And somewhere in the end is the counter that is serving hot hot jalebis. That counter, the counter that serves orange-colored, syrupy, slurpy hot sweet, is where I spend the most time in a wedding! I skip every random snack, I hog less on the main-course, all to keep space in my tummy to gorge on Jalebi (click on the link if you do not know about it) in the end.

Image courtesy - Google images

Jalebi is without doubt one of the most popular Indian sweets ever. It is a sweet for all seasons and occasions. It is also perhaps the only sweet that is served at different time across India. In Delhi, we get it in evenings. I used to have them in breakfast when I visited my uncle and aunt’s place in Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh. When I went to Udaipur last year to visit a friend, as soon as she picked me from the station at 7:30 in the morning, we stopped at a shop and gorged on the yummy jalebis and poha for breakfast!

For us, jalebi is a favorite evening snack on weekends coupled with a savory delight, samosa. They taste even better and heavenly on a cold winter evening or a cloudy monsoon evening. Like ice creams, Jalebi is also versatile and is had with many different accompaniments. People like to top it with Rabri, have it with hot milk, or a scoop of ice cream too! Though it tastes best when served hot, many, like my mom, enjoy it cold. The thickness of a jalebi, the color and the number of roundels also vary across places. The way it is prepared is no less fascinating! The way the person makes the twisted rounds of flour in a pan full of oil and then soaks it in sugar syrup, it just so makes me salivate looking at the little sweet circles!

Image courtesy - Google images

Even though I can have jalebi from any shop selling it, some are obvious favorites. In Delhi, some of the best ones are Old and Famous Jalebi Wala in Chandni Chowk, Nathu’s in Bengali Market, and a Haldiram’s or a Bikanerwala too. Personally, I like to have it from the little unknown, un-named local shops that are there in the busy markets. They also do it the best. 

In Hindi, there is a saying to taunt a person that he is not that naive as he pretends. So its like 'jalebi ki tarah seedha hona'. So you are just as innocent and naive as a jalebi, because it happens to be twisted and curved!

So, tell me. Are you a jalebi-lover too? And what is the best place in your city offering it. So that we have a list of places to eat Jalebi whenever we visit that city!