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Thursday, April 11, 2013

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!

29 comments:

  1. Gosh
    This is not fair
    You just made me utterly hungry lady :(
    All those combos pics and the way u described is mouth watering
    Yes it's my fav too . In weddings I too stop by there and I just want it to have solely without any thing
    It tastes best then
    I love haryanvi jalebi and then in andhra u get a yellow jalebi. It's so crispy and the best !!
    Sweet post

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    1. Andhra Jalebi sounds nice..shall see if we get it here. And thank you very much sweety!

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  2. I am big jalebi-lover. Enter any street that's frying jalebi, I leave all my shopping list commitments and materialise at that jalebi shop. *runs to find one shop*

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    1. Happy to find another jalebi lover! I knew there is no dearth of them! Who wouldn't like them eh??!

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  3. I dont have a sweet tooth but I love love Jalebis. Jalebi and samosa is a combination made in heaven. And Haldiram Jalebis are to die for ! I prefer the thin crispy ones :P

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    1. I know! Haldiram's is yumm, thin and crispy! Even I am not much of a sweets person, but jalebi is my weakness!

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  4. Salivating~ what a topic to choose for the post! Personally, I am not a big fan of Jalebi, but the way that you describe, it surely is worth a try!

    myriadrainbowhues.blogspot.in

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    1. It sure is worth a try! You must some time soon. And thank you for dropping by!

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  5. You are going to get a fair amount of spanking for posting such a tempting post....am a sweet person. Jalebi with rabri...plain jalebi...gosh! just drooling.

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    1. haha!! Sure I made many drool and run over the next possible moment to grab jalebis! Janaki, mission accomplished!

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  6. Now ...you have made me all hungry and it past midnight ! sigh !

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    1. Aww..Sri! I hope you had lot of sweets on Ugadi!! :-)

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  7. When I visit Calcutta, my breakfast is always samosas and jalebis!! No compromise...and no jam that time! :D

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    1. Samosas and jalebi beats everything! And just learnt from you that Calcutta serves jalebi in breakfast! :-)

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  8. Wow, what an interesting treat. I've never heard of it, and I don't know if I can find it where I live. But I'll try.

    Have fun with A to Z!

    Jenny at Choice City Native

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    1. Jenny, go to an Indian restaurant, serving Mughlai cuisine. Chances are it will have a nice mean Jalebi for you! Thanks for dropping by!

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  9. Jalleebi !!!!! spoken like this kid in this ad : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpPc6PiMb0Y

    I am sure you would remember that Ad on TV of Dhara Oil !!! sigh... this is the most mouth watering post of all on J ! :D

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    1. Jallebiii!!! Me too, just spoke like that! Told you na, missed posting this ad with this!
      Thanks for bringing back the memories! :-)

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  10. I love Jalebi! The only Indian restaurant I had ever found that had it burned down years ago. They also had my favorites of every other dish. I still haven't found another place with food that good. Man, I miss it!

    #atozchallenge, Kristen's blog: kristenhead.blogspot.com

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    1. Oh Kristen! Do tell me whenever you are coming to India and Delhi. Shall treat you with the best of Indian food! Promise.:-)

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  11. My daughter loves Jalebi ! and I pick it up for her from Balaji - which is closer to my house, the pictures are very tempting, brought thoughts of my daughter, want to pick up some jalebi on my way back home today ! Thanks for sharing !

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    1. I hope you did take home Jalebi after all for your daughter! :-)
      And thank you so much!

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  12. Yay Jalebis - pure Heaven. Great choice.

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  13. You know, I don't think I've ever had Indian food. It's not really common where I live (as opposed to Mexican restaurants or Asian buffets). It sounds so, SO good though. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Thanks Samantha! It is very good. Look for an Indian restaurant. You may be in for luck. And then do drop by and tell me how you liked it! :-)

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  14. Nothing compares to a hotly fried jalebi, does it? I could eat a kilo at a time! ;)

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    1. Ah the kilos! I couldn't bring myself to write this and you brought it up!! *I could do that too without a guilt!* :-)

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  15. I've never had Jalebi, but it sounds like something that would become a favorite food. droooooool.

    Don't be a Hippie
    Take 25 to Hollister

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