Mummy and Papa have always been habitual to morning walks, especially on Sundays and holidays. When I was younger, they would frequently bring me a delicacy, Samose chole( savoury stuffed pastry and chickpea curry) with jalebi (Indian sweet, a coil made of fried batter, steeped in sugar syrup).

Later, Mummy told me that jalebi could be eaten after being dipped in fresh curd. I, a perpetual foodie, did try it. The sweetness of warm jalebi was balanced with the cool and sour curd. It’s definitely a heavenly combination. Curd could also be replaced with lukewarm milk or rabdi (condensed milk with bits of nuts). The amalgam of jalebi with rabdi tastes very nice!

After some time, Mummy and Papa brought, little samosas with chickpea curry which had a less thick consistency with chopped onions and green chillies, and imli ki chutney (tamarind sauce) which is sweet and spicy. Now, when samosa are dipped in chole, the ultimate dish is topped with the tamarind chutney. The crisp of the outer shell of the samosas, the soft piquant vegetable stuffings, and the bitter sweet taste of the chutney and curry is nothing short of a subtle yet tangy outburst of flavors.

I love Jalebi and curd combo until now. It’s a huge recommendation too. Besides that, this is a pretty dotted cuisine of the Indian city, Kanpur. Jalebi and rabdi are duo too ! In the mountainous regions, the curd is substituted by warm milk. In the state of Gujarat, this sweet is eaten with fafda, which is nothing but a very thin and crisp savoury bread made of gram flour and cracker namkeen. Now that answers why Jalebi is the national sweet of India! I got to know about this, when in fourth grade when I mistakenly ticked Laddoo( a spherical traditional Indian sweet) as national sweet, instead of Jalebi in a General Knowledge quiz. Jalebi is experimented frequently with variety of foods and it goes really good. It a perfect complement for savoury items.

If you check on the social media page of Food Insider, jalebi is included in the ‘Desserts You Should Try, Before You Die’ section. Jalebi is an omnipresent dish of the country and is even being tried in foreign restaurants. For me, it’s a snack that brings along nostalgia of my childhood and the essence of the rich past of Indian Subcontinent.