India Travel Tidbits - Sweet Things

fruits & desserts aplenty

Andee at FSHC loves writing food stories to give you ideas, inspiration, or bravery to experiment in the kitchen & have fun! Please Subscribe. It’s free and encourages Andee to continue writing more food stories & grow the low carb lifestyle compatible recipes page.

---

Perhaps you already know from my X/Twitter activity, I am currently traveling in India. The lack of new posts on my page is attributed to this. When a last minute opportunity presented itself, I could not say no to visiting India for the first time!

Have you visited India?

My only destination this trip is Delhi, India’s capital territory. As I explore the city, reside with family, visit other family, and generally partake in the day-to-day life in this new place, I am experiencing so many new and wonderful foods. I’ve been eating my way through various family homes and a few restaurants, all while hoping and praying my stomach can handle it all. So far so good.

One thing that is omnipresent at all meals are sweet things - fruits & desserts. Summer fruit, especially, has been an ultimate delight. It is at peak ripeness, sweet and syrupy, & intoxicatingly fragrant like nothing else I’ve tasted before.

BAEL (Stone Apple / Wood Apple) - a completely new fruit for me. A summer fruit that is quite fibrous and consumed as a pulp-packed juice for hydration. It is mildly sweet. The closest texture I can think of is a fibrous pumpkin.

JAMUN (Indian Blackberry / Black Plum) - a berry/plum like new fruit for me that has dark violet flesh with dark purple skin. At peak ripeness, it is super sweet but also leaves your mouth puckering and turns your tongue purple. Eating this with a sprinkle of black salt elevates the experience.

AAM (Safeda Mango) & KHARBOOJA (Melon) - while these are known to me, their peak ripe flavor was a new experience. They were super sweet, super fragrant, and just melt in your mouth. Eating these after a meal is basically equivalent of eating a rich sweet dessert.

NAARIYAL (Coconut) - Coconut & Coconut water is readily available here at stalls within 5 mins of walking distance from the house. I have been enjoying these almost daily for hydration and cooling down in the heatwave.

Have you enjoyed any of these Indian summer fruits?

Although I minimize desserts and sugar consumption back in the US, it has been hard to do so here. It’s a push & pull between my desire to try new things and experience new cultures but also remain healthy. I suppose I am giving in to the push for a few days. There are amazing milk-based desserts in India!

Rasgolla & Ras Malai - Rasgolla is a milk cheese & rice flour boiled ball soaked in a light sugar syrup. Ras Malai is a sweetened milk cheese soaked in saffron milk sugar syrup. While the first is slightly sweet, the second is a silky sugar bomb.

Jalebi Rabri - I got to try this popular dessert that is like a funnel cake served with a sweetened cardamom spiced thickened milk syrup. I did not care for this one.

Dessert Buffet - I got to try an assortment of desserts at a buffet restaurant including Ras Malai, Barfi, Orange tart, Besan Ladoo, Strawberry pastry, & Papaya.

Overall, I am enjoying the perfectly ripe, melt-in-your-mouth summer fruits a lot more than the sugar-laden desserts.

What sweet thing would you want to eat in India?